Some Workers in Japan Who Want To Leave Their Jobs Are Paying a Startup To Tell Their Bosses That They Won't Be Back (japantimes.co.jp) 103
Stressed out, overworked, or just over it: Workers in Japan who want to leave their jobs -- but don't want to face the stress of quitting in person -- are paying a startup called Exit to tell their bosses that they won't be back. Local media reports: "Quitting jobs can be a soul-crushing hassle. We're here to provide a sense of relief by taking on that burden," said Toshiyuki Niino, co-founder of Senshi S, a startup he and childhood friend Yuichiro Okazaki launched last year. The company operates Exit, a service that relays an employee's intention to resign for a fee: $450 for full-time employees and $360 for part-time workers. Repeat clients get a $90 discount. Whether or not people consider that expensive depends on how desperate they are. But if business is any indication, many regard it as a worthy investment for some much-needed peace of mind. In the one year since Niino and Okazaki set up shop, they have mediated the resignations of roughly 700 to 800 clients from across the nation as the number of requests surge. Amid a tight job market and an improving economy, more workers are changing jobs, lured by higher salaries and fewer hours.
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Wow, my comment went from +4 Funny to -1 Troll.
Quite the turn of events...
I paid a service to moderate the forum for me. Look like I need to fire them.
I clearly don't identify with japanese workers.. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Yeah they could shoot eachother a lot more or get in more Walmart fights, good point.
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That sounds like a Republican paradise..
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Change used panty vending machines to guns and ammo vending machines like on Borderlands.. That is what I call paradise.
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Empathy (Score:3)
Empathy is a huge part. That is why they wear a mask. To protect others.
They wear masks for a lot of reasons and protecting others from illness is not foremost [soranews24.com] among them for many Japanese. In many cases it is to protect themselves from illness or from allergens.
The US culture has a lot of lack of empathy.
That's simply not true as a broad brush statement. Americans are by and large very empathetic people. Hell we greet each other with salutations like "how are you" which people from many other countries find rather intrusive. You seem to be confusing our taste for independence and autonomy with our empathy for others
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Damn man, you have been so fucked over you don't know what is going on. This is Japan the non-disposable work force. Companies are loyal to workers, workers at a company are loyal to each other, sense of honour, of commitment to the company, other staff members and customers, has real import, real personal value. When you quit, you abandon the loyalty the company has shown you, the loyalty of fellow employees and the loyalty of your customers.
That is why the stress when leaving ie disposable workers == dis
Re: I clearly don't identify with japanese worker (Score:2, Funny)
AWS mail server will eat through that no problem
Re:I clearly don't identify with japanese workers. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Well, taking a healthy dump on the boss' desk right before you tell him to kiss your ass does bring catharsis and relief at the same time, but...
Re: I clearly don't identify with japanese workers (Score:1)
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I really can't imagine the degree of cowardice necessary to actually pay someone to inform an employer that you're quitting. If someone quit my employment in this manner I'd be pleased to have them go; there are times when you have to exhibit a backbone when representing your interests or the interests of your employer and engaging Exit is proof certain you didn't have one.
The only time I can imagine such a step being appropriate is if you suspect there might be an attempt at coercion, for instance when
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I really can't imagine the degree of cowardice necessary to actually pay someone to inform an employer that you're quitting.
Yeah... doesn't make sense to me either. Would be more sensible to be able to hire someone to be able to represent you at performance reviews or in conducting research and providing an on-site service to help negotiate for higher pay or enhanced benefits on your behalf with your boss
- as your personal representative and expert in the industry (Since you as an individua
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If someone quit my employment in this manner I'd be pleased to have them go
That's kind of the point, in a way.
It makes more sense in Japan, because Culture. Here, not so much (unless a US startup offered the same service with the added bonus of sending dead flowers, fecal material, or suchlike to your newly-former employer... waitaminute...)
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I really can't imagine the degree of cowardice necessary to actually pay someone to inform an employer that you're quitting.
A social avoidance generation? It'll get worse when they reproduce. They'll be paying services to tell their kids its time to go to bed.
