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What makes a good boss in Japan? Workers sound off in survey

Casey Baseel Jan 7, 2026
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Technical expertise ranks far below other qualities Japanese workers want in a boss.

Work life is a big part of life in Japan. With a culture that emphasizes professional pride and personal responsibility, plus the long hours that come with many jobs in Japan, the quality of your workplace environment can have a huge impact on your overall happiness.

There are a lot of factors that go into determining work satisfaction, but it’s pretty much impossible to have a good job without a good boss. That’s why Japanese recruiting organization Biz Hits recently conducted a survey, asking working Japanese people what qualities make for a good, reliable, and confidence-inspiring boss. Responses were collected from a total of 500 participants (332 women and 168 men), with 26.2 percent in their 20s, 36.4 percent in their 30s, 24.4 percent in their 40s, and 12.6 percent 50 or above.

Though only two thirds of the respondents said they currently have a good, dependable boss, they did have some very similar ideas about what kind of boss they would like to have, so let’s take a look at the top five responses.

5. Observant and perceptive (chosen by 8.8 percent of respondents)

As someone who needs to have a comprehensive understanding of what’s going on in the workplace, a boss who can actively identify situations that are creating problems and realize when and how employees need help is greatly appreciated by the survey respondents. This sensitivity extends to the way in which direction is provided as well, with survey participants saying a good boss can the read the room and create logical, broadly agreeable solutions without slipping into arbitrary random-feeling judgements.

4. Emotionally stable (13.8 percent)

Regardless of the industry or office size, it’s a safe bet that everyone on staff has enough to do without having to navigate a boss’ mood swings. A boss who gets hot under the collar instead of handling pressure and setbacks in a more mature way isn’t just unpleasant to be around, but can also be difficult for employees to approach when they need advice or clarification, which can then snowball into tasks being performed inadequately or improperly, creating one more thing for an irritable boss to bluster about and start the cycle all over again.

3. Provides help when needed (24.6 percent)

The best bosses realize that even though they’re in a position of authority over their staff, the flow of effort and assistance should still be two-directional. If a worker is in a quandary or a jam, the survey participants feel a good boss should be willing to jump in and lend a hand, especially if backstopping an employee and helping correct their mistakes will save the worker from making errors that could get them reprimanded by managers even higher up the chain of command.

2. Provides easy-to-understand instructions (27 percent)

Not to take anything away from what was said in the previous point, but ultimately the thing that makes someone the boss is that they’re the one deciding what should be done and who should do it. Vague objectives, contradictory commands, and other kinds of indistinct communication mean that workers have to spend time and energy guessing, mentally interpreting, and reconfirming instead of actually getting their work done, so a boss who can give clear directions, especially when unforeseen problems pop up and the team has to pivot away from how they usually do things, will avoid wasting the staff’s time and energy.

1. Listens (32.6 percent)

At the top of the list, we swing back to the other side of communication. Sure, a good boss needs to be able to clearly tell workers what needs to be done, but even the most precise instructions can often benefit with some fine-tuning made possible with front-line insights that only the workers themselves can provide. “[A good boss is someone who] shows a willingness to listen to their subordinates and take their opinions into consideration before telling them what to do,” explained one respondent, and another added “When a worker has a question, a good boss should listen and help them.”

It’s worth noting that the top responses are all qualities that are applicable regardless of specific industry or work field. As a matter of fact, a high degree of skill performing the work itself doesn’t show up in the survey’s qualities of a good boss until all the way down in the 8th-ranked response, chosen by only 6.8 percent of the respondents, showing that, at least in the eyes of workers, good communication and interpersonal skills are more important for a boss to have than pure technical talent.

Related: Biz Hits
Source: PR Times
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2, 3)
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