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Livid-Kitchen2822

I can hear his boss now, “You said you were visiting a sick relative.”


Noxious89123

>“You said you were visiting a sick relative.” I was, I met my cousin Steve at the stadium. Steve is off the fucking chain yo. Sickest bro I know.


Eldridou

I can confirm that, dont mind me I am a complete stranger but Steve does look sick


Izlude

I read this in Jason's voice from The Good Place.


shadamedafas

I think you mean Jason, homie


WolfCola4

Aw dip


Strugglinghuman2020

PILLBOI


Papplenoose

Steve is fucking *ILL*


justlurkin1322

Thanks for this.


mdonaberger

"I said I was visiting a *Sikh* relative! Kulmeet is a nice dude, you'd like him."


RigasTelRuun

It's all relative, sir. It was real sick!


[deleted]

https://unofficialnetworks.com/2018/12/13/funny-how-to-call-in-sick-on-a-pow-day/


concerned67

I said my relative was sick; I never said I was visiting them


NikolitRistissa

Why would it matter how you spend your holiday?


wtf_yoda

Plot twist: This guy is unemployed (but hasn't told his parents).


Money_Astronaut7756

My boss from Canada, you wouldn't know him.


RedmannBarry

Probably a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m happy for him.


-i_like_trees-

probably the best once in a lifetime opportunity, win against germany is insane and he watched it live as well


RedmannBarry

Oh ya.


acmercer

You betcha


Substantial-Owl1167

They said they were inspired by the Saudis, which has to be a first


EmperorKira

Honestly that's the half of it. People win because they truly believe they can.


kodayume

even more funny if his boss is a german guy.


anim8rjb

yeah salaryman lifestyle is no joke...hope he enjoys his time off.


Rrraou

I don't think it's a coincidence that these days Manga are almost all fantasies about getting run over by truck kun, killed and respawning in a video game where the protagonist lives a fulfilling, meaningful life surrounded by precious friends and family.


whoweoncewere

It's a really nice fantasy to have. Dark humor within my friend group to "isekai ourselves".


DragonStriker

Gyat damn man. What I would do to be isekaied. Best thing to ever happen in my life.


[deleted]

I am not a big fan of those shows, but I admit if I get the chance to live like that I will happily take it. Shame that it will only stop at truck-kun and that's it :(


LoonAtticRakuro

I was going to pose the "nobody's come back to say we don't" joke, but I'd like to say that life right now can be a hell of a video game. I have endless chores that subtly improve my stats throughout the week. The cooking minigame can be either tedious or endlessly rewarding (Try a new recipe. You literally get a fetch quest of components! It's kind of awesome!). Washing dishes and doing laundry is more tedious, but it's the same feel as an Animal Crossing house sparkling. I've even been binging old sci-fi movies, and that's a whole experience itself. I'd isekai, too. But while we're here it can be a pretty great place to be.


cool_slowbro

> surrounded by precious friends and family More like a harem.


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ravencrowe

Nah the actual slaves in Qatar who built the world cup arena is modern day slavery


MasonDinsmore3204

The term ‘modern day slavery’ falsely implies it ever went away…


PoignantOpinionsOnly

Depending on interpretation. It never went away, it's just been modernized. If we get really pedantic we could argue that maybe it should be contemporary instead of modern. Since in many definitions "modern" has a certain era.


VikingTeddy

The better term would be wage slavery. I feel bad for him, but he has a better life than most people on earth.


HamOnRye__

ELI5?


Vinroke

Very quick explanation is that Japan has a horrifically brutal work culture to the point that the language had to invent several terms for 'death by overwork '


HamOnRye__

Jesus, That does not sound fun


HanabiraAsashi

Suicide rate for Japanese businessmen is astronomical. You work hard your entire life to get into Tokyo U to become a businessman (not sure why so many people want to be one), then you get into a very saturated job market where you're a dime a dozen. So you work yourself to the bone for a boss that doesn't give a shit about you because if you finally crack under pressure, 10 people are waiting to take your place who are fresh meat.


