There are a lot of counterintuitive things about working in a Japanese company. When you come in the door, you always say, “Good morning,” even if you’ve been at a conference all day and it’s 4 p.m.. Office romances are accepted, if not expected and encouraged.
And one of the best ways to put yourself on the fast track to promotion is by getting blotto with the boss.
In Japan, many companies do all of their hiring for the year in one batch, with all of their new employees starting at the same time in late April or early May, roughly a month after the school year ends and they graduate. With so many new faces at once, it’s customary to have a welcome party, with all of the staff going out and for several drinks after work. In many companies, this isn’t strictly something done to welcome new recruits either, and employees and their bosses may go out and knock a couple back as often as once a week.
Now before you all start translating your resumes into Japanese, remember that the country often has strict views on the right and wrong ways to do things. Getting liquored up is no exception, as it turns out there is an almost tea-ceremony like complexity to pouring and drinking a glass of beer.
To help new workers make a good impression on their bosses (provided their bosses still remember their names after the fifth round), magazine Tokai Walker has put together the following video explanation for how to pour a beer, which we summarize below.
0:15 First, grasp the bottle near its base, making sure the label is facing outwards.
0:25 Next, support the bottle by its neck, using your left hand. As you finish pouring, give it a slight twist up, to ensure a frothy head.
0:38 Do not hold the bottle with one hand.
No mention is made of whether you should check to see if your boss’s face matches the smug disinterest of the man in the video, but we can only assume you should. It’s no surprise that there’s also a set of protocol to follow when someone pours a beer for you.
0:45 Always lift your glass from the table, with one hand cradling its base. Tilt the glass towards the bottle, slightly. This will prevent excess head from forming.
And of course, there are rules for the actual drinking, depending on what kind of glassware you’re using.
When taking the first sip after toasting, make sure your glasses are not facing each other. This is acceptable if you are using mugs, however.
After our two instructors leave us, the video gives additional guidelines, such as never pouring for yourself and quickly providing a refill for anyone you spot with an empty glass.
The responses from Japanese Internet commentators formed a mixed cocktail of acceptance and exasperation.
”Exactly. Pour for your boss with both hands, you ditzes.”
”This kind of stuff is really helpful to know. I’m going to my friend’s wedding soon, and while I don’t mind making a fool out of myself, I don’t want to embarrass him at the reception.”
”Now this is why I hate going drinking with people from the office…or why I would hate it if I had a job.”
”Drinking party rules are like so totally F’ed up! I like my job, but I hate drinking with male coworkers who get all uptight about this kind of stuff.”
”Seriously, why don’t we all just pour our own drinks?”
”See, this is why I like ordering pitchers instead of bottles.”
For those of you who enjoyed the video, Tokai Walker has an entire series on manners for adults. One deals with the proper way to eat Japanese noodles (an admittedly tricky endeavor), but we’re more than a little baffled by the magazine’s belief that there are people out there who don’t already know the proper way to put a napkin on their lap at a restaurant, yet have the mental capacity to work a computer and find their explanation for that online. But just in case such people do exist, they cover that one, too.
Source: Vipper