The Great Resignation in Japan?

The Olympics have been and gone.  Japanese athletes performed extremely well. Obon holidays are upon us as is budgeting season so it is a great time to take stock of where the specialized job market is at and what 2022 can bring.

Despite the pandemic and summer holiday season the specialized job market is robust.  Client demand is high for bilingual accounting and finance, supply chain and logistics and HR professionals.  Roles within our specialities where we see highest demand are FP&A professionals, demand planners and HR business partners.  Supply of bilingual candidates in these areas is limited and sought after candidates are receiving multiple offers.  Candidates who are based outside of Japan and have signed offers for roles in Japan are waiting patiently for Japan to open up again and start accepting working VISA applications. If you are a candidate its a great time to be on the market as there are many options available with companies still entering the Japan market even in a pandemic.  We expect the Japan market to remain strong through 2022 as the US and Europe come out of Covid and Japan vaccination rates catch up.

Economists are talking a lot about the Great Resignation globally and with good reason. A Microsoft survey of more than 30,000 global workers showed that 41% of workers were considering quitting or changing professions this year.  

When we ask candidates in Japan for key priorities in their job search, clarity of work style post-Covid is high on their list. This was not such a priority back in 2019. We have seen many candidates embrace the work from home opportunity by moving to places like Hayama or Karuizawa.  Many candidates are in hybrid or total work from home at the moment but want clarity on future work style so that they can plan their lives accordingly.  Some candidates are still working in offices and are looking for a more flexible work style.  At a minimum, hybrid work style needs to be offered to mitigate the risk of the Great Resignation in Japan.

In interviews with candidates we recommend giving a crystal clear description of what your work style will be post-Covid and why. This should help with employee attraction. We have already seen candidates who changed jobs during Covid looking to leave already as their work style reality is way different to what was described in the interview process.  Avoid the Great Resignation.