Once a bastion for "corporate warriors" fiercely devoted to their jobs, Japan has spent the past decades shifting towards a better work-life balance with greater emphasis on mental health.But a small cohort of Gen-Z workers in the world's fourth-largest economy is seeking to emulate that bygone zeal, disenchanted with "soft" modern workplace culture they see as hindering growth.At Global Partners, a business support and development firm, workers form a circle every morning, sway rhythmically and rapid-fire mantras like "build up sales!" in throat-shredding screams, with someone randomly chosen to pep-talk the crowd in a test of mettle.The company has become an internet sensation and draws young hires longing to be toughened up, including 26-year-old employee Kotaro Kawabata."Here, it's like 'boom' right off the bat. Everyone is like 'Alright, let's all get to work!' -- I absolutely love it," he told AFP.One of a dozen motivational Post-it notes adorning his computer reads, "Kotaro, you're the number one salesman.""I can really grow here. They're strict with me and they even get mad at me for the sake of my development," Kawabata said.Asuka Obri Okabe, too, welcomed wholehearted scoldings, which she treated "as a form of love", the 28-year-old told AFP."What's truly scary is an environment where I'm never corrected, and left to move forward in the wrong direction."A 2023 survey by research firm Recruit Works Institute showed that 64 percent of middle managers in Japan scold their subordinates no more than "a few times" a year.Gone are the days when tough love and the "homogeneity of male full-timers" steered corporate Japan, Shoto Furuya, the institute's chief researcher, told AFP.