Labor Shortages

The labor shortage is causing a lot of problems in many sectors around the world these days. For example, the Japanese labor market is shrinking due to the low fertility rate. To make up for the shortage, the country is accepting many foreign workers. Most of them are fine or even excellent, but sometimes I have uncomfortable experiences with those workers from abroad. Recently, I asked our accountant company about a tax payment because the due date was over. They said the document was sent to us, but we had not received it. They scrutinized their process for sending us the statement of payment and found out one of their foreign workers had mailed it to the wrong place. If she was a Japanese, this would not have happened, I suppose, because this was a very small mistake. The biggest reason for this, I think, is the difference in business practices between Japanese and her own cultures. I’ve had similar annoying experiences several times before.  To avoid these small but bitter misunderstandings, supervisors of foreign workers should teach them more carefully, keeping it in mind that they have different business practices or ways of thinking.  Then both workers from offshore and Japan would be much happier.