VOA文化艺术2023--In Japan, ‘Job-leaving Agents’ Help People Quit Their Jobs

In Japan, ‘Job-leaving Agents’ Help People Quit Their Jobs

Japan is a nation known for its workers' loyalty¹ to their companies and lifetime employment. People who change jobs are often considered quitters, and that is seen as dishonorable.

But a number of "taishoku daiko," or "job-leaving agents," have started in the past several years. Their aim is to help people who want to leave their jobs.

Yoshihito Hasegawa heads Tokyo-based TRK, whose Guardian² service last year advised 13,000 people on how to leave their jobs with the fewest problems possible.

He said many people often stay in their jobs even when they are unhappy. They feel like they are sacrificing part of their lives for the greater good.

"It's the way things are done, the same way younger people are taught to honor older people," he said. "Quitting would be a betrayal."

The company Guardian is a taishoku daiko service founded in 2020. It has helped many people, mostly young people in their 20s and 30s, escape less painfully from jobs they want to quit. It includes people who have worked anywhere from a law firm to a restaurant.

Nearly half of Guardian's users are women. Some work for a day or two and then discover promises of pay or work hours were false.

Guardian charges $208 for its service. The cost includes a three-month membership in a union that will represent an employee in what can be a difficult negotiation³ process in Japan.

Most of Guardian's users have worked for the small and medium-sized businesses that employ most Japanese. Sometimes people working for major companies seek help.

In many cases, bosses have a lot of influence over how things are run. Sometimes they will not agree to let a worker leave. Businesses face worker shortages in Japan and do not want to lose them.

Japanese law guarantees people the right to quit. But some employers are used to old employment methods and cannot accept that someone they have trained would want to walk away.

Agreeing with Japan's work culture can be painfully heavy to some workers. They do not want to be seen as troublemakers⁴ and do not like to question supervisors⁵ or are afraid to speak up. They also might fear harassment⁶ after they quit. Some worry about the opinions of their families or friends.

Although most of Guardian's users do not like to make their name public, a young man who goes by the online name of Twichan used the service. He sought help after he was criticized for his sales performance and became so depressed⁷, he thought about harming himself. With Guardian's help, he was able to quit in 45 minutes.

Lawyer Akiko Ozawa is with a legal office that advises people on leaving their jobs. But the office usually represents the companies. She has written a book on taishoku daiko. She said it might be hard to believe people cannot just pick up and leave.

Ozawa said that changing jobs is a major difficulty in Japan that requires a lot of bravery. Since there is a shortage of workers in Japan, finding and training replacements⁸ is difficult and bosses sometimes explode in anger when someone quits.

"As long as this Japanese mindset exists, the need for my job isn't going away," said Ozawa, who charges $450 for her service. "If you are so unhappy that you're starting to feel ill, then you should make that choice to take control over your own life."

Words in This Story

quit – v. to leave (a job, school, or career)

union – n. an organization of workers formed to protect the rights and interests of its members

harassment – v. to annoy or bother (someone) in a constant or repeated way

1 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

2 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

3 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

4 troublemakers   

n.惹是生非者，捣乱者( troublemaker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was employed to chuck out any troublemakers. 他受雇把捣乱者赶走。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers. 她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

6 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

7 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

8 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网