Japan End of Year Party Preferences: Updated Feb. 20, 2024.

 

60% of Japanese workers want no part of traditional New Year's office parties: survey

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231213/p2a/00m/0na/010000c

Article:

TOKYO -- Nearly 60% of working adults in Japan have no interest in going to New Year's parties with colleagues, according to survey results released by a private research institute on Dec. 11.

In Japan, coworkers often have a dinner and drinks party in December -- a "bonenkai," or "forget the year party" -- followed by another in January to welcome the new year. The November online survey by Job Soken, the research arm of Tokyo-based career consultancy Laibo Inc., asked people how willing they were to attend the latter functions come 2024.

Ideas:

What used to be end of the year parties or gatherings, was common in many countries. But now maybe people want to have time on their own and or with their families and don't feel the need to spend more time with those from their office.

Maybe it was almost a mandatory dinner or party meeting where company workers were required and expected to attend. But since the pandemic, or even before, many workplace rituals have been changing as workers look for more work/life balance situations, which means of course less after work meetings and or dinners, and less parties.

Also, in South Korea, for example, because of the "me too" movement, there have been less meetings, dinner parties and after work gatherings, where men and women meet together, as companies shy away from such meetings and dinner parties.

Article:

In sum, 57.4% of the 559 working women and men aged from their 20s to their 50s who responded declared they were "absolutely unwilling to participate," "unwilling to participate" or "somewhat unwilling to participate." By age group, those in their 30s had the highest percentage at 63.0%, followed by those in their 20s at 55.9%, people in their 40s at 55.8%, and respondents in their 50s at 52.1%.

Meanwhile, 42.6% answered that they "would definitely like to participate," "would like to participate" or "would somewhat like to participate."

Ideas:

Most likely, now, many workers no longer feel attending after work meetings or dinner parties is a requirement for advancement in the company. It used to be if you didn't attend the parties or dinner meetings, you were not considered advanceable to higher level positions. 

Now those times might be changing as maybe the workplace in Japan is not the center of the universe as people look to home, families, and work/life balance as being as important or more important.

But of course maybe in the old-line traditional Japanese companies, after work meetings, dinner parties, and end of year parties are still very important.

Article:

When the 320 respondents who did not want to go to New Year's parties were asked the reasons for their reluctance, 48.4% said they did not see the need, 46.8% said they were tired of putting energy into intense social interaction, 46.5% said they wanted to prioritize their private life, and 43.0% said they were concerned about the cost.

The survey also asked about the need for a "New Year's party culture" in the workplace. The majority (62.1%) of the respondents answered that they "do not think it is necessary." In the free response section, comments included, "I'm tired of year-end parties, and I want to give both my wallet and my mind a break in the New Year," and "I can communicate enough at year-end parties."

Job Soken concluded, "The results suggest the way drinking parties are held each season needs to change in line with post-coronavirus pandemic values, such as by holding either a year-end party or a New Year's party."

Ideas:

It seems that maybe Japanese workers are now tired of having to go the holiday parties and then again go to New Year parties, within a few weeks in most cases. 

In the US or Europe maybe there are fewer parties, if any, and they are for the most part, voluntary and not a job requirement.

Of course, maybe Japan is, or used to be about formality and end of the year meetings were always about ritual and customs, but maybe again,  since the pandemic or even before, Japan society has been changing from a group society to more based on individual happiness and less about group happiness.

Of course Japan has a lot of required rituals, such as end of the year gift giving, the summer Obon, gift giving that might not change much, but the end of year parties and regular dinner meetings might be on the way out or will be less emphasized in the future.

Have a nice day and be safe!