Chapter 3: Career and Career Advancement
The third major topic related to the foreign workforce is career and career advancement. Many Japanese companies do not advertise their positions with a dedicated job description. This is visible externally; hiring is often related to join a company in general instead of joining a company because of the offered job profile. But internally as well, the positions within an enterprise are often not defined.
Career Advancement
Japanese corporate culture is renowned for its seniority structure, which consumes everyday life. From simple acts such as the formality of the elevator to the system in which communication occurs within the workplace. It is a system that is both difficult to ignore and difficult to go against. However, that same structure allows for a sense of security within employment due to the traditional “employment for life” scheme.
Advice from our Career Advancement Committee
Things to avoid in order to retain foreign staff:
- Don’t expect foreigners will globalize your business
- Don’t follow the seniority system
- Don’t tell them “everyone does it” as a reason why
- Don’t use high potential bilingual staff for translation and administrative work.
- Don’t move people suddenly to a new job without checking their intention.
The list items in the “Things to Avoid to Keep and Retain Foreign Staff, is from an internal guide of a Japanese HR publication advising staff on how to manage foreign staff. The proposed suggestions above highlight the importance of using the diversity and resources presented rather than hoping that the system will naturally change with the influx of an international workforce. A global business projection makes the company more attractive to work alongside on international discussions and establishes that the company is open to innovation, modern, and forward-thinking. This, however, cannot be achieved if high potential bilingual staff are submitted to administrative work.
Career Progression of Foreign Employees in Japan
In this section, we outline some of the viewpoints Japanese companies have about foreign employees in Japan. One of the classical reasons for Japanese companies’ hesitation to promote foreigners is the perception that they will leave Japan at some point. They often leave Japan for other countries and also for other companies. They are thought of as transient and/or expendable.
Japanese companies tend to have an unwritten rule of assessing people based on whether they fit the existing organizational culture rather than evaluating the qualifications or the changes they could bring.
The language barrier, communication issues, and lack of experience with foreigners at the head office in Japan are often the major drivers why Japanese companies dominantly have Japanese ex-pat presidents at their overseas branches, which clearly creates a glass ceiling for local staff career progression. This situation is not unique in Japan. European companies and American companie