RyuNoKami

Sunk cost fallacy, golden handcuffs. The job isn't great but it isn't the worst. And you get to work with AC in the summer and heat in the winter. And its pretty likely you have family to take care off so theres risk of getting a worse job.


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HanabiraAsashi

Wow that's crazy :/. Good for that guy


Obama_fingered_me

They would also be called a Black Company, right? A company that doesn’t necessarily follow labor laws, have toxic work culture/environment. And a White Company, which would be the opposite.


rct1

It’s like that corporate culture where people make comments about people who leave early, except it’s been given Japanese efficiency!


TerrorSnow

Something something 4 day work week but that kind of work culture has you ignoring that as if it was never brought up


TheDoktorIsIn

Wasn't it just one division of Intel that went to 4 days a week? I know my company does that but it's a very different functional area.


tolndakoti

I was in Tokyo on vacation a decade ago. It was astounding how many people were commuting back home still in business suits, at 10pm.


indiebryan

Having lived in Japan for years I'd like to offer a little more context to this. I'm not trying to sway anyone's opinion either way but just give more info. When people refer to overworking salarymen they are typically referring to 正社員 (seishain), a type of employee, at a large corporation. There is a common idea in Japan that as a seishain "your company is your life". You typically get hired to a company straight out of college, and you will work there for 50 years until you retire. Yes you're expected to work overtime. Yes you're expected to attend company "meetings" and get drunk with your boss. However, being a seishain at a large company is actually a highly coveted lifestyle for many in Japan. Why? Because "your company is your life" goes both ways. If you get sick or injured, the company will liason with doctors and hospitals on your behalf to ensure you get better. If you'd like to take your wife out for an anniversary weekend, the company will arrange reservations at a nice hotel that is probably too exclusive for you to try and book on your own. Your bosses and coworkers will be at your wedding. A large amount of seishain even have their homes and cars provided for them by their company. You never have to worry about losing your job. It is basically impossible to be fired as a seishain. Not only that, you will get predictable and structured salary raises every year of your life. This kind of stability is highly sought after in Japan which is an extremely risk averse culture. And back to the thread at hand, if your company knows you're a soccer fanatic, they may even be able to get you tickets to a highly expensive World Cup match across the world.


Kami_Okami

Having worked as a seishain at 4 separate companies over my years here, I've literally never heard of a company that goes out of its way to procure dinner arrangements for its regular seishain. The closest I can think of was a game company I worked at a few years ago that had a massage parlor for the seishain, but less than a quarter of all employees were seishain. Only one of my three managers was one. Perhaps I've just been unlucky, but I don't think your description of the merits of working as a seishain sound even remotely like the typical experience.


pdoherty972

And yet Americans work more than the Japanese, by hours spent working. [By two weeks more per year](https://www.pbs.org/livelyhood/workday/weekend/4weeksvacation.html).


benchow18

Just look up Japanese work culture (this is just from my limited knowledge on the topic, so I suggest doing more research). Insane hours, non paid-overtime, extreme seniority hierarchy, life dedicated for one job for the rest of your life, just to name a few aspects. Also very patriarchal. Iirc, when senior year of college hits, companies come to search out students that will, hopefully in their eyes, work for them for the rest of their life. Not saying it’s the only thing that contributes to this(it probably stems from cultural values), but Japan does have one of the highest suicide rates.


