After-work celebrations may be an occasional part of an employee’s work experience. Meanwhile, in Japan, it is not treated merely as something fitting a special occasion. Instead, it is often an entrenched practice. Referred to as nomikai, it is an activity wherein employees are indulged to socialize with one another.
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※ The legal age to drink alcohol in Japan is 20. Drinking and driving is illegal in Japan.
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Japanese Work Culture
Japanese culture has its many seemingly peculiar customs and practices that defy description and definition, unless one actually sees or experiences these social or cultural phenomena firsthand. Many have deep and long historical roots in the ancient beliefs and philosophies of the Japanese people, while some have evolved in recent periods as a consequence of the country’s rapid development and the adoption of ideas and practices from other countries into its own fabric of life.
Japan has attained its enviable double-sided status as a science-and-technology innovator and as an economic power that many nations depend upon as their reliable trade partner. Japanese companies work hard towards and to maintain these high standards with an emphasis on the team working structure. This collective mindset can be observed and palpably felt not only in their routine working life but also during their moments of celebration and recreation. And in these ritual customs, one can still see hierarchy and social cues being observed almost without fail.
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What is Nomikai?
What we have described is best exemplified by the social tradition known as Nomikai. This ubiquitous aspect of Japanese business culture simply refers to the socialization that occurs beyond the daily working hours and is observed as a celebratory drinking session among employees, often along with their employers or superiors.
Nomikai means “gathering to drink” or “drinking party”; hence, it focuses on unwinding after a day’s work in a manner through which workers are momentarily allowed to forget the strict lines that separate them from other workers and from their superiors. Through that process, one loosens up and likewise allows himself to be accepted not merely as a mere co-worker but as something closer to a comrade or friend, although such a relationship does not necessarily remain after nomikai.
Nomikai is essential in the Japanese culture as it consolidates people within an organization or a small department as a strong unit, especially during times when new employees are introduced into the group or when retiring ones are bidding their farewells. Thus far, it may sound as ordinary and as common even within many cultural settings in most parts of the world. But the similarity ends there.
There is nomikai for all sorts of occasions. It can be simply a few coworkers getting drinks together afterwards, with or without the boss, or it can be a more planned get-together with the team or department after the end of a project or term, or it can be a formal company-wide gathering, with speeches and activities and the like. These are also listed in order of less obligatory to attend to almost mandatory. These nomikai are a way to spend time getting to know people outside of the office, as most of the time on-the-clock doesn’t allow for small talk. However, there are also rules that everyone is conscious of, even when relaxing a bit and drinking.
Basic Nomikai etiquette to observe
Though a nomikai involves eating out or drinking liquor together as co-members of a group in a workplace environment, it has certain features and unwritten rules that make it quite unique.
Seating Arrangement and Roles
Seating arrangement to be followed at all times. The highest-ranking person, as in the person with the highest position, must be seated at the farthest end of the table and also farthest away from the door. The person second in rank to the first must sit in front of them, while the third must sit beside the first, and so on. One can see the logic in this, as the two highest-ranking persons are bound to share more things in common to talk about with respect to work matters and will, therefore, be able to interact more often as well during nomikai.
Moreover, the lower-ranking people are expected to sit by the door and serve food and drinks to those positioned higher as part of the custom. This is especially true if one is a new employee. It is a kind of rite of initiation for one’s formal acceptance into the group. They should make sure that others’ plates and glasses are never empty.
Consciousness towards hierarchy (that is, maintaining the senpai-kohai relationship) is a permanent aspect of Japanese life and culture which is practiced and cemented through nomikai. For the nomikai does not begin until the highest ranking person present gives a short talk about the reason for the gathering. Until they start eating, no one is supposed to eat or drink. Likewise, the event is not finished until the boss says it is.
Hierarchy, as we have said, is everything in most Japanese customs, and more so in nomikai. Yet, surprisingly, hierarchy is not really flaunted here but rather used as an opportunity to show the solidarity and functionality of the group. For we all know that any group or unit, even the family, cannot function without a head.
It doesn’t end with one
Drinking with gusto is another somewhat surprising aspect of the nomikai. In fact, after it is over, some may decide to go for another round of nomikai, called a nijikai or “second meeting”. At times, a “third meeting” or sanjikai follows. It is not uncommon for some of the members to indulge in drinking beyond their capacity and to end up being plastered before their coworkers or to fall asleep on the sidewalk, a park bench, or a doorway. However, if one has a short tolerance for alcohol or one feels he has had enough, one simply accepts an offered glass of liquor and takes a sip then leaves the glass untouched as a clear signal to others.
What happens at nomikai…
Nomikai serves a deep purpose in instilling loyalty and trustworthiness among workers. They are expected to keep mum about what happens during nomikai: what happens there stays there. So, while one is expected to keep himself on guard at all times by not saying more than what is necessary or from being too casual with higher-ups, one must also keep from revealing what others may have related or exhibited that would make them lose face when they return to the office the next day. And yes, with or without a hangover, a worker must report for work the following day without complaint. Thus, people are a little more controlled with their drinking on weekday nomikai, whereas the ones on Fridays and before holidays can get pretty wild at times.
Moreover, nomikai is the Japanese people’s way of removing inhibitions that often make them feel awkward or stiff in formal situations as they rarely have the opportunity to express oneself freely without adhering to social and work customs. Indirectly then, the practice removes deep-seated inhibitions which then enhances communication when it is actually needed and applied as a vital function of life and of productive work. The Japanese may have gotten this right after all even if it seems a little unconventional. Their success as a nation may be attributed partly to nomikai.
Summary
The enigmatic nature of the Japanese way of life can be seen in how their culture is generally centered around achieving discipline through adherence to norms or social rules. Foreigners would do well to understand and adapt to in order to comprehend how and why the country functions as it does. Nomikai, as we can see, is an essential tool that helps to orient the newcomer to the work environment as well as to boost morale for the participants toward achieving and maintaining order and progress. Although seemingly counterintuitive to most foreigners, the Japanese have learned to keep it as a cherished tradition for they have come to appreciate that to genuinely know yourself and others, you must learn to open up and serve people' needs as you allow them to also open up and serve well by doing their expected duties as best they can.
To that end, the Japanese custom of drinking together serves a deep purpose. And so we say, Kampai! (Cheers!)
※ The legal age to drink alcohol in Japan is 20. Drinking and driving is illegal in Japan.
