In Japanese companies, working under a humble leader makes it easier for subordinates to express their opinions without hesitation and to demonstrate their true potential, according to Akiko Matsuo, a specially appointed assistant professor, and Shinichiro Kumagai, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology. A research group has discovered this.
According to the University of Tokyo, the survey was conducted online among 35.67 respondents from multiple companies in Japan with an average age of 462 years old. Questions were asked to measure leadership, psychological safety, which refers to the state of being able to express one's opinions without hesitation, and humility in leaders.
When the results were analyzed using statistical methods, it was found that leader humility increases psychological safety and reduces presenteeism. Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Matsuo believes that the results of this study will provide important hints for helping employees demonstrate their full potential.
Presenteeism not only worsens the health of individual employees, it can also reduce organizational performance and incur huge costs. This is an issue that must be addressed urgently, especially in a super-aging society like Japan, which is facing a decline in the working population.
