self-destructive sales practice; forcing employees to buy their own products to meet quotas
Colloquial term for a sales tactic where staff are pressured to purchase the company's products themselves in order to hit sales targets, often seen in industries with aggressive quotas.
Through self-destructive sales practices, employees are forced to buy products out of their own pockets.
Self-destructive sales practices are rampant in order to meet quotas.
ノルマ refers to the quota or target itself, while 自爆営業 describes the practice of meeting that quota by making employees buy the products.
自腹 means paying out of one's own pocket, which is a key element of 自爆営業, but 自爆営業 specifically refers to the sales practice.
Compound of 自爆 (self-destruction) and 営業 (sales/business), literally 'self-destruct sales'. The term likens the practice to a suicide bombing, emphasizing its harmful nature to the employees themselves.