Departments
Tenshoku
転職
changing jobs
Job-hopping has traditionally been frowned upon in Japan. Since early in the postwar era, the Japanese have viewed the employment relationship as a serious commitment for both sides.
In this relationship, the company’s responsibility was to provide the employee with stable, meaningful employment. Until recently, Japanese companies did not lay workers off during economic downturns. By maintaining payrolls through recessions, companies demonstrated that their commitment to workers transcended the quarterly earnings statement. In return, employees were expected to be loyal corporate citizens, and not be on the constant lookout for a better situation.
While the bias against tenshoku, or changing one’s employment situation, remains strong in Japan, attitudes have moderated in recent years. Japan’s economic problems during the recession of the 1990s forced employers to lay off employees. This naturally altered the basic paradigm. If companies were no longer bound by the old social contract, then no one could blame workers for exercising more self-interest.
Outside influences have also conspired to weaken resistance to tenshoku. Most major Japanese companies have some form of relationship with North American and European companies. Japanese businesspersons have seen that their Western counterparts have no compunction about jumping ship for a better deal. (In fact, I have known more than one discontented Japanese businessperson who has switched jobs during or shortly after an extended work assignment in the United States.)
Finally, the Internet has made the process of looking for new employment much easier in Japan, as it has elsewhere. Companies are also enthusiastic about online recruiting, and numerous job-related sites can be found on the Japanese-language Internet.