March 31st: Japan’s Annual Desk Moving Dizziness
Author’s Note: No, this is NOT an April Fool’s joke. I’m dead serious when I say “Japanese people move their desks every year.”
Japan is a country full of traditions, among which include festivals dating back thousands of years. Some JETs enter Japan with an understanding of these ancient acts, yet may not be aware of some more modern modes. Every March 31st, public servants across Japan move desks to a different part of their large, collective office spaces. Here’s what I mean.
When I Say “Desk Moving,” I Mean “Desk Moving.”
I’ve worked in a shared office during my time at Chapman University. My former office, known as “AF 303,” featured a collaborative workspace with shared desks. I was one of the lucky few who had a desk reserved for themselves, but others would simply use whatever desk was available. Each desk had a shared computer, and some office supplies. Files were minimal. If one were to move desks, all they had to do was log out of one computer, and log into a different one.
Meanwhile, in Japan, they literally move their desks. Each teacher (or government employee) has their own desk which belongs to them. These desks, including my own, contain personal belongings and files, in addition to work computers and supplies. We remain at our desks for one fiscal year, lasting from April 1st to March 31st of the following year. Once March 31st comes around, we collectively clean our desks, disassemble them, and remove our belongings. Next, we work as a team to move each and every desk across the school while others clean the office. At some schools, teachers even wax the floors. At mine, they just swept and vacuumed the dusty green floors.
Once office cleanup is finished, a lead teacher instructs others to move the desks to their new locations. We worked together to hall every desk back to the shared office. After cleaning our desks one final time, we return our belongings and set up as if nothing ever happened. We also rewire power strips and Ethernet cords.
In short, yes, we literally move our desks in Japan.
Why?
Unfortunately, I don’t know why Japanese office workers do this. What I can tell you is that Japanese people are taught to clean their surroundings at an early age. Schools, for example, do not hire cleaning staff; students and teachers clean the school during 洗浄時間 (senjou jikan), or “Cleaning Time.” Yes, students clean the halls, classrooms, and even bathrooms. Schools even have “big cleaning days” where everyone thoroughly cleans the school before open house and entrance exams.
In addition, students and teachers remain paired with each other for all three years of high school. In other words, students have the same home room teacher and subject teachers for their high school careers. This also means teachers move to different areas in the office, as there are specific zones for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year teachers. This results in students and teachers forming closer relationships with one another, but comes at the cost of exposing students to diverse viewpoints and teaching styles.
But if that’s the case, why don’t teachers just stay put? This is Japan, Western Logic need not apply. The office itself has zones for each respective year. When a teacher levels up a year, they transition from one office zone to another. Thus, they move their entire desk to the new zone. When you think of the office as being subdivided into zones, it makes more sense.
Thoughts
Yes, it’s quite the Japanese workplace tradition, but I really enjoyed it. I felt like I was bonding with my fellow teachers, despite the language barrier. We communicated using gestures and actions, working together to tidy and renew the office in preparation for the new fiscal / school year. There was a sense of camaraderie which permitted the air while the men used their muscles and the ladies swept the floors.
While I intend to leave these experiences in Japan, I am looking forward to next year’s desk moving dizziness. The tradition may seem odd to us Westerners, but it’s one of the greatest team building exercises one can take part in. It is among Japan’s many traditions, and one that must be experienced in order to understand.