Tension Peaks at the Sound of a Ringtone... New Jobs Emerge Amid Rising Call Phobia in Japan [Sunday Culture]

'Call Phobia' on the Rise Among Generation Z After the Pandemic
New Employees Sent to 'Phone Response Training'
Phone Answering Services Gain Popularity

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a simultaneous global increase in 'call phobia,' or the fear of answering phone calls. Many people report feeling a sense of pressure when the phone rings, thinking things like, "Did I do something seriously wrong?" or "Is this really important enough to require a call instead of just sending a message?" In neighboring Japan, this trend of call phobia is also on the rise. As a result, companies have emerged to train new employees on how to answer the phone, and even phone answering services have appeared. Today, we introduce the phenomenon of call phobia, which has also been covered by Japanese media, as well as some of the solutions being offered.

This week, the Asahi Shimbun introduced a company called 'Dufine,' which conducts telephone response training for new employees. The paper reported, "The number of young employees quitting because they dislike answering the phone is increasing, causing problems for companies," and, "There are employees who are so poor at answering internal calls that they cannot even report within the company."

Advertisement for the telephone answering service company 'Phondesk'. Phondesk website.

This company provides training on how to use landline phones and proper phone etiquette to more than 100 companies each year. Quite a few trainees have said, "This is my first time touching a landline phone." Some companies even require their new employees to undergo a full week of telephone training.

This phenomenon is partly due to the fact that people are now more accustomed to smartphones than to landline phones. Many households no longer have a landline at all. According to a 2023 survey by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the proportion of households with a landline phone has dropped by 20 percentage points over the past decade, to just 57.9%. In contrast, over 90% of people now use smartphones.

Many people who experience call phobia belong to generations that are comfortable with social networking services (SNS). Because they know that a single misstep in wording on SNS can quickly escalate into a real-time controversy, they find the immediacy of phone calls intimidating. The nature of business conversation in Japanese, which requires the use of honorifics, adds to the pressure. There is an added burden of having to use forms of speech they do not typically use with friends. Because these generations are more accustomed to communicating via messaging apps like LINE or making reservations through applications, many people in their 20s even give up on restaurants that only accept reservations by phone.

Promotional graphic for the phone answering service company "Phondesk." It depicts people complaining with phrases like "I can't get my work done because I'm answering calls," "There aren't enough people to handle the calls," and "It feels like I come to work just to answer the phone." Phondesk.

As a result, dedicated phone answering services have emerged. These are not call centers in the traditional sense, but services that actually answer business calls on behalf of clients. Looking at the samples provided by these companies, the service involves a staff member answering the call directly. The company begins with, "Thank you for calling. This is OO. May I ask the purpose of your call?" and continues with, "The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable, so I will relay your message. Could you please leave a number where you can be reached?" The service then forwards the information to the relevant parties via messenger.

The plans offered by these companies are subdivided into categories such as secretary answering services, night and holiday answering, complaint call handling, and recruitment-specific phone answering, among others.

Some may wonder, "If phone calls are that frightening, how do people get their work done?" In Japan, an illustration by an illustrator who eventually took a leave of absence due to phone phobia resonated with many people on social media. In the past, it was common to call a friend's house on the landline and ask, "Hello, is so-and-so home?" to get permission to visit, but the world seems to be changing rapidly. In Korea as well, there is still the perception that the youngest employee should handle the phone, which may make this task feel especially burdensome for those just starting their careers.