What does a normal workday in Japan look like
When people imagine working in Japan, they often think in stereotypes. But once you look at real people’s routines, the picture becomes much more nuanced.
So we asked 4 developers from our community in Japan to share what a regular workday looks like for them.
📍Dmitry, Tokyo
Works at Toyota’s software and mobility company, building next-generation technology, platforms, and tools for future mobility.
I work in a hybrid format: 3 days a week in the office and 2 remotely. Officially, my working hours are from 8–9 a.m. to 5–6 p.m., with a one-hour lunch break.
In reality, things are much more flexible. Some people come in at 11 and leave at 8, others work remotely more often. It probably depends on the team lead or manager, but overall it is easy to agree on a different schedule or a different number of office days per week.
We also have a time tracker, but most people just fill it in afterwards for several days at once, so nobody seems too stressed about it. I personally prefer to log my hours properly as I go 🙂
I work in a toolchain team. Our job is to provide development tools for other teams and, potentially, external users as well.
Most of my work is sprint-based, and I do not have that many meetings — usually around 1–2 hours a day. My routine is fairly structured: first I check work chats and emails, then help users with support requests, do code reviews, and only after that move on to my own tasks.
I work in an international company, so people come from different countries and English is the working language. That makes the environment quite comfortable. At the same time, 4 out of 6 people on my team are from Russia, so in daily communication I actually speak Russian more often than English.
The atmosphere feels comfortable and trust-based. I can take ownership of decisions and show initiative, but at the same time there is no pressure to constantly prove myself. I can simply do my work well, and that is completely fine too.
Overtime is not really part of the culture here, so I have enough time for hobbies and life outside work. And if someone finishes earlier and leaves earlier, that is not treated as a problem either.
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The rest of the stories are on Telegraph — including remote work in Fukuoka and two different developer routines in Izumo.
👉 https://telegra.ph/What-does-a-normal-workday-in-Japan-look-like-03-18 👈
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📌 Working in Japan can look very different from person to person — just like anywhere else, it depends on your company, your projects, your city, and the kind of life you build around work.
What is the work culture like in your company right now?
🦄— Relaxed and flexible
🔥— Fast and demanding
🌚— Somewhere in between
#IT_in_Japan #life_in_Japan
