Productive “I-I (Izakaya Bar and the Internet) Work Style”
Presenters:
Collaborators:

Shiro Nitanai, Dai Sogawa, Kaori Horiguchi, Yoko Saito
Ken Adachi, Takanori Ochiai, Toshio Komachi, Kanya Shiokawa, Yukiko Nakada,
Ichiro Narita, Hitomi Hagino, Masayoshi Moriyama

Universal Design Research Committee, Japan Facility Management Promotion Association
Tokyo, Japan
0. Abstract
Izakaya, the traditional Japanese-style bar, is popular among all generations for its inexpensive prices
and friendly atmosphere. Japanese businesspeople take their colleagues and younger staff there afterwork to drink sake and talk about business much more intimately than they do in the office. In a sense,
they are working, even in the bar. This notorious way of socialization called nomunication, which means“drinking communication” in Japanese, is disappearing because today’s younger businesspeople tend toregard it as out of date.
For the last sixteen months, we, the members of the Universal Design Research Committee of theJapan Facility Management Promotion Association (JFMA), have experienced a new style of work.
Because we work late every night in the office, it is almost impossible for us to have regular meetings.
Consequently, we began working through the Internet, which enables us to work whenever and wherever
we have access to it. Using of the Internet can be helpful for this purpose, but it is not necessarily
satisfactory overall. We are convinced that intimate face-to-face communication is needed to generate
new ideas. We had meetings with alcohol at izakaya bars twice a month, which turned out to be a very
effective way to brainstorm.
When we completed some projects in this manner with offsite meetings at izakaya bars, we realizedthat this work style was far more productive than working at the central office all the time. Old-fashioned
nomunication has proven to be useful in the Internet age again. Particularly in knowledge work, these
two extremely different kinds of workspaces, virtual spaces on the Internet to produce substantial outputs
and physical spaces at izakaya bars to generate creative ideas, can be combined to take the place of thecentral office.
In this presentation, we will show the efficiency of the “I-I (izakaya bar and the Internet) work style”
with a case study and discuss the possibility of this alternative work style.
1. What is the “I-I (izakaya bar and the Internet) work style”?
1-1. Creativity at the bar
Imagine that you hang around with your colleagues at a bar after work. What would you talk about?
You may complain about your boss or company, but you may also recall having had exciting discussions
about your business. For example, have you ever experienced a situation like below?
You are at a bar with your congenial co-workers, talking about a project you are currently
working on. As you and your companions drink, the discussion becomes more lively and astream of new ideas flows forth. The discussion is heating up; there is no subject that is taboo.
The bar’s casual atmosphere combined with the alcohol makes your tongue smoother than when
you are at a brainstorming session in a formal meeting room. You are very excited about having
had this creative discussion on the way back to home. However, the next morning, you arebrought back to the real world, and the ideas you came up the previous night are dismissed fromyour mind. You remember how exciting the discussion was, but you forget what its details
were…
In fact, many novel ideas are generated at bars. For years, each of us has been involved in various
projects outside of companies and experienced how effectively the combined use of the bar and theInternet works for creative work beyond organizations. In particular, as we have worked together at the
JFMA Universal Design Research Committee, we have noticed that our work process in the committee canbe introduced broadly as the “I-I work style” to those who seek an example of an innovative work style tomeet the needs of the knowledge age. We will explain in more detail below.
1-2. Discovery of the I-I work style
The JFMA Universal Design Research Committee was established in February 2002 to conduct
research that explores potentialities to apply universal design in the workplace. It consists of twelve
voluntary members, aged from thirties to fifties, with various expertise in the wide range of fields, such asarchitecture, facility management, real estate, occupational health and safety, graphic design, publication,and comics. The members are very busy at work in their own organizations; in addition, one of them isparticipating from the United States. Therefore, the use of the Internet has been essential for us todevelop our projects efficiently. As you may experience, the Internet enables a work group of diverse
members to organize a project while communicating with each other regardless of the place and the time.
At first, we expected that face-to-face meetings would be the main means of our communication,
which would be supplemented by the Internet. However, as we encountered difficulty in scheduling
meetings that we could all attend, the main means of our communication gradually shifted online. We
