Job Discussion Forums

[sethness]

BTW, Katk, the spellingis "inquisitive", not "inquizative".
I'm looking at your SIG photo now.
Nice bike... Mine's an Honda Davidson American-type. WHat's yours, Ducati ? Kawasaki ?

To Yeka:
Doing extra work, buying stuff-- that employee doesn't sound very Japanese, or at least not very socially aware. Your Japanese co-workers are engaging in what one of my students (a manager-type) calls "Big Company Sickness", and most others call "me-dachi", or the fear of sticking out. When a worker is too eager, too full of suggestions or volunteerism, it makes everyone else in the office look bad by comparison, so the rest of the office turns on that person...it's not jealousy, but anger and a lack of "team spirit". In a big company, this means everyone's afraid of making suggestions or changes, or working faster than the person next to them. So, as a group, they all sort of slow down and stagnate. Weird, but...to get promoted you have to "volunteer" to come in early and stay late for free, but god forbid that you should be more productive than others, in that space of time. Nyyyarrrgh.

To the Original Poster:
I dont' have any advice beyond "confront the person, go for it. He/she probably doesn't think the behaviour's annoying. Practice the conversation in your head or with with some friends, so when you ultimately talk to this offender, he/she won't be able to escape the logic and compelling nature of your argument. You've got the advantage of surprise, so use it to plan your 'attack'. "

To everyone:
Speaking of over-genki, is anyone else, like me, bothered to distraction by the prozac-fed over-genkiness of gasoline stand workers in Japan ? I find myself frequenting the one and only gas stand where the employees are REAL, not that hyped-up fake "I'm so happy to eat your dung Mr. Customer, Sirrrrr !" version of reality that the other stands do.

[sethness]

Oops...

I meant to say anger AT A lack of team spirit, not anger AND A lack of "team spirit". The folks who try not to stand out are thought to be full of team spirit, not the super-genki guy who wants to be a singlehanded hero.

[denise]

Sethness--

What annoys me are not the gas station attendants (I always go to the same place at the bottom of the hill, so I feel a certain closeness to them...) but the superficial and way-too-genki greetings that I get upon entering a convenience store or supermarket. Sure, if I happen to pass by someone and they happen not to be busy and to be looking my direction, a greeting is nice and flattering. But when it's belted out at the top of the lungs by EVERY EMPLOYEE IN THE FRIGGIN' STORE, most of whom are busy doing other things anyway and thus not even looking, it bugs the crap out of me!!!! Customer service and politeness are great until they cross the line into absurdly superficial and forced.

d

[ronin]

I hate it when foreigners especially guys that speak Japanese to Genki, it annoys the h-ell out of me, I remember one time I went to dinner with a Genki Japanese speaking foreigner his girlfriend and two of my friends. He was being so Genki with his Japanese speaking I told him �shut the h-ell up with your happy Japanese before I hurt you!" He proceeded to smile and say in a Genki screech saved by the bell way with extra hyper ness "OH!!!! GOMINASAII!!!!!!" I stretched over the table to strangle him but my two Japanese friends I was with held me back. A year later I saw Genki boys girlfriend here in Toronto at a language exchange on a WHV I walked up to her and said "Hey remember me?" not knowing what her reaction would be She looked at me and started laughing and nodded yes. She told me that she broke up with her "Genki boyfriend soon after that incident at the restaurant" She felt embarrassed to be with him he was to "genki" even afterwards! Me and her are dating he he!

[katk]

Tha bike looks like it is a ducati monster, it isn't mine i refuse to ride them i am more into import cars, that picture was taken at the cycle world show in 2003. I used to model for ducati.
thanks for the spelling correction i don't tend to worry about spelling and gramar etc while on message forums or on AIM.... but thanks, in another ten years or so that lesson may come in handy when i write out that word again.