Dedicating oneself to a single job for life and mastering it is one of the most well-known cultural elements of Japan. But in recent years this has begun to change. While job change rates are increasing in Japan, “resignation agencies” are increasing day by day, as a new line of work for those who do not want to deal with the psychological difficulties of the resignation process.
Whatever the reason, resigning is a very difficult process for many people. When an emotional attachment to the job or institution is developed, people can even show their reactions when they have to end a love relationship that went bad. As career coaches have emphasized, leaving the job is a process that should be carried out in a healthy way, just like getting a job. For employees who do not want to deal with this psychological intensity or the possibility of persuading the employer to return, resignation agencies are set up in Japan, serving between $300-450. Moreover, if you buy this service more than once, you can get a discount of up to 90 dollars each time.
According to a report published in 2018, the number of people changing jobs in Japan increased seven years in a row, reaching 3.11 million in 2017. Still, the number of Japanese workers changing jobs represented less than 5 percent of the total workforce in those years. Despite this, it is stated that resignation agencies are in high demand and they close the year with their targeted profit rates.
These agencies have a mission they call “recovering helpless workers from their current situation”. They state that while the world is developing and updating, new opportunities emerge every day and that they aim to completely eliminate the difficulties experienced by Japanese employees, who are generally far from the idea of changing jobs.
Resignation agencies basically meet with the employer instead of the employee and continue the resignation processes from start to finish. According to Japan’s labor laws, employees who want to leave their job must give two weeks’ notice. But Japanese tradition dictates that they give at least a month’s notice and explain their plans to managers in a face-to-face meeting. This etiquette also includes a formal letter of resignation and a call for leaving employees to hand out various small gifts on their last day, to show their appreciation to their coworkers. At this point, resignation agencies act as a kind of buffer, notifying the bosses that they have lost a worker, and conveying basic requests, but not getting involved in complex issues such as possible severance payments. Often times, the former employee and former company
This service is generally used by employees from many sectors, from website managers to restaurant chefs aged 20-30. The reasons for leaving the job are diversified in the focus of incompatibility with the job and disagreements with the managers.
