A bar in Japan where bartenders offer career advice over free drinks

Is my salary as per industry standards? Is it time to change my job? Am I losing motivation to work?

Sometimes, workplace stress isn’t just about meeting deadlines or making presentations. Sometimes, it’s existential. And now, more often than ever, because Viru Sahastrabuddhi, a.k.a Virus from 3 Idiots was indeed right, “Life is a race, if you don’t run fast, you will be like a broken anda (egg).” Yeah, tell us about the hustle.

This feels almost universal. Interestingly, Japan has found a way to cater to people questioning their jobs, with drinks and career advice on the house. It’s a bar.

Yes, a bar.

What's a 'Job Change Consultation Bar'?

Bar culture across the globe is evolving, and how. But who would have thought that one day you could go to a bar not just to sulk or feel low about your career graph (and also pay for it), but actually to have a career counselling session? Well, someone in Japan did.

It’s called the Tenshoku Sodan Bar, which loosely translates to 'Job-Changing Consultation Bar'.

"The idea for this bar came to me while I was listening to employees’ concerns and career questions in casual drinking settings. That experience inspired me to create a place where people can openly talk about their careers over drinks," Shota Umemoto, owner of Tenshoku Sodan Bar, tells India Today.

The concept

Taking career advice can feel like a lot of work unless you’re already prepared to hand in your resignation and have your future mapped out to perfection. Tenshoku Sodan Bar, which opened recently, is trying to be the opposite of that, as reported by The Japan Times. It’s a place where you can talk to a career professional without things getting formal or goal-oriented too quickly.

"We opened this bar because we believe there is a need for a place where people can first take the time to organise their thoughts and gain clarity, without assuming that changing jobs must be the immediate outcome," Umemoto says.

There’s a wide grey zone between loving your job and wanting to stay forever, and hating it enough to quit immediately. Most people live somewhere in the middle. Tenshoku Sodan Bar picked up on this problem.

When you’re in that in-between space, it’s surprisingly hard to find neutral advice or an experienced ear. Friends and family, however well-meaning, often come with their own worries, expectations or hopes for you, making honest, pressure-free conversations about work harder than they should be.

Umemoto shared that the "most frequently discussed issue is the working environment. Many people express doubts about workplaces that require excessive hard work, and there is a strong sense that they are seeking better work–life balance."

Hence, the bar aims to create a safe space for working professionals to air doubts, thought spirals, uncertainties, career-related rants, and henceforth seek advice.

“We listen, but we don’t judge” is very much the vibe.

Wait, it gets a little more interesting.

Inside career consultation bar

First, visitors need to make a prior reservation. The consultation typically lasts around 60 to 90 minutes and is held in a private room. The bar also claims to maintain confidentiality under regulations governed by the Labour Bureau for employment placement agencies there.

Pretty discreet, aren’t they? That's not it.

Here the bartenders are not your regular mixologists who fix you a nice drink. They are the ones you book your appointment with.

“In a bar-style setting, nationally certified career consultants will work with you to design your future. The bartenders available for consultation include current business owners, executives of human resources companies, and nationally certified career consultants,” reads the official website.

You can also choose which professional you wish to book an appointment with.

The people who usually turn up range from their early 20s to their 60s. Their professions and industries also vary widely – from restaurant and entertainment managers to nurses and senior executives at large companies.

And there are repeat customers, too. "In our first month after opening, we welcomed 60 guests in total, and 15 of them have visited more than once."

It's free, free, free!

There’s no consultation fee, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are free. The idea is to help people lower their guard and open up more comfortably about their thoughts.

Sounds too good to be true, right? But, it exists. Guests are not required to pay for any services. The owner reiterates, "Everything we offer is completely free of charge."

If anything, you are just earning some life lessons.

But how do they earn then?

"Our business is sustained through referral fees paid by companies that successfully hire jobseekers we introduce. If, during the course of conversation, a guest expresses interest in exploring new opportunities, we look for suitable job openings together at the bar, casually and openly, often with a drink in hand," Umemoto explained. He is also the representative director of LIA Staffing Co., the company that operates this bar.

In the contemporary era, everything is becoming more intentional and more experiential. Even the bars.

If bars once existed to help people forget their problems, this one exists for people ready to talk about them. And perhaps that’s the most telling sign of our times.

If anyone's listening, India needs one too! What do you think?