have observed that dozens of messages are e-mailed among us everyday as if we were “chatting” online.
However, in spite of such close communication, we were concerned that having no face-to-face meetings
for a while would lessen motivation and also make it difficult to ascertain what the other members werereally thinking. Because our “knowledge” work strongly requires each of us to be creative, it is necessary
to have places where we can develop ideas while confirming we are all thinking along the same line.
Meanwhile, it was customary for us to have socials at izakaya bars after meetings in conventional
meeting rooms. Seeing that we were exchanging fertile ideas at the socials, we noticed that we could
define the bar as our meeting place, rather than bothering ourselves to make reservations for conference
rooms. We did not have a spare minute to care about the formality of a meeting; our priority was to do thebest job within a designated period of time. In addition, it was fortunate that we were allowed to freely
choose the most effective work style for ourselves because we did not have any restrictions placed on our
project from organizations we officially worked for.
The work style most suitable entailed a combination of the Internet used as the most efficient way tofacilitate substantial work and the izakaya bar as a meeting place to bring creativity into full play in a
comfortable manner. The use of the Internet allows us to work at home in a relaxed atmosphere: working
on electronic documents while lying on the bed, listening to music, drinking beer, or sometime falling
asleep, etc. Such a casual work style increases productivity, specifically when we are tackling planning
and/or design work. Having izakaya meetings with a little alcohol makes thinking out of the box a biteasier. We often see chain reactions of creativity; when a member brings up an idea, another member
develops it, which is then further expanded by others.
It is important to jot down even the keywords of a discussion during an izakaya meeting so that you
can recall the conversation. The next morning, based on notes, we e-mail a summary of the discussion
to the members via a mailing list. The idea in your mind is logically organized when you can visualize it insentences. Based on the e-mail communication, we develop the idea born at the bar and put it into
practices. The Internet and the izakaya bar effectively complement each other – we named this pairing“the I-I work style.”
The I-I work style does not require conventional offices. Your workplace is the virtual space on theInternet and the bar. You do not need to pay for facility costs required to maintain conventional central
offices other than the computer and the Internet access. Instead, you may expect some costs for beerand food at the bar.
1-3. Re-appreciation of Japanese traditional “nomunication”
The I-I work style is similar to nomunication, which was popular in Japan from the high-growth periodof the 1960s to the 1980s. Then typical Japanese businesspeople, called salarymen, used to take theirsubordinates or co-workers to the izakaya bar and try to fill in hidden communication gaps with them byusing the tongue-loosening power of alcohol. This convention contributed to facilitating smoothcommunication and strengthening relationships among Japanese salaryman communities acrossgenerations. While nomunication justified the Japanese tradition of the organizational order, it was aplace where senior salarymen mentored younger co-workers by divulging some of tacit knowledge,
including how they could dedicate themselves to a company. This kind of informal communication was
important for the younger salarymen to be able to move up through the company.
Nomunication became an obsolete word in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Influenced byindividualism, younger workers wanted to clearly separate work from private time. Meanwhile, theonce-soaring Japanese economy began to stagnate, which meant that traditional business practices wereno longer effective. In addition, while the younger generation was quickly adapting to new Internet
technology, many members of the older generation lost their confidence in management because it wasdifficult for them to follow the rapid changes of technology. The traditional framework whereby tacitknowledge was passed down from the older to the younger collapsed; nomunication was even ridiculed by
the younger generation.
However, today we have gained new appreciation for the role of nomunication. Its essence is still
useful to complement formal meetings and facilitate shared knowledge through informal communication,
especially in the knowledge age. Moreover, communication with a drink is not unique to Japan. In
Western countries, it is also integrated into business scenes, such as the “power” lunch with a cocktail orglass of wine.
2. The I-I work style as an ultimate alternative workplace2-1. Complementary relationship between the Internet and the izakaya workplace
Recently, creativity and knowledge management are regarded as important factors in determining
corporate value. To increase creativity, it is not sufficient to concentrate on a job solely during office hours.

