As this post goes live, I'll actually be in Japan.

Ironically, that means I'll be experiencing a version of the challenge I'm writing about. While I'm in Japan, I'll still need to stay connected to colleagues, clients, and projects in the United States. The difference is that my situation is temporary. In a week or two, I'll be back home and sleeping on a normal schedule again.

Many of the Japanese managers I work with don't have that luxury.

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A recent Japan Times article introduced me to the term "rust-out." As a European, I immediately recognized the concept, although we usually call it "boreout."

Most of us are familiar with burnout. It's the result of too much work, too much pressure, and too little time to recover. Rust-out comes from the opposite direction. It happens when people are not sufficiently challenged, when their skills are underutilized, and when they spend their days completing tasks that fail to engage them or make use of their capabilities.

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If someone had told me a few years ago that Lady Gaga would be starring in a recruitment campaign for a Japanese convenience store chain, I probably would have assumed it was a parody.

Yet this week, that is exactly what happened.

In FamilyMart's new recruiting campaign, Lady Gaga stocks shelves, mops floors, works the register, and then turns to the camera to ask, in Japanese, "Want to work at FamilyMart?" For most people in Japan, however, FamilyMart is better known by its affectionate nickname, Famima. The commercial is eye-catching, but the celebrity endorsement is only part of the story. Behind the glamour lies a challenge that is reshaping workplaces across Japan: a growing shortage of workers.

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When I decided to join JUHPA which stands for Japan-US HR Professionals Association, I quickly realized that this wasn't a networking group where membership is simply a matter of filling out a form. The organization is serious about maintaining a high level of professional engagement and expertise among its members. As part of the application process, I participated in an interview and completed a written assessment covering HR and Talent Acquisition topics in the U.S. market. Rather than feeling exclusive, the process signaled something important: a shared commitment to professional excellence and meaningful knowledge exchange.

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Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to facilitate several workshops for Japanese companies in the U.S., as well as organisations that work closely with Japanese clients. Interestingly, a number of these clients specifically requested longer sessions, typically four or five hours rather than the more common two or three-hour format.

Reflecting on those experiences, a few things stood out.

The first was that the value wasn't in covering more content. In fact, we often covered less.

Instead, the additional time created space for deeper conversations.

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One of the most valuable lessons I learned during my years living and working in Japan is that listening is often more powerful than speaking.

That may sound obvious, but it runs counter to many of the messages we receive throughout our careers. We're encouraged to contribute, share our ideas, and make our voices heard. Those are all important skills, especially in organizations that value initiative and visibility.

When I first started working in Japan, I sometimes interpreted silence as a lack of engagement. Meetings often felt different from what I was used to. Discussions could move more slowly, and people were often less inclined to immediately offer opinions or challenge ideas in a group setting. Over time, I realized that what looked like silence was often active listening.

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This week, I’m working on an employee engagement session for the U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese company. As I was preparing, I found myself reflecting on a question that comes up often in my work: how different is employee engagement in a global organization compared to a local one?

At first glance, it seems like the answer should be "very different." Culture influences how people communicate, what they expect from leaders, how decisions are made, and even how comfortable employees are expressing their opinions. Anyone who has worked across countries knows that what works in one location may not automatically work in another.

Having spent many years working in Japan with Deloitte and now with Japanese companies in the US through JCO, I've seen these differences firsthand.

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This month marks my three-year anniversary with JCO. When I graduated in Japanese Studies almost 30 years ago, I could not have imagined that one day I would be celebrating a three-year anniversary at a company started by someone who shared that same academic journey.

Life rarely moves in straight lines. It tends to move in circles.

One of the most unexpected gifts of the past three years has been rediscovering a connection with Olivier. We both studied Japanese Studies, graduating around the same time, then followed our own paths through different countries, companies, and life chapters. Like many relationships, ours disappeared into the background noise of busy careers and changing circumstances.

And then, decades later, our paths crossed again.

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