第２８４回 Workshop報告（８月２日）

≪FIRST HALF≫

<Agenda>

Omiyage

You might have purchased “omiyage” during your summer vacation. While the word “omiyage” translates to “souvenir” in English, the concept of omiyage is different in that it’s a gift that you buy for others, rather than yourself. Specifically, it’s a gift that you buy for your work colleagues, family, and friends after returning from a trip.

For example, I recently purchased individually packed, pumpkin-flavored sweet potato cakes for my colleagues as my Hida-Takayama trip’s omiyage. Let’s talk about this unique tradition of ours.

<Questions>

1. What is your hometown omiyage? Where can you buy it?

2. What is the most unique omiyage that you have received?

3. If you were an omiyage shop staff, what would you like to sell? How would you appeal to customers?

 (Extra question)

4. Do you think the culture of omiyage is necessary, even though we can order anything online from anywhere?

<Reference>

https://www.japan-experience.com/plan-your-trip/to-know/traveling-japan/what-are-omiyage-and-which-are-the-most-popular

≪LATTER HALF≫

Quiet quitting

Quiet quitting refers to doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than necessary. Quiet quitters are rejecting the hustle culture of being constantly on and sacrificing personal and family time to go above and beyond their regular work. In the early 2020s, driven largely by social media, quiet quitting became a popular topic in the United States and elsewhere. Gallup’s 2023 “State of the Global Workplace” report stated that 59% of the global workforce consisted of quiet quitters.

One of the reasons for quiet quitting is that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more demands on employees’ time. The US workforce is smaller than before the pandemic, putting more burden on remaining employees who are often required to do more work without a pay increase. Employees suffering from burnout are responding by reconsidering how they manage their personal and professional lives, prioritizing their mental health and life outside work. Working from home or hybrid work has also contributed to some employees quiet quitting as they start feeling disconnected from other team members and their purpose at work. Disconnected employees lack a sense of belonging and lessen their contributions in meetings and other workplace activities.

Quiet quitting may have more to do with a manager’s management style than the employee’s work ethic. Employees are continually asked to go the extra mile, resulting in emotional and physical burnout. A good manager can give employees more control of their working life, creating a workplace that respects employees’ work-life balance needs. In the end, work-life harmony can be good for everyone – the employees and the business.

<Questions>

1.     Are there “quiet quitters” in your workplace? If so, how do they work?

2.     Should employees be expected to go above and beyond the requirements of their job descriptions?

3.     What do you think are effective ways to prevent quiet quitting?

<References>

What is Quiet Quitting and How Do You Prevent It?

https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/what-is-quiet-quitting-and-how-do-you-prevent-it/

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