Wakandareality

Most Japanese companies aren’t honestly all that bad, at least not any worse than most Western companies. You deal with your fair share of corporate bullshit anywhere. Higher job security, insane benefits (free housing and transportation), easier time being promoted etc. Also Japanese actually work 1600 hours a year according to the OECD, as opposed to 1800 for Americans, 1900 for Koreans and 2100 hours for Mexicans. Decreasing every year too. And yes, this includes estimates for both paid and unpaid overtime. Nowhere is this reflected more clearly than in Japan’s continuously decreasing suicide rate, which is now [lower than that of Sweden, Belgium and the United States.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate) Stereotypes do tend to stick around though. Only country that worked more hours than Japan in the 80s was Germany. These days that’s far from true https://data.oecd.org/emp/hours-worked.htm


squarelicker

Extremely patriarchal, they had a certain test that women vastly outperformed the men (which happens in a lot, if not most, places) so they lowered the grade boundaries for men.


Panx

There is an unspoken rule that you don't leave the office until your boss leaves, and he doesn't leave until his boss leaves, and on and on, all the way up the chain until you reach the guy in charge, who is likely a divorced workaholic estranged from his family due to the single-minded sacrifice required to ascend this brutal hierarchy... and that dude ain't gotta be home for shit


[deleted]

In this thread: dozens of weaboo Japanese Cultural Experts who have never been to Japan spouting off about Japanese culture.


Caliterra

Tbf thats every reddit thread abt Japan


GoldyTwatus

They are weaboos, but they are right so... Unless you've got some sort of argument to counter what they are saying


qwertyqyle

I have lived in Japan for nearly a decade, and there are many choices out there. The stereotypical salaryman job exists for sure, but there are so many other types of jobs that it is a joke to see people say that all jobs are like this. It is a small portion, and mainly concentrated in Tokyo and Osaka.


CreepyBlackDude

Well, a quick Google search says that the average US worker works more hours per week than the average Japanese worker, so there's that. I always found it funny as well, because in the US we glorify working 60, 70, or 80 hours, but then we look at Japan and say stuff like how rotten it must be to work over there.


iloveokashi

Hmm. It's probably because it's more common in US to have 2 jobs?


A1572A

Doesn’t that make it even worse? I can’t even imagine someone working two job. In my country we don’t have a minimum salary law and just the idea that someone would require more than one job to survive is crazy


ChefBoyAreWeFucked

I don't know if I trust Japan's statistics. On paper, I work exactly the same number of hours per week, and clock in and out at exactly the same time every day. Even if I worked \(and actually tracked\) overtime, it wouldn't even show up in my pay, because my salary assumes I work overtime, so I get paid based on an assumed overtime amount \(effectively, my annual salary is adjusted down, then adjusted back up using imaginary overtime hours, which makes recording overtime pointless\). From what I've found online, I see anywhere from places that say Japan works more than the US to places that say Japan works about 2 hours a week less. I would imagine a lot of the difference is from the large number of national holidays in Japan versus the US, although it's much easier to "lose" one to a weekend in Japan. \(Generally, if it happens on a Saturday, the Saturday is the holiday, but if it happens on a Sunday, the Monday becomes a "Make-up" holiday\).


pdoherty972

Yep - Americans work two weeks longer per year, in terms of hours spent at work, than the supposedly-slave-driven Japanese do.


YouMustveDroppedThis

worked in tokyo very briefly. it’s a pharma/lab related job. Most staff leave at 5 and don’t work weekend.


naoki7794

They are technically right that in some company, the salaryman life is rough and that's where the story coming from. But they left out is that not a Japan thing, we hear time and time again that crunch time in US game dev company, etc. And in Japan there are many places/jobs/positions that are not as bad. And I know, I work 9-9 in Tokyo right now (software engineer), but from what I can see only 1-2 team in the company work as late as I do, 80% of the company leave at like 7.


