Japan's 'Reception Desk' Staffed by Young Women May Disappear After 100 Years... "Outdated for the Times"

Trend Toward Automation Due to COVID-19 and Rising Labor Costs
Seen as an Opportunity to Break Gender Role Stereotypes

The reception desks of companies, which showcase Japan's unique hospitality culture, are gradually disappearing due to COVID-19 and rising labor costs. The reception desk culture, where typically young women under 30 wear uniforms and attend to guests, has faced criticism within Japan in recent years as being outdated. Attention is now focused on whether this culture, maintained for over 100 years since the early 20th century, can enter a new phase in line with changing times.

On the 10th, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that more companies are eliminating reception desks, known as 'Uketsuke' (受付), and introducing kiosks to automate reception services. Reception desks are similar to Korea’s 'information desks' but also play a role in individually attending to visitors. In Japanese companies, first-time visitors typically state their purpose at the reception desk, where staff confirm the relevant person in charge and then guide the visitor accordingly.

Staff members attending to visitors at the reception desk. (Photo by Mainabi)

Until now, companies have employed mostly young women at reception desks, calling them the 'face of the company' and the 'flower of the workplace' because they are the first point of contact for visitors. Although male employees have recently been hired as well, there remains a preference for women under 30. Many companies even set employment conditions for reception duties with age restrictions such as 'women aged 23 to 28.'

However, external challenges like COVID-19 and rising labor costs have led to a gradual disappearance of this culture. Japanese Lotte, considering that visitors to the company dropped to one-tenth of pre-pandemic levels, eliminated its reception desk staffed by two women and installed tablets for visitor check-in. Visitors call the employee they wish to meet directly via the tablet, which sends a notification saying 'a guest has arrived' to the employee’s smartphone or computer messenger. Tasks such as location guidance are handled by security personnel stationed on-site instead of receptionists.

According to Receptionist, the company that developed this system, the number of companies adopting it has increased significantly since COVID-19. The total number of tablet uses rose about 70% from 1.18 million in 2019 to 2.04 million in 2022. A Receptionist representative stated, “Introducing an unmanned system can reduce reception desk operation costs to about one-tenth of the previous amount.”

A receptionist's system registering visitors using a tablet. (Photo by Receptionist Official Website)

Other companies are joining this trend. Companies that have adopted Receptionist’s system include Japan Orion, Tokyo Gas, and Mitsubishi Estate, among others. A large food company also reduced its head office reception staff from three to one and is considering transitioning even that position to online.

Nikkei views this change as a fundamental opportunity to break gender stereotypes. The reception desk culture in Japan was introduced in companies in the early 20th century and has been maintained for 100 years, but it has been criticized as outdated due to its preference for women under 30 and rules such as wearing uniforms and high heels.

Professor Honda Yuki of the University of Tokyo pointed out, “Assigning women to interpersonal services like reception desks is a historically long-standing culture that is outdated. Japan has strong gender biases, and the idea that women should greet people with a smiling face is deeply rooted. Not only men but women themselves tend to think this way.”

Professor Honda added, “The more women there are in an occupation, the more likely it is to have many non-regular employees and low wages.” In fact, most reception desk workers are contract employees dispatched by outsourcing companies rather than directly employed by the head office.

Although change has begun, some companies still insist that “guests must always be greeted with a smiling face,” so it is expected to take more time for this culture to be fully established. The general affairs manager of Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, a major Japanese insurance company, emphasized, “We have never considered automating the reception desk. The reception lobby is essentially a place that shows the company’s brand value.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.