The evolution of the Internet has accelerated “anytime-anywhere” work styles. For management, the first
concern is how employees can maximize their creativity and productivity, and the formality of a place ortime to work is secondary. Employees who care only about the formality of work become less useful toorganizations.
The workplace exists as means to create knowledge and increase business accomplishments.
Interestingly, the initial ideas of most successful business projects often come from casual conversations in
a train, during a walk, or at a restaurant. Many companies strive to intentionally create a space where thequality of such initial ideas can be improved for business success. However, unless the work style andprocess are reorganized, a mere physical change of workspaces does not successfully result inhigh-quality creative work. It is important to consider the work style and process first; what kind ofworkspaces can best accommodate the work style that maximizes our productivity? As a result, you may
not need any special physical workspace.

The Internet

Izakaya workplace(Virtual space )(Physical space)

Most efficient to manage the bulk of thework at the implementation stages

Most effective to produce the high-quality
initial ideas at the planning stages

Figure 1: The izakaya workplace and the Internet

In the case of our committee, the I-I work style works as follows:(1) The izakaya workplace (physical space) = The most effective work environment to produce thehigh-quality initial ideas at the planning stages of projects.
(2) The Internet (virtual space) = The most efficient work environment to manage the bulk of the workat the implementation stages.
These two approaches require different competences. At planning stages, it is important to fully
stimulate the brain and have conversations with others to flesh out ideas, regardless of how long you
spend to come up with the ideas. On the other hand, implementation stages require data analysis andreorganization of the ideas with patience. We take these two approaches alternately.

Quality（ The level of accomplishment）

Quality
Implementationstage

Outcome 3

Internet

Planning stage
Meeting & Izakaya

Quantity

Outcome 2

Internet

Meeting & Izakaya

Outcome 1

Internet

Meeting & Izakaya

Milestone 1

Milestone 2

Milestone 3

Quantity（ Time）

Figure 2: Alternate approaches to improve the quality and the quantity of work

2-2. Strengths and weaknesses of the izakaya workplace
The I-I work style is most effective for those with a high morale and sefl-motivation. Meanwhile, fromthe perspective of physiology, working at the bar affects humans by means of (1) environmental changes,(2) the influence of alcohol, and (3) low pressure of time management. In the izakaya workplace,functions of the left brain hemisphere, such as analyzing, abstracting, and organizing logic, aresuppressed and those of the right hemisphere, such as synthesizing, comprehending, and intuiting, areactivated. The following are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the izakaya workplace:<Strengths>• The change of environment refreshes your thoughts and makes it easier to come up with a new
idea.
• The relaxed atmosphere of the bar facilitates flatter relationships, which allows you to have freer
brainstorming without the hierarchies of position or age.
• Alcohol releases you from inhibition, which allows you to have free and relaxed thoughts.
• Alcohol also facilitates smooth communication with a new person and helps to avoid adverse
conflicts with others.
<Weaknesses>• Some people do not like the atmosphere of the bar or cannot drink.
• Uncontrollable or undesired situations may occur because of the influence of alcohol.
• There may be a risk of alcohol abuse or health problem if excessive drinking is continued.
• It is likely that you will be engaged in longer discussions because alcohol causes a diminishedawareness of time.
• It is likely that you will maintain an illusion that you reach an agreement with others even though you
do not discuss important things.
• It is easier to forget the content of discussions.

