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Conversations in Management

Mitsui & Co. Employee Dorm Rule

Greet each other properly.

Like most Japanese companies, Tokyo-based Mitsui fell on hard times in the 1990’s. In the 80’s, the close alignment of the Japanese government with Japan’s private sector created what was popularly called Japan, Inc. This economic juggernaut appeared to be on the brink of world domination when Japan’s stock and real estate markets collapsed. From a high of 38,957 in December 1989, the Nikkei average fell to 7,603 before slowly rebounding thirteen years later. In response, Japanese companies did what all companies do under similar circumstances—they cut expenses and rethought how they did business. Ironically, they began to adopt American-style management techniques at the same time America was looking to Japan for inspiration. While they adopted merit-based pay, individual performance targets and job competition, American companies were embracing Japanese models of teamwork and Kaizen. One of the first casualties of this new management approach was the company dormitory. Since the 1950’s Japanese companies had provided dorms for new, unmarried employees. Part of the purpose was to offer inexpensive living for low-paid employees in notoriously expensive cities. Another purpose, however, was to foster teamwork and to promote the employee’s identity with the company. The dorms were successful on both counts, but they were expensive to maintain and with the new focus on the individual, companies closed them and instead offered rent subsidies.

Over time, the efficiencies and new management approaches paid off. The markets stabilized and companies returned to profitability. Something of value, though, had been lost. Many complained that workers had become strangers to one another and that communication was becoming, “nonexistent.” Increasingly corporate leaders believed that the sense of team spirit—soshikiryoku—that had once propelled them to greatness needed to be restored. And so, company dorms are making a comeback. Mitsui reopened five in the hopes that, “group residence will nurture communication and interpersonal skills.” By all accounts, the effort is working. The employees are enthusiastic about getting to know colleagues and developing new friendships. One resident even cites freedom as a benefit of dorm life. This seems an odd benefit because communal living comes with rules; though the Mitsui dorm lists only five. They range from the pedestrian, “no littering,” to the paternalistic, “no visitors of the opposite sex.” Of the five, only one rule—greet each other properly—really gets to the heart of what the experience is all about—communicating.

Everyone agrees that communication is important and that the lack of it is major workplace problem. We tend to think of it as a big problem that requires an expensive fix. The Mitsui rule reminds us that good communications starts with a simple greeting. A lot of folks show up to work with a bleary, “I’m not a morning person,” look on their face. They lumber into the office with nary an acknowledgement that their colleagues even exist. Of course no one likes to be ignored and so the slighted worker responds in kind. People who can’t express a civil “good morning” aren’t likely to become models of team spirit later in the day. In short, a proper greeting sets the tone for how you’ll continue to communicate. If you start the day upbeat and friendly you’re encouraging others to do the same. It really is hard to stay grumpy when everyone around you is pleasant. That’s not to say you have to sparkle from dawn to dusk, but a little civility will go a long way. So take the Mitsui rule to heart—greet each other properly and create a little soshikiryoku of your own.

—Ebert