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Drifting Into a Sea of Technology ― Polar Bear in an Office Chair (Episode 1)

A smiling polar bear sitting in an office chair

A few years ago, I left my public sector job in Switzerland and moved to Japan. From there, I drifted around from language learning to a few part-time gigs, until finally landing my first full-time job here at the Japanese tech firm Cybozu, the parent company of U.S. software provider Kintone.

Moving from the highly-regimented slow-moving public sector to the ferocious breakneck world of start-ups was in and of itself a fish-out-of-water experience. Doing so in Japan added a thick layer of mystery to the underlying bedrock of unknown. Now that I'm finally starting to get used to my surroundings, I wanted to share with you some of what I've been through. Here are a few—perhaps slightly exaggerated—examples of what I've seen and felt in my life as, essentially, a polar bear in an office chair.

The Modern Communications Specialist

Welcome to our company, we help people communicate For today's tasks I've sent you a to-do list If you have questions, DM me If you need help, here's a link to our manual For more about how we help people communicate, here's a link to our mission statement
Alex
Alex
A lot of us working in the tech sector tend to get overwhelmed by our own technology. Everything becomes so convenient that we lose those little inconveniences necessary for good communication. Just because technology is amazing and can solve almost every problem doesn't mean that it should.

Peak Efficiency

Welcome to today's meeting on improving efficiency Write down what you find inefficient and we'll read and discuss Isn't reading what we just wrote inefficient What if we all wrote the same thing Ok Dan you go first, Dan wrote, this meeting is inefficient, who agrees Everyone raises their hand, meeting adjourned
Alex
Alex
We should all care about efficiency; it's an important metric of how well we do our jobs. However, managers sometimes fall into the trap of becoming hyper-focused on efficiency. They end up spending a considerable amount of everybody's time organizing workshop after workshop. At the end of the day, efficiency is about balance—the balance between how much time I spend learning about my job, and how much I spend actually doing my job.

Reverse Culture Shock

What's it like working for a Japanese company I imagined getting on overcrowded trains Learning very formal Japanese Taking the last train home But our company is relaxed Very relaxed indeed, as a colleague strolls in at noon wearing slippers and holding a coffee
Alex
Alex
I've heard many horror stories about working for Japanese companies. Whether it's insane overtime, militaristic hierarchy or Kafkaesque bureaucracy, the "traditional" Japanese workstyle seems designed to crush your soul. Luckily, some companies are pushing hard for common sense work reform, and it just so happens that Cybozu and Kintone are at the forefront of that movement. Otherwise there would be no way for a simple polar bear like me to continue working here.
Our Jobs Are Changing. So Should the Way We Work.
Building Trust Requires Real-Life Physical Connections

Written by Alex Steullet. Edited by Mina Samejima. Illustrations by yummi.

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Writer

Alex Steullet

Alex is the editor in chief of Kintopia and part of the corporate branding department at Cybozu. He holds an LLM in Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham and previously worked for the Swiss government.

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Photographer

yummi

After gratuating from the Nihon University College of Art, yummi began working as a freelance artist. In 2015, she received an honorable mention at the 2nd The Gate competition for her work "Sanpei-sensei No Jikan" (In Her Class), as well as an excellence award at the 69th Tetsuya Chiba competition for “Himitsu No Hanazono-san” (“The Secret Girl”).

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