Japan's Workers Turn to Job-Quitting Services
Choosing to quit your job is a big decision, and one that can be very stressful.
It's even more stressful in Japan, where job loyalty is valued, and workers are typically expected to stay at the same company for their whole working lives.
Because of this, it's difficult for people in Japan to quit a job, even if it's making them miserable, says Yoshihito Hasegawa.
"It's the way things are done, the same way younger people are taught to honor older people," he said to The Associated Press. "Quitting would be a betrayal."
This expectation to stay with one company can make quitting difficult for those who find it hard to speak up — which makes the idea of a service that will quit for them quite popular.
Hasegawa is from Guardian, one of a number of job-quitting services that have started in the last few years. These companies help employees leave their jobs by acting as intermediaries between them and their employers.
According to a survey by Momuri, another of these companies, many workers are unable to quit their jobs by themselves because of harassment from their bosses.
"Some people come to us after having their resignation letter ripped three times and employers not letting them quit even when they kneel down to the ground to bow," Momuri's Shiori Kawamata told CNN.
Momuri surveyed nearly 16,000 people who used their job-quitting service between March 2022 and July 2024. About 60% of participants were in their 20s, and 20% were in their 30s.
Around a third of participants said they had chosen to use a job-quitting service because of some form of harassment from their boss. Some commented that their boss shouted at them in meetings, or even got involved in their personal lives.
And 30% said their boss wouldn't let them quit — even though the right to quit is protected by Japanese law.
