ANN ARBOR—Can Japanese managers find health and happiness supervising U.S. employees? Adapting to different cultural and management styles triggers stress in both groups but Japanese managers?living and working in a new culture and carrying great responsibilities? feel the effects more, according to researchers at the University of Michigan’s School of Nursing and School of Public Health.

The pilot study was conducted at a Japanese-owned U.S. auto parts plant. When the U-M researchers compared the psychosocial stress of 45 American employees and their 16 spouses with 36 Japanese managers and their 28 wives, they discovered that?although all the scores were well within the normal range?the Japanese managers were significantly more likely to report feeling anxious and to report somatic symptoms, such as feeling run down and headachy, than the American employees. On somatic and anxiety scales that ranged from one to 28, the Japanese managers scored 7.58 for somatic symptoms compared with 4.79 for the American employees. On the anxiety scale, the Japanese managers scored 9.08 compared with 5.74 for the American employees.

The American women in the study (5.81 on the somatic scale and 6.53 on the anxiety scale) fared less well than the American men (3.78 on the somatic scale and 4.94 on the anxiety scale) but still felt less distress than the Japanese managers. The Japanese managers’ wives, uprooted and cut off from the support of their families and friends, had somatic and anxiety scores that were virtually the same as those for the American women, but their distress was due primarily to being lonely and isolated. The Japanese managers also felt more lonely, noting that they missed the social support they received in Japan from after-work socializing with fellow employees.

Lois W. Gage, professor emerita of occupational health nursing, and Yuzuru J. Takeshita [Tah-KESH-ta], professor of health behavior and health education, published their findings in the June issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Nursing. The U-M researchers also compared the Japanese and Americans on how their stress levels correlated with their beliefs about themselves and the world around them. “For instance, the average scores on self-efficacy (the belief that you are capable and competent in your job) and satisfaction with social support were lower among the Japanese managers,” Gage said. “The Japanese managers also were somewhat more likely than Americans to believe that their lives were controlled by ‘powerful others’ or by chance, rather than themselves?a world view consistent with their cultural beliefs. “Notably, however, the Japanese managers who felt more in control of their lives?and who were more satisfied with their social support?felt less anxiety and somatic symptoms than those who didn’t feel much control.”

“While we were not surprised that social support was an important factor to the Japanese managers, we were somewhat surprised that the sense of control over their lives was important, too,” Takeshita added. “Self-reliance and control over one’s life typically are not significant values for the Japanese, who tend to perceive?and accept?life as being controlled by powerful others or by chance. It may be that the managers sent to the United States were selected for their tendency toward self-reliance?an important trait, perhaps, when coping with a new and different culture.” The stress level of American employees, “not unexpectedly, given our individualistic culture,” Gage said, was strongly correlated with feeling in control of their lives?particularly among the American women. The researchers also found that:

? About 42 percent of the Japanese managers reported communications problems and desired more language training, and both the Japanese and Americans noted they felt a difference between the Japanese and the American work and management styles.

? Japanese managers reported that they had more time for family than they had in Japan, but they also carried more responsibility and felt more fatigued.

? Japanese wives worried about the lack of safe recreational facilities and academic support for their children, and wanted more information about the U.S. medical system.

? American women felt they had communication problems with the managers, a good deal of job pressure and long hours.

? In general, however, the American employees were positive, optimistic, self-confident and enjoyed their work.

The U-M researchers recommended that the firm offer more language classes for the Japanese before they leave Japan, and provide the wives with information about the local schools, hospitals, recreational facilities and other cultural information as soon as they arrive in the United States. The researchers also recommended that the firm initiate more team conferences for the Japanese managers to replace the after- work sessions that they attended in Japan. “We hope to see our study replicated on a larger scale,” Gage added, “to verify and amplify our findings. With the globalization of the economy, it is increasingly important that American business be sensitized to the different experiences and needs of workers from different cultures.”

University of Michigan