As shown in Figure 3, it is avery short period of time that ourcreativity
andsmoothcommunicationaremaximized(stimulated period). It is necessary
to control the type and the amountof alcohol to lengthen the stimulated
period and avoid the intoxicatedperiod.
2-3. Comparison between the I-I
work style and other workplaces
Figure4plots
typicalworkplaces on a matrix.
Thehorizontal axis shows the degree ofphysical interaction with others(fromphysicallyisolatedtophysically interactive) and thevertical axis indicates the formalityof a work style (from formal toinformal). As mentioned previously,at planning stages, creative ideas
are often generated throughinteractive communication withothers, so the work styles located in
the area of “physically interactive”
and “informal” will be most suitablefor creative work. Many recent
arguments
have
introduced
workplaces like the Internet café,
public spaces where you can workon the computer while drinking, as
part of a new work style. However,
we argue that a workplace shouldbe optimized according to thenature of work. The I-I work styleutilizes two workplaces differently:
the izakaya worklace for creation ofideas and the Internet for realizationof ideas.

Figure 3: Influence of alcohol on thoughts

Figure 4: Comparison of workplaces

Many existing offices often have surplus spaces because they provide office area that canaccommodate the maximum number of employees at a peak hour. John Worthington (2003, May 15), a
co-founder of DEGW, suggested that the most cost-efficient way to manage office spaces is according to
the following three categories: (1) core space, which is always needed, (2) flexible space, which can beadapted to fluctuations in space demands, and (3) on-demand space, which is provided as needed. The
I-I work style requires only the on-demand space, so it costs virtually nothing; no facility cost is necessary,and only the anticipated budget is for beer and access to the Internet. (See Figure 5 and Table 1.)

The amountof space

The amountof space(3) On-demand space

Surplus space

Core space

Actual space supply
for the maximum
number of workers
at a peak time(2) Flexible space

Projected fluctuationsin space demands(1) Core space

Minimum supply

Time

Time

Typical existing office

Efficient space supply
The amountof space

Figure 5: Space efficiency(Represented by authors based on apresentation of John Worthington)(3) On-demand space

Izakaya workplace
Time

Table 1: Comparison of workplaces regarding creativity and costs

WorkplaceCentral officeSatellite office
Virtual workplace (w/ Internet)
Internet + officeInternet
Reduced officeInternet + izakaya workplace
Internet
Izakaya workplace

Productivity(Creative work)

Productivity(Routine)

∆

∆

∆

∆

∆

Suitable

Cost-efficientPossible∆

Suitable

Most cost-efficient

Most possible

Occupancy costs Worker’s quality
on company
of work life∆

Suitable

Cost-efficientPossible∆

Best suitable

Most cost-efficient

Most possible∆∆

Cost-efficient∆Best suitable

Best suitable

Most cost-efficient

Most possible∆

Best suitable

Most cost-efficient

Most possible

Best suitable

X

Most cost-efficient

Most possible

3. Analysis of our activities
For the last sixteen months, we have done presentations at three conferences, one paper forproceedings, several articles for journals, a couple of surveys and interviews, and seminars, and areworking on a research report and guidelines. To accomplish these outcomes, we held eighteen meetings(mainly the combination of a two-hour meeting in a conference room with a two-hour izakaya session); twoof them were overnight lodging with an eight-hour meeting and a three-hour izakaya workplace. We havealso exchanged approximately 1,650 e-mail messages – about 100 e-mail messages a month – to develop
our projects as a team.

Table 2: The activity logs of the JFMA Universal Design Research Committee

Table 2 is an analysis of our activities for fourteen months from February 2002 to April 2003. It
clearly shows the pattern of our work style; you can see: (1) izakaya workplaces and meetings enhanced
e-mail communication and (2) outcomes then followed the peaks of e-mail communication. In addition to
the combined use of the Internet and the izakaya workplace, it was an effective way for us to set clear
goals to produce visible outcomes, such as presentations at conferences, to keep us productive.