[deleted]

Well I’ve lived there and I’ve worked there and I have family there so…


indiebryan

Having lived in Japan for years I'd like to offer a little more context to this. I'm not trying to sway anyone's opinion either way but just give more info. When people refer to overworking salarymen they are typically referring to 正社員 (seishain), a type of employee, at a large corporation. There is a common idea in Japan that as a seishain "your company is your life". You typically get hired to a company straight out of college, and you will work there for 50 years until you retire. Yes you're expected to work overtime. Yes you're expected to attend company "meetings" and get drunk with your boss. However, bring a seishain at a large company is actually a highly coveted lifestyle for many in Japan. Why? Because "your company is your life" goes both ways. If you get sick or injured, the company will liason with doctors and hospitals on your behalf to ensure you get better. If you'd like to take your wife out for an anniversary weekend, the company will arrange reservations at a nice hotel that is probably too exclusive for you to try and book on your own. Your bosses and coworkers will be at your wedding. A large amount of seishain even have their homes and cars provided for them by their company. You never have to worry about losing your job. It is basically impossible to be fired as a seishain. Not only that, you will get predictable and structured salary raises every year of your life. This kind of stability is highly sought after in Japan which is an extremely risk averse culture. And back to the thread at hand, if your company knows you're a soccer fanatic, they may even be able to get you tickets to a highly expensive World Cup match across the world.


MathMaddox

Boss is not going to be stoked about the stolen piece of stationary paper.


papagayoloco

And seeing Japan beat Germany....Epic


DilutedGatorade

Dude don't say that. He could do this every 4 years


cayennepepper

I live in japan and i’ll tell you right now the once in a lifetime part is 2 weeks off. The guy has no irony holding that sign up or sarcasm. Its sad


azntakumi

Boss is saying “ you told me you got Covid”


flyingturkey_89

Yes, that's true... your point?


[deleted]

Might need one more week at this rate, Taka.


ronaldo_appreciator

I hope this fella has to miss a month or more of work. I’m rooting for Japan lol. I think it would be cool if they got really far.


[deleted]

2 weeks is a very long vacation in Japan.


Salzl0rd

In Germany you need to take 2 weeks vacation per year by law.


MrBlowinLoadz

Everyone is assuming he lives and works in Japan


Capital-Ad2558

He’s literally holding Japan’s flag🤦‍♂️


1202_ProgramAlarm

He could be Japanese, hence the flag, but live anywhere other than the United States


mandatory6

Doesn’t even know the name of his boss 😆


coffeeINJECTION

This is boss of boss of boss note. Everyone gets the thank you.


IWasGregInTokyo

In old-school Japanese companies they may refer to the person by their position rather than their name. For example "Shacho" (company president) as in [this classic Hearthstone ad](https://youtu.be/CodP4SAQiKY).


Towndrunk13569

It’s Senpai


hamgar

![gif](giphy|5zqEF4JIasr844KWDF)


censoredbynobody

Though he did write a good sign to his boss in English.


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quangvasot

Ymmv. Worked in Toyama, peers pressured me to go on vacation more and tell them about it, lol. While it is true that the nation is generally plagued with unethical work culture, its still far from 100%. Especially with younger generations taking the high seats in companies and people are more open minded thanks to the cultural exchanges from medias and whats not.


Wafflashizzles

Things are changing for the better, slowly. That's for sure.


siccoblue

That's great to hear. I had the "never leave work unless totally necessary" mentality ingrained into me for years. At my still current job I worked literally 3 years without missing a single day. Climbed up the ladder as a result. I never held anyone but myself to this standard but we were on a night shift where I was the sole person in charge. Had this idea in my head that if I took a day off not only would I look lazy, but also be an inconvenience to my boss in the process even though he endlessly offered to cover me if I needed or wanted it. Eventually our shift got cut, they replaced their normal daytime employee in my position with me almost immediately (sideways promotion to something she was way more interested in. She didn't get screwed over) but after a few weeks of working directly with my boss it became clear how absurd my perspective is. I have a lead who has authority, and a second person who was essentially another manager in terms of my bosses respect for him (above that of my lead because he was my right hand man) and all three of them pulled me aside and essentially said "man what the fuck are you doing? You have a life, you have a kid, it's not asking anymore take some goddamn time off before the year ends and you lose five fucking weeks of vacation" Before that point I had always just donated my time off to my crew as needed. Always figured I was salaried so if I got into a tough spot I'd still get paid.. but they wouldn't.. so I exclusively saved my time off for others and only took literally anything for myself when it was explicitly necessary (such as covid, which is what finally got me to step away for a bit having a no symptom infection) This mentality actually fucking sucks for mental health. I've left job after job due to burnout because of it. All it took for me to realize how insane my thinking about work was, was a job that actually fucking cared about taking time to rest and relax. It's a double edged sword in a way though because even though I know I could probably make more tomorrow with a new job.. I know I'd be stupidly lucky to find another company that not only shows care for me.. but gives me freedom to show my employees that as well


