Katatataki- Getting Fired the Japanese Way

My wife was telling me of an interesting story that took place at her work yesterday. She is a translator for a Japanese textile company. The plant comprises of a combination of white and blue-collar Americans who either reside in the countryside between Greenville/Spartanburg, SC or Charlotte, NC or commute about 30-45 minutes from those places.

This company is going through a transition with two new American vice presidents being gradually brought up to speed by Japanese managers from the company's home office in Osaka. Of course with any transition, you will have high turn over which is no surprise here.

The lead Japanese manager was speaking off the cuff to my wife about the sort of practice when you are fired or laid off in Japan. This is referred to as katatataki (a tap on the shoulder of an employee from behind from management.)

Imagine that the buzz in the air is that the company will be laying off people and the talk in the break area is that people from various departments are being let go. You return to your work station resume working and you are interupted with a tap on the shoulder from management. You turn around and management says, "Do you have a second? We need to talk." The man telling this to my wife said the phrase, "ka-ta-ta-ta-ki" while motioning the pat in the air.

My father, an old-school kind of person who has done better when refering to Japanese since his daughter-in-law is one, because he use to be known to say, "Jap". In the 1980s, he saw the comedy, "Gung Ho", starring Michael Keaton.

Today's video is of the movie, "Gung Ho".


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