<August 2002 Izakaya workplace at Kanda Mimasuya><April 2003 Izakaya workplace at Hacchobori Usukebo>

Figure 6: The photographs of our izakaya workplace

4. A survey regarding workers’ perception of the I-I work style
In May 2003, to explore the potential of the I-I work style, we conducted a questionnaire survey
regarding perception of Japanese knowledge workers about the I-I work style, as well as e-mail interviews
with workers who were in charge of business planning. We received 121 responses to the questionnaire,as well as 33 responses to the e-mail interviews. Following is a brief analysis of the survey. (SeeAppendix A for more details.)
A. Regarding the izakaya workplace• Interestingly, a very small number of the respondents (15 out of 121) did not prefer to talk aboutbusiness at the bar.
• 94 respondents answered they had come up with a business idea while drinking at a bar. 76
respondents experienced the idea had resulted in actual business.
• More than half of the respondents (70) cited that they had happen to forget an idea which had comeup at a bar.
• About one half of the respondents (52) experienced failing to bring up a new idea at a bar.
• The most cited number of meeting attendees most likely to produce an idea was “three to five people.”• The respondents were likely to perceive that the proportion of men to women among a party would notaffect the ease of creativity at the bar but it would be preferable to have members of a variety ofgenerations, positions, and business backgrounds.
• The respondents were also likely to perceive that the appropriate level of noise and lighting should bemaintained to facilitate discussion of a business idea.
B. Regarding work styles• About half of the respondents (59) answered that more than 50% of their jobs could be done outside of
offices using only the Internet.

• The respondents were most concerned about the issue of personal communication if they worked
outside of offices.
• About half of the respondents (59) thought that remote work using the Internet could becomplemented with communication at a bar.
• 52 respondents expressed their interest in trying the I-I work style. 30 respondents said they did notwant to.
• The top three occupations the respondents frequently cited the I-I work style would work for were:planning, design, and research and development.
From this survey, we found out that more workers than we had expected had experienced coming up
with a business idea at the bar and bring it to fruition. Although some of the respondents showed theirconcern about business morals, many of them indicated they were interested in trying the I-I work style if it
could be applied to their work to improve their creativity and productivity. Meanwhile, we should
understand that some people preferred to keep work separate from enjoyable time at the bar, and somepeople do not like to drink (or cannot). It is necessary to arrange the way of the I-I work style appropriate
for each situation.
5. Conclusion
The I-I work style is not a very new idea. We have drunk with co-workers or friends many times,
talked a lot about our interests ranging from private to business, and sometimes come up with excellent
ideas. Some of the ideas have resulted in real projects. In particular, when we work on projects withcolleagues outside of a company, having a business talk at a bar seems very efficient and effective.
Many of you must also have the similar experience. As we realized the izakaya workplace could
complement the weaknesses of non-office work with the Internet, we came to believe that we could
separately manage two different functions that the typical central office has – the one for efficient work andthe other for creative work – in different ways. However, we should note that we have presented theizakaya workplace as an example that has worked best for us. You may want to look for your own
workplace that maximizes your creativity.
The existence of the traditional central office has been changing dramatically; non-territorial office,small office and home office (SOHO), tele-commuting, tele-work center, and virtual office are all increasing.
However, We doubt that these new workplaces are completely free from the traditional notion of the office.
We are still likely to consider a physical space first and then ask employees to adapt themselves to thephysical space. We have to rethink the meaning of our workplace from the perspective of the work itself
to find a new work style most suitable for each of us. The scope of facility management has expandedfrom facilities to business infrastructure. The existing new work styles, including the I-I work style, havereflected this change and will continue to evolve. The workplace of the future will be defined by thenature of work and work styles to enhance productivity and creativity. We hope this paper will give you anidea about how to reorganize your work style to improve the quality of your work life.

Reference:
Worthington, J. (2003, May 15). Quality and procurement in a changing world of work. Presentation at
TWN2003, Netherlands.

<Appendix A: Workers’ perception of the I-I work style: A survey result>
In the following questions, “bars” include all types of restaurants that offer alcohol, such as izakaya, wine bar, shot bar, sushi bar,pub, small restaurant, Japanese-style “ryotei” restaurant, club, and salon.
• Valid responses: 121• The proportion of men to women: 7 (men) to 3 (womem)• Age distribution: 20s (8); 30s (53); 40s (34); 50s (19); 60s (6); No answer (1)• Industry distribution: Services (81); Manufacturing (21); Government, education, institution (17); No answer (2)A. Regarding bars and the izakaya workplace (Unit: number unless noted)
Q1. What kind of alcohol do you like?