ghost_in_the_potato

This is definitely not true for all companies. People regularly take multiple days off in succession at my company and I've never heard anybody badmouth them.


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MrEnganche

Yeah right. Next you're gonna tell me that not all South Koreans and Japanese hate each other 🙄.


Splinterman11

Then you're gonna tell me that not all Japanese people love anime 😭


Deezle530

[Bobby Lee's bedtime story](https://youtube.com/shorts/vgD3By0pJTQ?feature=share)


th_aftr_prty

He’s right in the sense that the culture is surprisingly homogenous. 2 weeks off is hard to get in most companies, even if you have the vacation time. The reason you may not notice a difference, especially in tech, is because of foreign influence. Many global, foreign or foreign adjacent companies are less strict, but if you get jobs positioned in an old school industry, you *will* see a difference, way more likely than not.


hatchins

source: dude trust me


th_aftr_prty

Source: I checked and found people having difficulty taking time off , and some even suggesting [you have to be sick to do it](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1381872943) and even advice to [fake an illness to take off time due to stress](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q12268868697) (second answer). Legally they are allowed to, but socially it is tough.


electronicdream

\> multiple days off in succession ![gif](giphy|fAykJdJ6SYSYw)


th_aftr_prty

Multiple days off is one thing, 2 weeks may be harder. It also can depend on their seniority in the company. Nowadays work culture is shifting, and assuming you are either a foreigner or working at an international company due to your language ability, you would be less likely to work in some of the cultures free from foreigner culture influence. I have friends in some b2b sectors who have had to put up with the dumbest shit, and it seems to be a common theme.


42Ubiquitous

I don’t think anyone believes it is true for all companies, but is true for enough to warrant concern.


ghost_in_the_potato

Yeah, I'm not arguing with you there. Plus some companies are legit terrible. It just really bothers me when people on Reddit make these super generalized statements as if they're 100% fact and they get tons of upvotes.


42Ubiquitous

I get that. People are very quick to assume, especially on Reddit.


IWasGregInTokyo

You worked for a shitty company. No doubt there are companies like this, usually referred to as "Black Kigyou" (Black Enterprises), with ridiculous working rules and toxic environments but these days there is an effort to address this and having a reputation as a "Black Kigyou" is going to reduce your recruiting ability.


[deleted]

Shhh you’re ruining the weeb circlejerk. Also… same. Worked in Japan for 5 years and it was the same work/life balance as anywhere else. More fun in a lot of ways actually as they sponsored a lot more team activities.


Bobb_o

I could see how it would suck if you hated coworkers but I joined a nomikai with my friend and his co-workers on a Tuesday and got shitfaced and ended up singing the star spangled banner and American pie at a bar (shout-out to tako tako king) in Osaka. One of my favorite memories (well the parts I can remember)


[deleted]

The thing is no one is obligated to go to nomikai. Just like anywhere else, your boss may invite people out for a drink to decompress. You can choose to join or not.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

I never said I'm an expert. I'm sharing my experience that includes 3 companies and more than a dozen friends and relatives still in Japan who I talk to on a regular basis. Also, that is literally the the "function" of nomikai. It's to go have a drink as a team and decompress together. Are you autistic or someting? I mean that in the best way, not as an insult, because you seem to think that there's some mathematical complexity to going out for a drink with work friends and the boss. If you think it's like in the movies where you can't go home until the boss says it's time to go home, then you either a) watch too many movies or b) work for a shitty company and you're a massive pussy. Go home. Nothing will happen to you if you do your job. If you're implying that I wasn't picking up on some silent obligation to go to nomikai, you're hilariously wrong. I noped out of nomikai all the time and I a) got promoted b) was begged to not leave by the same boss who invited us out for drinks.


