The Job Nobody Wants in Japan — Transcript

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1. 0:00It's impossible to get fired in Japan,
2. 0:02but companies found something way worse.
3. 0:04Imagine your boss walks you past your
4. 0:06desk to a tiny room with no computer and
5. 0:08no work. Just a ticking clock and a guy
6. 0:10[music] with his feet up scrolling on
7. 0:12his phone like he's on vacation. "Your
8. 0:13new job," your boss says, "is nothing.
9. 0:16Just sit here until 6:00." And you're
10. 0:17thinking, "Wait, I'm getting paid for
11. 0:19this?" At first, it's paradise. Then,
12. 0:22your coworker starts staring when you
13. 0:23walk past. The emails stop, and your old
14. 0:25desk already has someone else's family
15. 0:27photos on it. Every Friday, your boss
16. 0:29pops his head in with a big smile to ask
17. 0:31how you're enjoying your new role.
18. 0:33Still, the guy in the corner has been
19. 0:34doing [music] this for 3 years and looks
20. 0:36happier than anyone in the building. So,
21. 0:38if they want to pay you to do nothing,
22. 0:40fine. You kick your feet up right next
23. 0:41to him. Then, one Monday, you walk in
24. 0:44and he's gone. His chair is pushed in,
25. 0:46his desk is cleared, [music] and nobody
26. 0:48will tell you where he went. You see,
27. 0:49Japanese law makes it almost impossible
28. 0:51to fire someone, but there's no law
29. 0:53against making them miserable. So, they
30. 0:55take away your work and your friends and
31. 0:57just wait, because nobody can do nothing
32. 0:59forever.