70
Beer

Q2. How many times do you go to a bar per
month?

1

47

Wine

Sake

17

4

Cocktail

²1

3-4

16

2

22

0

34
Non-alcohol

10-14

15-19

20

15

7 44

Others

N/A

36
5-9

16
80%²

22

Whisky34

100%
Q4. What is the most frequent
topic with your colleagues ata bar? (Check all that apply)

Shochu18
0

Q3. At what percent do you drink withco-workers IN YOUR COMPANY?

36

10

20

60%²

40%²

40

4

42
20%²

60

1

20²

<20%

1

N/A

80

100

120

Business
Hobby
RelationshipIndustry
FamilyPolitics/Economy
Old times
Others
N/A

Q5. What do you thing of talking aboutbusiness at a bar?

63

43
Good

Q6. Have you ever experienced coming
up with a business idea at a bar?

15

Don't mind Not prefer

94

27
Yes

Q7. Have you ever come up with an ideathat resulted in fruition at a bar?

No

76

44
Yes

Q8. Have you ever come up with an idea
when drinking with friends?

No

N/A

83

38
Yes

Q9. Have you experienced forgetting abusiness idea coming up at a bar?

1

No

70

51
Yes NoQ10. Which bar would you think is the best
to produce an idea?

62

27

Izakaya
RyoteiClub/Salon
Q11. How many people in a group would
you think are the best to produce anidea at a bar?

0 7

22

10 5 7 6

Small restaurant
Sushi bar
Others

31

54
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8-9

16
10-15

18

11

Wine bar
Pub
N/A

16²

N/A

7

06

Q12. What ratio of women to men would
you think is the best to produce anidea at a bar?

74

Q13. Which would you think is the best to
produce an idea at a bar, a group of
mixed generations or the same age?

The same sex only
A man among women

61
Mixed generations

Q16. What would you think is the most
preferable level of noise at a bar to
produce an idea?

Mixed positions

Rather quiet

Don't mind noisy bar

62

3
Dark

Q18. Have you ever failed in coming up
with an idea at a bar?

Rather dark

Rather bright

52
No

5

N/A

47

2 8

Prefer noisy env't

N/A

46

2 8

Bright

N/A

57
Yes

2

11

The same position

54

Must be quiet

8

Mixed occupations
The same occupation within company

42

10

2

10

63
Depends

12

N/A

44

Depends
The same occupation outside of company
N/A

6

21

The same generation

57

Q15. Which would you think is the best to
produce an idea at a bar, a group of
mixed positions or the same?

16

Half & half
N/A

37

Depends

Q14. What combination of occupations ina group would you think is the best to
produce an idea at a bar?

Q17. What would you think is the most
preferable level of lighting at a bar to
produce an idea?

22

Depends
A woman among men

12

N/A

B. Regarding work styles
Q19. What percentage of your job do you
think is possible to work on outside of
office using the Internet?

1 9

14

0%

10%

Q20. What would you think is the biggest
problem(s) if you tele-work outside of
office? (Check all that apply)

20%

30%

6
40%

50%

26
60%

70%

97

4

Q22. How often would you think
face-to-face meeting is needed if you
tele-work?

3

11

10

23 1

80%

90%

100%

N/A

Self-management

55
Possible

730

Personal communication Meeting

Q21. Would you think the “biggest
problem(s)” can be complemented bycommunication at a bar?

27

15

Motivation

N/A

25

To some extent possible

23

34

Difficult

Impossible

57

26

2

3
N/A

9

3

Everyday 3/week 2/week 1/week 2/month 1/month 1/2months Not needed

Q23. Are you interested in working using
the combination of the Internet andbars?
Q24. What types of occupations do you
think the “Internet & bar” work style ismost suitable for? (Check up to 3)

31

52

30

Yes
76

62
Planning
Development
Sales
Management
Clerk
N/A

No

38

Don't know
39

35

29

26

DesignResearch
Projects outside of company
Administration
Others13 7 243