How you address someone in Japan tells a lot about how you see them and their relationship to you in society. In recent years, according to researchers and news reports, many Japanese managers are taking a more respectful tone with their subordinates.
Embracing san-tsuke
In the past, many managers would skip using the honorific -san, used mostly to indicate general politeness. This is referred to as さん付け, san-tsuke, in Japanese.
In the workplace, however, most managers used to either attached the -kun (for men) or -chan (for women) diminutive endings to indicate their superiority to their subordinates. Some would just use their last names without an honorific – a practice known as yobi-sute (呼び捨て) and usually reserved for people with whom you’re close. Employees, meanwhile, tend to refer to their bosses by title, such as kachou (課長, section chief).
However, managers these days seem to be changing their approach. Recent research, says news reports, shows that 80% of managers are addressing their employees with the honorific -san. 25% still use -chan or -kun, while 18% go with yobi-sute (the answers were multiple choice).
Some companies are going further by mandating respectful forms of address. Construction company Daiwa House, for example, insists on a “flat” corporate culture where everyone – from the CEO on down – addresses each other as “-san.” Keyence in Osaka, which manufactures industrial equipment for factory automation and other applications, insists on polite Japanese (敬語; keigo) among all employees.
A growing awareness of harassment
What’s changed? In a word: awareness.
Workplace harassment has been a hot topic in Japan in recent years. Employees – particularly younger employees belonging to Gen Z – are less willing to put up with the old ways, in which bosses routinely verbally abused their direct reports. Companies, in turn, don’t want to end up on the news for creating a hostile work environment.
Many business experts contend that the lack of san-tsuke has contributed to a workplace environment in which managers feel superior to their reports and have a right to abuse them. Companies and managers, meanwhile, are worried that the mere lack of respectful forms of address can invite “misunderstandings” and accusations of harassment.
The shift in forms of address doesn’t address other issues, such as the sexual harassment female job seekers face in job searches. But it’s a good, healthy start.
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