Work & Office Life

Introduction

Japan’s intense work culture has generated its own slang vocabulary. From 社畜 (corporate livestock) to ブラック企業 (black company = exploitative employer), these terms capture the realities of Japanese working life.

This chapter covers slang related to jobs, office culture, and the daily grind in Japan.

Themes

All Japanese Slang in This Chapter (80)

1. 社畜 しゃちく A corporate slave — someone who works excessively long hours with blind loyalty to their company, sacrificing personal life.
2. 根回し ねまわし Behind-the-scenes consensus building — privately discussing and gaining agreement from stakeholders before an official meeting or decision.
3. 忖度 そんたく Guessing and proactively catering to a superior's unspoken wishes or intentions without being directly asked.
4. リモートワーク リモートワーク Remote work or working from home, typically using a computer and internet connection.
5. テレワーク テレワーク Telework — the official and governmental term for working remotely, often used in formal or policy contexts.
6. ワーケーション ワーケーション Working remotely while on vacation — combining work and leisure in a travel destination.
7. 副業 ふくぎょう A side job or side hustle done in addition to one's main employment.
8. フリーランス フリーランス A freelancer or self-employed independent worker who takes on projects from various clients.
9. ノマドワーカー ノマドワーカー A digital nomad — someone who works remotely from various locations like cafes, coworking spaces, or while traveling.
10. 終身雇用 しゅうしんこよう The lifetime employment system where employees work at one company from graduation until retirement.
11. 年功序列 ねんこうじょれつ The seniority-based system where pay and promotions are determined by years of service rather than performance.
12. お局 おつぼね A senior female employee who acts bossy or bullies younger colleagues, especially other women.
13. 窓際族 まどぎわぞく A sidelined employee who has been given no meaningful work and essentially sits by the window doing nothing until retirement.
14. 名ばかり管理職 なばかりかんりしょく A manager in title only — someone given a management title but with no real authority, often to avoid paying overtime.
15. サービス残業 サービスざんぎょう Unpaid overtime work — working extra hours without receiving overtime compensation.
16. 過労死 かろうし Death caused by overwork — typically from heart failure, stroke, or suicide due to excessive work hours and stress.
17. ワークライフバランス ワークライフバランス Work-life balance — the concept of maintaining a healthy equilibrium between professional and personal life.
18. プレミアムフライデー プレミアムフライデー Premium Friday — a government campaign encouraging workers to leave at 3 PM on the last Friday of each month.
19. 働き方改革 はたらきかたかいかく Work-style reform — the government's comprehensive initiative to reduce overwork and improve working conditions in Japan.
20. 就活 しゅうかつ Job hunting activities by university students — the structured process of seeking employment before graduation.
21. 転職 てんしょく Changing jobs or making a career switch — leaving one company to work at another.
22. 退職代行 たいしょくだいこう A resignation agency service that quits your job on your behalf — you never have to face your boss again.
23. FIRE ファイア Financial Independence, Retire Early — the movement of saving and investing aggressively to retire well before the traditional age.
24. 脱サラ だつサラ Quitting a salaried corporate job to start one's own business or pursue a completely different career path.
25. ゆるブラック ゆるブラック A company that's easy and relaxed but offers no career growth, skill development, or advancement opportunities.
26. 静かな退職 しずかなたいしょく Quiet quitting — doing only the bare minimum required at work without going above and beyond.
27. 上司ガチャ じょうしガチャ The luck of the draw for getting a good or bad boss — implying that your boss is randomly assigned like a gacha game capsule.
28. 報連相 ほうれんそう Report-Contact-Consult — the fundamental workplace communication framework of reporting, informing, and consulting with colleagues and su...
29. 空気を読む くうきをよむ Reading the room — sensing the unspoken mood, expectations, or social atmosphere and acting accordingly.
30. 意識高い系 いしきたかいけい A pretentiously ambitious person who ostentatiously displays self-improvement, career ambition, and social awareness — often more talk th...
31. キャリアアップ キャリアアップ Career advancement — improving one's professional position through promotions, skill development, or job changes.
32. スキルアップ スキルアップ Improving or upgrading one's professional skills through training, study, or practice.
33. リスキリング リスキリング Reskilling — learning entirely new skills to transition into a different career field or adapt to changing industry demands.
34. オンボーディング オンボーディング The new employee onboarding process — structured activities to integrate a new hire into the organization.
35. OJT オージェーティー On-the-job training — learning skills through actual work experience rather than in a classroom setting.
36. フレックス フレックス Flextime — a flexible working hours system where employees choose their start and end times within certain parameters.
37. 裁量労働 さいりょうろうどう A discretionary work system where employees are paid based on deemed working hours regardless of actual hours worked.
38. 有給 ゆうきゅう Paid leave or paid vacation days — time off from work with full salary.
39. ズル休み ズルやすみ Playing hooky or faking sick — skipping work or school without a legitimate reason.