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"I really can't imagine the degree of cowardice necessary to actually pay someone to inform an employer that you're quitting."
You know, the world doesn't end at USA borders. It's not cowardice but a different culture. In Japan, leaving a job, specially "just" because is better paid can be seen as a betrayal which, obviously is a dishonor.
Can you fathom how many people die in USA because reckless driving or not going out of an obviously impending fighting? Maybe others won't imagine the degree of cowardic
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"You believe what you see in movies and TV shows is reality in the US?"
No, but I believe public statistics: violent and car mortality in USA is basically the highest of first world countries, sometimes as much as an order of magnitude higher.
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I really can't imagine the degree of cowardice necessary to actually pay someone to inform an employer that you're quitting.
The Japanese probably would see your method as barbaric and deeply impolite.
Different cultures. Let's respect them as long as they aren't imposed onto us.
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I really can't imagine...
Hello, there's your problem right there.
You can't imagine that there might be other cultures that have different ways of dealing with each other.
You should get out into the world more. It might open your eyes.
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I'm glad to forego whatever "culture" has people hiring "exit" services for fear of their employers.
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I really can't imagine the degree of cowardice necessary to actually pay someone to inform an employer that you're quitting.
Unless you're quitting with such a bang, that you can't pull it of on your own. e.g. paying someone to play a fanfare before you make your quitting announcement.... or a guy flying an airplane with "John is quitting" banner.
Re:I clearly don't identify with japanese workers. (Score:5, Interesting)
It's because of so call "black companies". The take advantage of employees and flout the relatively weak labour laws. Japan has relied on social convention rather than the force of law, so black companies abuse that to their advantage.
When people try to quit they pile on the pressure. Guilt, threats to pass on costs, lies about contracts. So using a service to help quit is a bit like hiring a lawyer, only cheaper.
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When people try to quit they pile on the pressure. Guilt, threats to pass on costs, lies about contracts
Drop off 3 copies of a letter of resignation in a sealed envelope to HR, to your boss, and to their manager, and then be out of the building and away from that place before any of the envelopes get opened.
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There were companies like that in the UK. There was one company who hired city lawyers to threaten employees that they would be held personally responsible for the financial loss of a defence contract if the project wasn't completed on time. All resignations would be refused. So employees started taking out life insurance policies and dying in mysterious circumstances like walking over a cliff or driving into a lamp-post.
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Do you have a link to a story about that? It sounds borderline unbelievable yet not entirely OVER that line at the same time.
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which pretty much sums up the current state of the western culture, sad as it is.
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I once had a co-worker who was terrified to tell our boss that she was quitting. So I told her that I would tell him. She stayed lated and cleaned out her desk, and didn't come back to work the next day. I then went into the boss's office and told him why. This was all in America, although she was an Indian immigrant.
Re:I clearly don't identify with japanese workers. (Score:5, Informative)
Japanese culture is about "duty". Duty to family, duty to workplace, duty to society. It's the key aspect of culture.
It occupies the same cultural primacy slot that is occupied by "individual responsibility" in Western cultures. It's why in Japan, bosses often killed themselves when they had to fire workers. Because bosses had the same duty to those workers as workers had to the company, and by firing them, they failed at the primary cultural tenet. It is the deepest failure one can have. It's one from which you don't come back from. The loss of face due to this is effectively permanent, and in East Asian cultures, face is everything. Even real life performance is less valuable than face.
Same road goes the other way. To quit is a severe cultural infraction, because workers carry the same responsibility of "duty", and to quit the company is to be in dereliction of said duty. It's a loss of face that is permanently on your record, one you don't come back from. Hence the stressfulness of situation where you have to tell your boss you're quitting.
This is slowly changing in Japan, mainly driven by the catastrophic birth rate, which means that capable workers are no longer utterly crippled by quitting their first "real job after the university" for the rest of their career. But just because you remain employable, unlike before, doesn't mean that it's any more culturally acceptable of a situation.
