Japanese managers’ experiences of neuro-linguistic programming: a qualitative investigation

Published date13 May 2019
Date13 May 2019
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-06-2018-0033
Pages174-185
AuthorYasuhiro Kotera,William Van Gordon
Subject MatterHealth & social care
Japanese managersexperiences
of neuro-linguistic programming:
a qualitative investigation
Yasuhiro Kotera and William Van Gordon
Abstract
Purpose Though several work-related mental health training initiatives have been implemented in Japan,
the effectiveness of such approaches remains unclear. Consequently, some Japanese corporations prefer
using interventions such as neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to improve employee mental health and
wellbeing. This language-based development methodology has been the subject of debate in terms of the
quality of the underlying empirical evidence. However, a perspective missing from this debate is an evidence-
based understanding of the first-hand experiences of employees that have undertaken NLP training. The
purpose of this paper is to inform this debate by conducting a rigorous qualitative examination of the
experiences of Japanese senior managers who had recently received training in NLP.
Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews attended by 11 Japanese NLP master
practitioners were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings Four themes emerged from the data set: improving work-related mental health, NLP fosters a
better understanding of the mind, NLP helps to reframe perspectives relating to work and mental health, and
challenges of NLP training.
Originality/value While managers found NLP training skills such as reframing and neuro-logical levels
useful to their managerial practice and mental health more generally, they raised concerns about NLPs
reputation as well as the utility of some of the techniques employed in NLP.
Keywords Japan, Positive psychology, Japanese management, Neuro-linguistic programming,
Occupational mental health
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
There is growing awareness of mental illness in Japan (Kobori et al., 2014) where the number of
individuals diagnosed with depression increased by 136 per cent between 1999 and 2008
(MHLW, 2015). Japan has one of the highest rates of suicide among developed countries
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2015) and 12 per cent of all suicide
cases are deemed to be work-related (National Police Agency, 2016). Furthermore,
approximately 60 per cent of the Japanese working population experience intense anxiety
and stress (MHLW, 2010), and the number of Japanese workerscompensation claims for
mental health problems increased from 200 in 2000 to 1,500 in 2015 (MHLW, 2016). From a
financial perspective, if Japan was to eradicate suicide and depression, the yearly financial
benefit would be approximately JPY 2.7 trillion, equivalent to 0.7 per cent of GDP (Kaneko and
Sato, 2010).
TheJapanesewordKaroshi means death from overworkand it refers to health and
psychological problems arising from long working hours that are typical of many Japanese
workplaces (Kopp, 2017). Consistent with the traditional Japanese value of a focussed
work ethic (Ono, 2016), long working hours have sometimes been a prerequisite for
acceptance within the Japanese office setting (Hisamoto, 2003). Indeed, a quarter of Japanese
Received 1 June 2018
Revised 4 February 2019
Accepted 22 February 2019
Yasuhiro Kotera and William
Van Gordon are both based at
the Centre for Human Sciences
Research, University of Derby,
Derby, UK.
PAGE174
j
THE JOURNAL OF MENTALHEALTH TRAINING, EDUCATION AND PRACTICE
j
VOL. 14 NO. 3 2019, pp.174-185, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1755-6228 DOI 10.1108/JMHTEP-06-2018-0033

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