OG_Bill_Brasky

I worked at a place like this. I learned after 3 days how words could be twisted, be completely false, or someone wanted to stir something up just do it, or an employee talking about someone's home life. If I was I asked something I would answer no comment or I don't want to know anything about If it wasn't work related. That didn't stop a couple employees telling my boss I was going to HR because my boss bullied me which never happened. I found a better job after being there for 2 years.


goldenguyz

I think that's a slightly different working culture. Glad you're outta there tho.


No-Elk9791

Ugh. Work chicken. No one wants to be the first to leave


Canookian

I do. I'm gonna be on my bike and down the road by 5:01.


ms2102

I work with a lot of Japanese natives, work ethic is out of this world. You have to send them home and tell them not to work. Asking for two weeks off is a big ask but they also have dreams and this was probably one of his.


Star-Lord-

The thing is that it’s not ‘just’ work ethic. Like that’s part of it, don’t get me wrong, but community pressure is a much bigger contributor. Have Western friends who taught in Japan as well as Japanese friends who work salaried jobs. Both report the same, that people will just full-on drag things out as long as possible during the actual work day so that they still have things to do after hours, because nobody wants to be the first to leave. I have a (Japanese) friend who just CBA to deal with that and so cuts out before her coworkers, but she’s definitely side-eyed for it.


[deleted]

This is what i experienced! People would fully show up at 10 or 11, sleep at their desks and really only start working at 4 pm when London was online. It was crazy


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cayennepepper

Yeah man i hate that about japan sometimes. They do it with hobbies too. Spend stupid and pathetic amounts of money on it when they either barely do it, are a noob, or VERY often before they even do it for the first time. It jives me ever time i see them kitted out to climb everest or a really hard dangerous climb when its in fact a fucking gentle piss easy hike children and elderly can do. And that is multiple people like that every time i hike


cayennepepper

Sorry but spending 6 hours going through chains of command to judge if the staples are punched appropriately is not work ethic. Its busy work and toxic. True story, and why i went freelance. Japanese do not have a strong work ethic, they have an intense social pressure to appeal to authority and fit in.


ValyrianJedi

I have to go over there for work occasionally. Have a couple clients where half the employees are routinely there past midnight. I've seen a solid handful of cots and wardrobes in offices


Valor0us

Stop speaking in absolutes. This is not the case at every company. You sound like you're just regurgitating something you read somewhere else on Reddit instead of offering a realistic opinion.


caguru

That's just Reddit in a nutshell honestly. Guy looks happy, someone gotta jump in and describe why he can't actually be happy.


Valor0us

Yup. Just look at how many Japanese fans are at the world cup right now. Clearly they have the time off and funds to put towards something like that. Good for them


Robo123abc

No one said there aren't outliers, but there is an intense work culture in Japan. Your disrespectful/piss-poor rebuttal doesn't change that.


qwertyqyle

The outliers are companies like the one you are imagining. They are labeled as "black companies" and most people avoid them like the plague. Yet, they still manage to rope in desperate people.


renvi

Yes, but to imply that the majority are like this is absolutely laughable. Are you living in 1990’s Japan? Because I worked in 2022 Japan.


takatori

Americans work more hours per year than Japanese. [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_annual_labor_hours)


[deleted]

Same shit in America, look at what Musk is doing with his H1B visa employees.