40. ノー残デー ノーざんデー No-overtime day — a designated day when employees are expected to leave work on time without doing overtime.
41. 定時退社 ていじたいしゃ Leaving work right at the scheduled end time without doing any overtime.
42. 持ち帰り仕事 もちかえりしごと Work taken home from the office; invisible or unpaid overtime done outside the workplace.
43. ぶら下がり社員 ぶらさがりしゃいん An employee who coasts along doing the bare minimum, relying on job security without contributing meaningfully.
44. リストラ リストラ Corporate restructuring, especially layoffs and workforce reduction.
45. 肩たたき かたたたき A subtle hint or gentle push from management for an employee to resign voluntarily.
46. 天下り あまくだり A retired government bureaucrat parachuting into a cushy executive position at a private company, often one they previously regulated.
47. コネ入社 コネにゅうしゃ Getting hired at a company through personal connections or nepotism rather than through the normal recruitment process.
48. ジョブ型 ジョブがた A job-based employment system where employees are hired for specific roles with clearly defined duties and expertise.
49. メンバーシップ型 メンバーシップがた The traditional Japanese employment model where employees are hired as generalist company members rather than for specific roles.
50. エンゲージメント エンゲージメント Employee engagement; the level of motivation, commitment, and emotional investment workers have in their jobs and company.
51. 心理的安全性 しんりてきあんぜんせい Psychological safety — the belief that you can speak up, make mistakes, and share ideas without fear of punishment or humiliation at work.
52. 1on1 ワンオンワン A one-on-one meeting between a manager and a team member, typically held regularly for feedback, career discussion, and relationship buil...
53. 多様性 たようせい Diversity — the concept of embracing varied backgrounds, perspectives, and identities in the workplace and society.
54. ダイバーシティ ダイバーシティ Diversity; the English loanword version used as a corporate inclusion buzzword in Japanese workplaces.
55. タスク管理 タスクかんり Task management — organizing, prioritizing, and tracking work items and to-do lists.
56. デッドライン デッドライン Deadline; the final date or time by which a task or project must be completed.
57. MTG ミーティング Meeting; an abbreviation commonly used in Japanese workplace schedules and calendars.
58. アジェンダ アジェンダ Agenda; a list of topics or items to be discussed in a meeting.
59. リマインド リマインド A reminder or follow-up nudge, typically sent to confirm deadlines, meetings, or pending tasks.
60. CC爆撃 シーシーばくげき CC-bombing — the practice of adding excessive numbers of people to the CC field of emails, flooding inboxes unnecessarily.
61. チャットで チャットで Let's discuss it on chat (Slack, Teams, etc.) — a common redirect phrase when email or in-person discussion isn't the best channel.
62. ボトルネック ボトルネック Bottleneck — a person, process, or factor that slows down overall progress or blocks a project.
63. 炎上案件 えんじょうあんけん A project or situation that has gone disastrously wrong, spiraling into chaos and controversy.
64. デスマーチ デスマーチ Death march — an extremely grueling work period with unrealistic deadlines, minimal rest, and intense pressure to deliver.
65. ブレスト ブレスト Brainstorming session — an informal meeting where team members freely generate ideas without judgment.
66. ローンチ ローンチ Launch — releasing a new product, service, or project to the public.
67. コミット コミット To commit — pledging firmly to deliver specific results or dedicating fully to a goal.
68. PDCA ピーディーシーエー Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle — a management methodology for continuous improvement, often used as a corporate buzzword.
69. KPI ケーピーアイ Key Performance Indicator — a measurable target or metric used to evaluate success in the workplace.
70. ジェネレーションギャップ ジェネレーションギャップ Generation gap — differences in values, communication styles, and work attitudes between older and younger colleagues.
71. Z世代 ゼットせだい Gen Z — the youngest generation currently in the workforce, born roughly from the mid-1990s to early 2010s.
72. 氷河期世代 ひょうがきせだい The ice age generation — people who graduated and entered the job market during Japan's severe economic recession of the late 1990s to ea...
73. テレハラ テレハラ Telework harassment — unfair treatment, invasive monitoring, or excessive pressure directed at remote workers.
74. マミートラック マミートラック Mommy track — the career stagnation that women experience after having children, being sidelined from promotions and challenging assignme...
75. エア出勤 エアしゅっきん Fake commuting — pretending to go to work while actually being unemployed, on leave, or working remotely somewhere else.
76. ギバー ギバー A giver — someone who proactively helps others at work, shares knowledge, and contributes to the team without expecting anything in return.
77. テイカー テイカー A taker — someone who primarily takes from others at work, seeking personal benefit without reciprocating or contributing to the team.
78. フルリモ フルリモ Fully remote work — working entirely from home or another location without ever going to the office.
79. リモハラ リモハラ Remote harassment — invasive or inappropriate behavior targeting remote workers during video calls or digital communication.
80. クソ上司 クソじょうし A crappy boss — a blunt, vulgar complaint about a terrible, incompetent, or toxic manager.