Germans and Japanese at work

Sometimes, a good way to learn about a culture is to compare it to another. I recently read a fascinating book that does just that for work culture—it compares the German way of working with the Japanese one.

It was hardly a neutral analysis given the title: The Germans’ Amazing Way of Working: The Secret to Taking 3 Times More Vacation Than Japan While Achieving 1.5 Times the Results (translated title of this Japanese book).¹ Rather, the Japanese author, Shigeki Nishimura, strongly advocates adopting many German working practices in Japan.

Nishimura is well placed to evaluate both working systems. He began his career in the IT industry in a Japanese company. Despite working long hours, he didn’t achieve as much as he had hoped, and he was at risk of burnout.

That changed when he went on a business trip to Germany and witnessed a totally different approach to work. In particular, German workers would leave the office early most days and would take extended holidays—things that are virtually unheard of in Japan. He subsequently worked in Germany for 17 years.

Some key differences

Nishimura notes that while Japanese people tend to work much longer hours, their productivity is often much lower than that of Germans. Personal time is highly valued in Germany, and Germans often have interests outside of work that they engage in. Thus, work does not consume their whole lives. This contrasts with the traditional view in Japan, where work often takes precedence over family life and other interests.

Germans also view holidays as vital times for recharging and being refreshed. Even during the day, they might take a break and go for a stroll in nature. These practices help boost motivation and creativity, as well as prevent burnout. In Japan, workers often feel apologetic and even guilty about taking holidays because their colleagues will need to cover for them.

Another big difference is how meetings are run. In Germany, meetings are only held if needed; if the purpose is to share information, other ways will be found. German meetings are usually highly focused with a well-defined agenda. Only people who need to be in a meeting attend—it’s fine to skip a meeting if you feel you have little to contribute. In contrast, meetings in Japan often involve a lot of people and run for considerably longer.

German offices tend to be very conducive for work. They often have café areas where employees can chat and connect with each other. Working areas are spacious and comfortable, and desks are kept tidy, with everything in its assigned place, so no time is wasted looking for things. Before leaving for the day, employees take a few minutes to tidy their desks. In Japan, people work in rather cramped environments with desks very close to one another.

Another big difference is management style. German managers often are servant leaders, seeing one of their main roles as supporting and nurturing those under them. Workers are encouraged to consult with their bosses at an early stage about any concerns they might have. In contrast, Japan tends to be more hierarchical with bosses mainly giving orders to those below them.

Finally, when Germans encounter a problem, they see it as an opportunity to improve and to deepen connections within their team. They will try to get to the source of the problem and fix it rather than find workarounds or stopgap measures. Instead of blaming something on human error, they will try to fix the system to ensure it doesn’t happen again. This involves having open, and sometimes strong, exchanges of opinion among team members. This is difficult in a Japanese environment where more indirect approaches to problem-solving are often adopted.

Nishimura acknowledges that the German and Japanese working systems have their strengths and weaknesses, and he doesn’t recommend full-scale adoption of German working practices in Japan. Instead, his book contains many practical steps that could help Japanese workers boost their efficiency.

Some thoughts

While most missionaries won’t experience the Japanese workplace firsthand, it can be helpful to appreciate what most Japanese people encounter each day. Also, Japanese working culture can play out in churches and ministries, for example, in people’s expectations of how meetings will be run and how leaders will lead. This may contrast strongly with the work cultures of the home countries of missionaries.

I asked Judith Ricken, a missionary from Germany in Japan, for her impressions of differences between the two work cultures. She noted that efficiency can sometimes be overvalued in Germany—things like connecting with colleagues while working are also important.

She thought that the Japanese could improve how meetings are conducted. “To save energy and protect people from burnout, Japanese could learn from Germany how to have more efficient meetings,” she said. “But it’s not so easy since it involves the whole culture—meetings in Germany are more efficient partly because people say directly what they think and aren’t afraid to have a different opinion from someone else.” She also noted that in Japan, everyone is given an opportunity to express their thoughts, which is helpful for quieter, less forthright people.

The Japanese way of working has its own unique strengths, but Japanese workers could also benefit from learning from how people in other cultures work. I like Nishimura’s approach of adopting some aspects from German working culture, rather than wholesale adoption. I wonder if missionaries could also be agents for change through introducing small reforms to how ministries and churches are run, all of the time being conscious of the positive aspects of the Japanese working system. 

1. 西村 栄基, ドイツ人のすごい働き方 日本の3倍休んで成果は1.5倍の秘密 (すばる舎, 2024).