In Japan, an agency helps employees resign from their jobs. Because Japan is notorious for its tough work culture. For many, it is the ultimate form of disrespect to quit a job at a company.
Japan is notorious for its work culture: Overtime is not uncommon in this Asian country, and many employees would rather voluntarily work overtime than take a vacation. The problem is: No one wants to take a vacation or even give the impression of being less diligent than their colleagues. Officially, as in Germany, a daily working time of 8 hours is provided in Japan (via Betriebsrat.de).
A similar problem exists when it comes to resigning from a job in Japan. Traditionally, an employee works for the same company for decades, if not their entire life. Many view it as the ultimate form of disrespect when someone finally resigns. For this reason, individuals wishing to quit are supported by a “resignation agency.”
Agency helps employees who want to quit but cannot
The agency Momuri promises to help employees file their resignations, negotiate with their companies, and recommend lawyers in case of legal disputes. Shiori Kawamata, the operations manager of Momuri, stated that they received up to 11,000 inquiries from customers in the past year alone. This is reported by the English-language magazine CNN. “Momuri” means something like “I can’t take it anymore” in Japanese.
The agency explained that the work culture is really harsh and some employees are desperate.
Some people come to us after their resignation letter has been torn up three times, and their employers won’t let them resign, even if they kneel on the ground to bow.
The agency charges 22,000 yen (for full-time jobs) or 12,000 yen (for part-time jobs) for its assistance, which is about 130 euros.
Some employees complain that they are harassed by their bosses when they try to quit, according to Kawamata, and that their bosses repeatedly ring their doorbell and refuse to leave:
We sometimes get calls from crying people asking us if they can quit their job because of XYZ. We tell them that it’s okay and that resignation is a labor right.
In Japan, there has been an effort to accommodate employees with various simplifications for some time: For instance, a four-day work week was offered to relieve overstressed individuals and provide more family time. However, in Japan, this is not enough. They are now offering employees to shorten their daily working hours by an additional 2 hours: In Japan, the 4-day work week is not enough: Thus, it has been decided to cut out two additional hours per day.
