Piercing Through the Culture Bearrier―Polar Bear in an Office Chair (Episode 5)
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 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.
Pandemic Perks
A Reluctant Ambassador
A Cold Reception
Written by Alex Steullet. Illustrations by yummi. Edited by Mina Samejima and Ade Lee.
A Slow Return to an Unnatural Habitat―Polar Bear in an Office Chair (Episode 4)
The Bear Necessities of Quarantine Life―Polar Bear in an Office Chair (Episode 3)
Think Like a Businessbear ― Polar Bear in an Office Chair (Episode 2)
Drifting Into a Sea of Technology ― Polar Bear in an Office Chair (Episode 1)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.
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”).
