The Paths We Each Walk: Having Lunch Drinks with Former Colleagues from a Foreign-Affiliated Company

Hello everyone. This is Shinmaru.
Yesterday, for the first time in a while, I went out for lunch drinks with former colleagues from a foreign-affiliated company in the basement of the Osaka Station building.

Everyone having lunch drinks had such great expressions on their faces. You could tell they were enjoying the drinks and conversation with people they felt comfortable with.

There were three of us, including myself, who gathered this time. We are each currently working at different companies. The oldest, A-san, has already retired from that foreign-affiliated company and is now working at another one.

The youngest, B-san, is still working hard at that same foreign-affiliated company. Since A-san and B-san don't live that far apart, it seems they, along with C-san who couldn't make it this time, go out for drinks quite often.

The last time I met them was when A-san invited me out for drinks because he was retiring from the foreign-affiliated company, so about a year and a half has passed since then.

Neither of them has changed much in appearance, but time has certainly passed, and I feel how quickly it goes by.

After a toast, we immediately started catching up. At the foreign-affiliated company where I used to work, some people I knew had left the company due to retirement or changing jobs. There were even people I thought, 'Wait, really? That person?'

It seems the environment has changed quite a bit; I heard that a certain colleague who was a promising young talent is now on assignment at a German company. It also seems that B-san is highly regarded by the company, as he has been presented with something like a retention plan.

It makes me realize once again that their personnel system is completely different from that of a Japanese company. They are identifying who is truly necessary for the company, especially among the young employees.

On the other hand, A-san, who moved to a different foreign-affiliated company, seems to have built a good relationship with the boss he had during his interview, but according to A-san,“Give me more work.”is how he feels.

How should I put it? Because of the distance, A-san basically works from home and doesn't have many opportunities to interact with colleagues, so it seems his work performance isn't easily conveyed. I felt his desire to achieve results quickly and show his capabilities to his colleagues.

Even so, A-san has outstanding communication skills, so I think he will be fine. More than that, I was a bit surprised by the passion for work shown by A-san, who is approaching his 60th birthday. Was he always this enthusiastic about work? Excuse me...

It seems A-san's son got married last year, and the thought that he might eventually become a grandfather made me think, 'Ah, I've reached that age, haven't I?'

Hearing about A-san's recent business trip to Europe in business class! made me think that business class travel is impossible in my current job, and I realized that they, working at foreign-affiliated companies, and I, who moved to a Japanese company, are each walking our own paths.

The still-young B-san will likely continue to work hard at his current foreign-affiliated company, and A-san said his retirement age is 65, and he intends to work hard until then.

So, what will I do? There are still things I want to do in my current job. However, I want to start something else, something more, little by little. I will write about that on another occasion.

Well then, I hope C-san can join us for lunch drinks next time.

Thank you very much for reading until the end.