Sitting in my office I see 69 other Japanese people busy working at their desks. When they look at me, they probably see a foreigner busy at his. Little do they know that I'm currently writing this, and before that I spent an hour reading the news from back home, another hour e-mailing my mates around the world and a further hour talking to the secretary.

I pose the question, 'do my Japanese co-workers know how unproductive I am?' Honestly, it doesn't particularly worry me either way because I know that I work when I have it, I never miss a deadline, and I've had nothing but positive feedback about the job I am doing.

I have spent much of my free time over the past months studying what my co-workers are doing and how they spend their time. Obviously they are a lot busier than me; I am the first to admit that.

But if one spends enough time watching, then a different picture starts to be painted and questions start to arise. Why so much overtime? Why get to work so early and leave so late? Why spend only a few hours a day with your family? Why is work considered the be all and end all?

I ask these questions for a magnitude of reasons. As I sit at my desk I notice things which wouldn't be noticed if I myself didn't have the time to spend watching. I now know that Mr. ==== and Mr. ==== nap every morning from 10am to 11am, Ms ==== and Ms ==== disappear for an hour a day to chat in the hallway, Mr. ==== reads the newspaper (apparently he is looking for articles relevant to his job), and Ms ==== walks from one end of the office to the other twice an hour and does nothing on the way.

Ask any of my co-workers and they will say they are flat out busy. But chances are, during the following hour they will be passed out on their desk, or searching the net for tomorrows weather. Now it seems to me that this is not exactly what one would call productive.

Luckily I have found a friend in the secretary who does not fool herself into thinking that she is busy, and we often chat. I asked her the questions I posed before, and she answered that it's a result of cultural expectations. If your co-workers are busy then you must stay to offer moral support, even if you have nothing to do yourself.

Fair enough; a very honorable thing to do.
I understand there is a cultural basis to the Japanese work ethic. I respect that, but I don't understand why it has to be that way.

My co-workers don't need to work the hours they do. If everyone left for home earlier, then the hour nap before lunch wouldn't be needed, the newspaper could be read at home, or the chat could be done in the more pleasant surrounding of a coffee shop. I can only see positives if people were honest about the work they have, worked to complete it in a timely fashion, and then called it a day at a respectable hour. The result? More family time, more personal time, less stress, and thus a more fulfilling life.

I know that attitudes in the Japanese workplace are not going to change in a hurry, if at all. I know I am viewing this through the eyes of a foreigner, but as I wait another 20 minutes before I go home I can't help but feel that if you removed a Japanese worker from the rigors of the Japanese workplace you'd see a much relieved sole.