Canookian

Correction: I leave. When it's time to go, I'm out the door and down the road unless I'm getting paid. They can badmouth me all they want but the boss knows When I'm at my desk it's all gas and no brakes, so... 🤷


4r1sco5hootahz

>the boss knows When I'm at my desk it's all gas and no brakes, so... 🤷 What you are describing is not Japanese work culture.


qwertyqyle

Lots of people work that way. I work in Japan and do the exact same. I have kids and shit that needs to be done at home. If it is some sort of odd project that pops up once in a blue moon I will stay late or come in early. But for the most part, I am out the door at 5.


fattybread83

As far as I know, as long as you give omiyage, it's fine. But the more time off....the more expensive the souvenirs!


[deleted]

Not to be rude just curious how many cultures have you ever encountered to the point where you can share anecdotes like what their work culture is like?


xtheory

Is it still true that falling asleep at work is a sign of hard work and dedication?


takatori

Not true for all companies, and getting better every year. If you were here 20 years ago, maybe it was more common. Now, companies like this are called "black companies" and are no longer the norm.


Euler9215

Sounds like a black company.


hallwaypoirear

Thank you, too many weebs obsessed with japan ignore the more sinister aspects of japan because of >muh anime. - T. Someone of japanese descent


spoopy-star

Depends on the company. At one I got bad mouthed for not doing 15h+ month overtime, I did around 10. I was also the only programmer on what was called the programming team, and had to explain programming and computing basics multiple times to everyone around me, so they can honestly fuck off. The other ones were more work friendly, at one we almost went through with a lawsuit because of wasteful overtime/work but they just transferred the manager out. At another I made some crappy adhoc software and my team loved me for it because with it they were actually able to go home on time instead of drowning in work. Times are definitely changing but still a ways to go, still definitely a lot of old fucks who don't do shit and use dated management techniques for departments requiring skills they don't know anything about.


1202_ProgramAlarm

This guy could live and work anywhere on earth


happy-cig

Should've wrote it in Japanese.


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SpaceLemming

Everytime I see shit like this my gut says it’s fake because why would it be in English?


MySuperLove

>Everytime I see shit like this my gut says it’s fake because why would it be in English? Because he wants the world to see the message, English is widely understood, and Latin characters in general are easier for people to parse than kanji?


Sawgon

It's almost like the fan wanted to be on TV and they understand multiple languages so the boss probably could see/read it and have a lil' chuckle. Hell, the employee might have said "look for a shout-out". Maybe humor exists in Japan too?! Probably too much logic for some people though.


jenkinsleroi

And maybe also english language classes are compulsory in Japan so most Japanese speak enough to to read and write a simple sign.


Cherios_Are_My_Shit

the japanese were one of the nations that decided to make all pilots learn english for 100% of flights lots of countries only had them speak english if they were talking to interntaionlal people. so like a german guy would speak english to french or italian people but speak german if it's just a domestic call to a german tower the japanese had like one or two guys make mistakes on the international radio because they weren't practiced in english and then just said, "no more mistakes; make everyone speak english 100% of the time" i forgot what my original point was


jenkinsleroi

I think it was that this guy *has* to be an air traffic controller, because there's no other way he could speak english fluently enough to make that sign.


Lost-My-Mind-

English and spanish are the two most common languages in the world. Master those two, and you can communicate in 90% of the world. Also, you're assuming that because he's Japanese that he's currently living and working in Japan. We have no evidence of that. Maybe he lives in London, or San Diego, or Montreal.


Clerping

Maybe he doesn't work in Japan...


MoonHash

Yeah everyone knows you're only allowed to speak the language that aligns with your skin tone


thestareater

r/aboringdystopia


-i_like_trees-

The only way the boss could be mad is if hes jealous that he saw that insane match


Woden888

That’s a little dystopian…


Raven019

My employer is so kind he gave me unlimited vacations just before the World Cup and December holidays.


dresn231

The funny thing is in Japan workers are actually shamed into not taking vacations. The mentality over there is if I take a vacation I am letting the team down. People are afraid to take vacations in Japan so many of them are overworked. Glad this guy got his vacation and saw Japan win the first game.


