70% of Japanese Workers Are 'Quiet Quitting'
Only 6% of Japanese employees feel engaged in their work, according to a new global study — and the majority are "quiet quitting"!
Gallup's State of the Global Workplace report is an annual study of employees in over 160 countries and regions. The study looks at how workers around the world feel about their jobs, and divides them into three groups: "engaged," "not engaged" and "actively disengaged."
Those who are "engaged" are doing well at work and enthusiastic about their jobs. Japan's figure of 6% for employee engagement is one of the lowest in the world. In the US, 33% of employees feel engaged in their work, while globally the figure is 23%.
Employees who are "not engaged" are considered to be "quiet quitting" — meaning they do their job, but don't put effort or energy into it. In Japan, 70% of employees are "not engaged," according to the report.
Another 24% of Japanese employees are "actively disengaged." Sometimes called "loud quitting," not only are these employees unhappy with their work, they are actively telling everyone how they feel!
The report also found that two in five Japanese workers feel stressed, and 33% say they are watching out for or actively looking for a new job — even though only 40% say now is a good time to find one.
Employee engagement is important not only for the success of individual businesses, but for national economies, Gallup says. According to a Gallup analysis, low employee engagement cost Japanese companies over 86 trillion yen in 2023 — or about $544 billion.
Gallup says managers have a lot of responsibility for how employees feel about their jobs — even more so than government policies or a healthy economy.
Chihiro Kamimura, a Gallup consultant, says simple changes can "make significant improvements to work life for many," and that employee surveys and "meaningful conversations" between teams and their managers can help people feel more engaged.
