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Intermediate Japanese - Free Online Course
MADO-GIWA-ZOKU
窓際族
the window seat tribe
The typical Japanese worker likes to be busy at work, and eagerly accepts positions of responsibility. However, sometimes employees who have passed their prime (or proven themselves unreliable) are given decreased workloads. These workers are often given a seat by the window, where they idle their workdays away. These workers comprise the so-called “window-seat tribe,” or mado-giwa-zoku.
Most mado-giwa-zoku employees are middle managers who have managerial titles, but no subordinates, and little responsibility. Japanese companies are traditionally hesitant to shed redundant staff, so the fate of the mado-giwa-zoku is a kind of “in-house retirement.”
From one perspective, this might not seem like a bad bargain for the window seat employees. They continue to draw paychecks, but don’t have to work much in return. However, few Japanese aspire to become mado-giwa-zoku--and most look upon those workers with a mixture of disdain and pity. In group-oriented Japan, personal identity is closely tied to one’s identity at work. Therefore, a worker who has been put out to pasture in this way suffers from a loss of self-esteem--not to mention boredom.