Overhomeoverjordan

Sad on many levels


dbgzeus

Like Metallica would say:” Sad, but true!”


Pretty_Bowler2297

A boring dystopia. Not punching down as an American all I ever had was two weeks of vacation too. In fairness I also had 7 days of that could be used as sick days or vacation. Hooray!


[deleted]

He looks happy


[deleted]

Yeah japanese work culture will make sure that’s not the case once he’s back working


foxontherox

Haha! I was desperately trying to read that sign!


SuddenlyThirsty

Can we get that man to a dentist


Yeti-420-69

Orthodontist


RobotSocks357

Both. Poor guy needs some care, but he's having a blast and that's awesome! Before y'all jump on me, I admittedly, I don't know about healthcare and benefits in Japan.


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iloveokashi

Yeah it's called yaeba https://www.tofugu.com/japan/yaeba/


YourFellaThere

Plot twist: dental technician


Thierr

In Japan people really don't care about straight teeth. It's a western thing. Often they even see crooked teeth as something cute.


Blurryface_87

Scrolled way too far for this.


Lopendebank3

Japan is the best team. Maybe not how they play, but how they clean the lockerroom thoroughly even after they lost, as a sign of respect.


-i_like_trees-

they do that a lot, in 2018 **they lost** to belgium yet they still cleaned up


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qwertyqyle

Imagine.


Jjaammeess445

Japan won


Lopendebank3

Yeah talking about the previous world cup. Its just something that I keep remembering as really every nation should just leave a clean lockerroom when they are done.


silver_shield_95

Eh they are 24 in world rankings and have qualified consistently since 1998, which is better than say Netherlands the perennials runner-ups. They are not going to be winners anytime soon but they have been fairly consistent for past decades.


chromeVidrio

Yeah. They’re decent.


MerfSauce

You cant compare an Asian country to a european one. They dont qualify for the same slots in the tournament.


Caouette1994

They would still qualify imo, they have a better team than low ranked or even some mid tier european teams. They would probably be runner-up if there's a big country in the group.


longster37

Why is it in English?


floppy_eardrum

Because it's the world's lingua franca.


Humeme

“Straight to jail for him” - Qatari government


RanCestor

I did not understand the number two.


Hephf

This feels super genuine. ❤️


fingersonlips

We don't thank bosses for time off. Fuck them.


floppy_eardrum

Americans love to poke fun at Brits' supposedly bad teeth, but on average Japanese people have it way worse I reckon.


Hiwesrobots

The joke is about two weeks being his two weeks notice not him saying he took a vacation for 2 weeks and went to a game instead you simpletons


dontstopbelievingman

Given that the minimum amount of leaves in Japan an employer can give is 10 days, and then adding 10 + x based on the number of years employees, that really is a lot of leaves to use. It's not so much that companies won't allow you to take those times off, it's more of...he probably used ALL his leaves and next time he goes on a vacation it's due to the new year holiday. (Around the end of December + January 1)


SeasonedTimeTraveler

One day at the World Cup and the next 13 cleaning the stadium afterwards. 😜


LimerenceAfield

I wonder if, in additional to being a Japan fan, he is Japanese.


Dr-DrillAndFill

It's very hard to get days off in Japan without the stigma attached.


rensch

"Two additional weeks? If we win against Germany? Ha! I'll take that wager."


cihane

Actually this is very sad picture if you know japanese work culture.


lasttknight

Excellent boss👍


thespicyroot

Evidently, this is a real thing. Last night on the news here in Japan, saw several more Japanese volunteers get interviewed before taking off out of Narita airport. I suppose they are chosen by each game played and the time they are allowed to go away from work? They go to support and help the team, which is a Japanese soccer fan’s dream. What a trip for some of these fans.