The Japanese term is 追い出し部屋 oidashibeya if anyone is wondering. In English they are also called "banishment rooms", "chasing-out-rooms", or "boredom rooms", it would seem. I remember there was actually an Aggretsuko story arc where the pig guy was put in such a room, which was referred to as the "career experience design department". It makes me wonder how common oidashibeya really are in Japan, because with their presence in both factual news and fictional stories alike, it would certainly seem like oidashibeya are a big problem. It's basically psychological torture through boredom and degradation because the company doesn't want to pay for benefits, right? Mega fucked.
psychological torture through boredom and degradation sounds like the unofficial description for so many actual jobs in the US already. except making people be up on their feet too.
There's a pretty big difference between "in a room by yourself with no work to do and no-one to bother you" in the "home alone" sense versus the "Guantanamo Bay white torture" sense, and oidashibeya certainly seem to be closer to the latter than the former.
You're also not allowed to entertain yourself in any way other than thinking... It's similar to solitary confinement.
I remember there was actually an Aggretsuko story arc where the pig guy was put in such a room, which was referred to as the "career experience design department".
Hold up, that's what that bit was about? Holy fuck that is bleak; like, fuck Director Ton, but at the same time... It's hard to not see how he became the way he runs the office
It was in season 4 episode 4, the 34th episode overall, where Ton was assigned to that department.
Former Blizzard dev and probably the one who was drinking breast milk out of the break room fridge (vibes-based analysis)
Y'know, there's a really funny (bleak) tie between "got ousted for FAN-nery from Blizzard" and "became an 'anti-cancel culture crusader'".
Former
Makes me laugh because he was probably replaced by some DEI woke green hair that removed the binary gender terminology from the character creation screen.
It’s always weird how they whine about DEI but also demand that there should be MORE discrimination in business.
Like bro, white men invented DEI and started it for themselves. These business owners are so compelled to discriminate they do these programs because they literally cannot trust themselves NOT to discriminate.
Link to article:
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/200-bandai-namco-employees-reportedly-moved-into-expulsion-rooms-designed-to-bore-them-into-quitting-though-the-company-maintains-its-innocence/
which is really just a summary of this Bloomberg article:
https://archive.is/20241017125641/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-15/bandai-namco-begins-to-cut-headcount-after-culling-game-titles
The Bloomberg article includes a crucial detail omitted from the PC Gamer summary (emphasis mine):
Such oidashi beya, or “expulsion rooms,” are sometimes used by Japanese corporations in a country with some of the world’s strictest labor-protection laws. Employees are typically given no work-related tasks, but are left with the knowledge that their performance will give managers ammunition to cut severance when they do leave. Many employees use their time in such rooms to look for other jobs.
So it's not just about inducing them to quit, but also that if they stay their performance reviews will drop (since they're not actually doing any measurable work) and and affect their severance, meaning it's not as simple as just getting a cushy-if-mind-numbing assignment and enduring the boredom through sheer willpower.
Another interesting tidbit from the Bloomberg piece:
An anonymous website launched last month alleges that Bandai Namco is using various methods to persuade people to leave. The company is aware of the website, but the information is not accurate, a representative said, declining to elaborate.
Wonder if there's anything interesting in there (it's all in Japanese, of course)
A rough summary of 3 of the Bandai Namco articles from the leak website in no particular order:
Many employees took the job because they wanted remote work and the company forced them in-person without a transition period recently. The employees then self-surveyed with the question "are you willing to come to a compromise on remote work" and the bosses ignored it without any response.
Bandai pushed out all temporary and part-time employees. Those workers can sue, but it's unlikely they can do much against the company with all its resources.
Bandai is searching for the whistleblowers who reported these things via interviews and searches of employee PCs. If they have even the slightest discrepancy in their computer logs, it's used as an excuse to say "I have engaged in problematic behavior in the past, so I will not be able to do anything in the future.'' Employees say this means there is no future for you if you stay at the company.
When Bandai finds out an employee is leaving for another job, negative reviews are spread about them with messages like "you should have nothing to do with this person," to prevent them from getting jobs elsewhere. (Seems to contradict them wanting to purge employees, but idk Japanese labor law and maybe it has to do with severance. Maybe cruelty is the point?)
The articles also confirm the "waiting room" strategy. Employees are being transferred between departments and not given work to force them to leave. Apparently the company is not developing new, distinct IP fast enough and this is part of why they want to cut employees. Shutdown of Blue Protocol also started waves of this behavior.
Articles are from late September to this Monday.
The industry is already laying off thousands, if they wanted the workers with green hair gone they’d have done it already
One small problem, Scummz....it's your oh so precious porky that was ok with all those undesirables in the games to begin with. So you want porky to have more power over his workers as punishment? That'll show 'em, chief.
What are you going to do about it? Angrily vote him another tax exemption? What a good little minion you are.
Looks like constructive dismissal. Though I imagine the real consequence is this lowers future job prospects
Grummz needs to be covered in manure, and have that as his grave, for all I know...
