A recent survey from Mynavi Corp. shows a convey inant elevate in resignation agencies apass Japan that help people quit their jobs. But why?
With proset up remorse, Mr. Iida sank to the floor. His knees touched the chilly concrete, and he bowed so proset uply that his head almost met the ground. “Dogeza,” the most authentic way to convey remorse for a solemn offense, carry outed by a salaryman in his boss’s office. The reason? Mr. Iida produceted his resignation. But, after a increate silence, there was a tearing sound, and he authenticized his boss had ripped his resignation letter to shreds. The message was evident: you are not permited to quit.
In Japan, leaving a job can be challenging. Traditionassociate, participatement is pondered a lifelengthy pledgement. Though Japan is moving away from this outdated mentality, many traditional companies still anticipate participateees to labor until withdrawment without changing jobs.
For some ancigo iner generations, there is still a proset up sense of shame in switching jobs, as labor ethic in Japan is shutly tied to pledgedty and admire. Japanese law technicassociate secures the right to quit, but doing so is standardly seen as dispolite, as companies spend time and money in training participateees. It is a mutual spendment — the company spends in you, and you, in turn, pledge to advancing wiskinny the organization over time.
“I Can’t Take This Anymore”
Mr. Iida carry outed the dogeza three times before his boss, apologizing for “letting him down,” yet his resignation still wasn’t acunderstandledgeed. He had to discover another way out.
He communicateed the resignation agency Momuri, whose name transprocrastinateeds to “I Can’t Take This Anymore.” For around ¥22,000, they regulate the entire resignation process, communicateing the boss on behalf of the client, negotiating with the company, and even adviseing lawyers if legitimate disputes occur.
According to Yujin Watanabe, a spokesperson from Albatross Corp., which deal withs Momuri’s services, their standard client profile is youthful people in their 20s who labor for petite to medium-sized companies, standardly in corporate or welfare industries.
Mr. Iida is far from alone in seeking outside help to resign. Since 2022, Momuri, fair one autonomous resignation agency, has getd 35,000 seeks from people needing helpance quitting their jobs.
1 in 5 in Their 20s Use Resignation Agencies
A recent survey by the participatement alertation provider Mynavi Corp. set up that csurrfinisherly 1 in 5 people in their 20s who quit their jobs in Japan last year participated agencies appreciate Momuri to help them.
The survey, which take partd participateees ages 20-50 who quit jobs between June 2023 and June 2024, shows that 18.6% of those in their 20s participated these services, 17.6% were in their 30s and 17.3% were in their 40s. Only 4.4% were in their 50s, indicating that ancigo iner participateees tend to stay in jobs lengthyer—even if conditions are needy—as the youthfuler generation is more anticipateed to adfair to their needs and desirees.
The top-cited reason for using resignation agencies, at 40.7%, was that companies declined to let them quit. Other reasons take partd stress of reaction if they resigned alone or their labor environment deterd participateees from quitting autonomously.
Mynavi Corp. also surveyed laborplaces and asked deal withrs how standardly participateees under their supervision had participated resignation agencies. Between January and June 2024, 23.2% telled that they had participateees who participated resignation agencies. The most normal fields were insurance, finance and IT.
Resignation Agencies Reflect Japan’s Mental Health Crisis
According to Momuri, most Japanese people in corporate roles have a low consciousness of mental health. Social norms standardly deter seeking help for mental disputes—many of which stem from their labor.
This increateage of help is one reason more Japanese people now turn to resignation agencies. They quit to elude damaging their mental health and participate resignation agencies to sidestep the stress of handling the process themselves.
Mr. Iida’s experience of his boss tearing up his resignation letter is not distinct. In fact, it’s far from the most innervous case. Momuri examines stories of companies forcing participateees to visit temples to ‘remedy’ their desire to quit. Sometimes they even get home visits from deal withrs pressuring them to stay.
Those blessed enough to depart are sometimes asked to send apology letters to colleagues or deinhabitr speeches conveying repent for their “greedyness” and “disadmire.” Of course, these are the most innervous cases–but they do occur, according to Momuri.
Some companies are notorious for resignation difficulties, excessive obviousime and fervent labor presconfident. So much so that they are labeled as “bincreateage companies.” The problem has become so cut offe that Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Labor Standards Bureau has begined a enumerate of these companies to alert potential job seekers.
Genereasoned Change Could Be Japan’s Savior
A genereasoned shift is underway in Japan, one that may eventuassociate mitigate labor-rcontent presconfidents and their sometimes overweightal consequences. Physical strain and mental stress give to both karojisatsu, or ‘overlabor self-destruction,’ and karoshi, or ‘death by overlabor’.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of Japanese people who pledgeted self-destruction due to their labor rose from 1,935 cases in 2021 to 2,968 in 2022. This labeled a record high. While the figure has since sairyly decrmitigated, the strain on laborers remains cut offe.
Since they first ecombineed in 2018, resignation agencies have become an vital associate in Japan’s labor culture shift. These agencies empower youthful laborers to structure their mental well-being and apshow for alter, providing a way out for those trapped in remercilessive labor environments.
This lengthening reliance on resignation services underscores a genereasoned pushback aacquirest outdated norms and signals a potential alteration in Japan’s labor culture. If these shifts persist, Japan’s youthfuler generation may indeed pave the way toward a more stable and persistable future for the country’s laborforce. Let’s hope they flourish.