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To have a kind of a criminal record that will follow you everywhere, and that everyone will gossip about in a very negative way.
A rape conviction is perhaps something that could be remotely in the same ballpark, but cultures are too different for there to be significant similarities. Concept of Face is not something that exists in Western cultures, and that's a key aspect of all East Asian cultures, and this problem is clearly linked to loss of Face.
I... er... WOT?! (Score:2)
I'm afflicted with social anxiety so I understand some of the stress here but... c'mon... this is a professional environment not a social function. I left a 10+ year job and, yes, it was a bit of an effort telling my boss I was leaving because I actually did like him and working there but the new job offer was just too good to pass up.
In any other job the etiquette is clear - write a letter of your resignation with a 2 week notice and give it to your bo
Wait, what? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Might as well hire someone to break up with your significant other too.
That's a brilliant idea!
Some people can become stalkers.
Having a service that's one-stop shopping for all your anti-stalkers needs would be great.
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Might as well hire someone to break up with your significant other too.
Actually, that service already exists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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How about an email? (Score:2)
MILLENIALS! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:MILLENIALS! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:MILLENIALS! (Score:4, Funny)
Letter? (Score:1)
I don't know how this works in Japan, but can't you just send a registered letter for a lot less?
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Yeah that's what I meant, I used the wrong English word
Great! (Score:3, Funny)
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Why not ask the 'new model' to tell the 'old model' she's history?
And if you can get the confrontation on camera: bonus! That'd be Youtube gold.
As an added bonus, if the 'old model' actually wins you can honestly tell her that the woman she just had that fracas with was a psychopath and that you'll never date anyone but her as long as she's alive...
I don't get it... (Score:2)
Must be a culture thing? (Score:2)
Is this because of lifetime employment? (Score:3)
I've heard that Japanese employers are almost paternal when it comes to keeping employees around for an entire career. I guess in an environment like that, where you graduate school and are employed with one firm for your entire life it would be hard to quit. It also explains why Japanese employees put up with whatever their bosses demand...apparently getting hired anywhere else after being let go is impossible.
I hate the US attitude that all employees are disposable, but having a culture like this isn't a good solution either. I also read this article [wikipedia.org] that basically says all large companies come around only _once_ to recruit new graduates, then never accept any new hires. What do people do if, for whatever reason, they mess up the last year of university and don't get picked? Are they out of a job forever?
I admit that I'm not one who easily rage-quits jobs and have never had a position for less than 5 years. I know that's a minority position in the tech industry...especially with the Second Dotcom Bubble I'm starting to see more instances of employees throwing a tantrum and just walking into another job the second things don't go exactly their way. But paying someone to quit on your behalf? That's definitely something built into the culture.
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It's called the "Milkround" in the UK or USA. The employers come round close to the end of the academic year and accept application forms. If you miss the deadline, you just have to wait for the next year, and pass the time by repeating the year or doing a more advanced course like a MSc, MA or PhD.
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What do people do if, for whatever reason, they mess up the last year of university and don't get picked? Are they out of a job forever?
Those companies do hire experienced people, so they just need to find a job elsewhere for a few years. I've also heard that some students beg their professors to fail them, so they can stay in school for another year, which technically makes them new graduates again in the next round.
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steep price (Score:2)
that price is a bit steep. If you do not want to face the boss, just email :-) Unless I had another job lined up that money would be needed.
Family Rental (Score:3)
The Japanese devote a great deal of attention and concern to abiding conventions for social interaction. I believe it a weak claim (how would you ever test such a thing experimentally?) but there is a theory that the historical necessity for large-scale coordinated communal rice planting and harvesting exerted selective pressure for personality traits of conformism, cooperation and agreeableness. With more certainty, Japan is a substantially racially uniform culture, and there is loads of psychological and sociological evidence that racial diversity promotes social disharmony. About 98.5% of residents of Japan are ethnic Japanese. As the Japanese Government states [wikipedia.org]: "...there are no issues of race relations among Japanese citizens as they are all of the same race". It's a little fishy because they include small domestic minorities such as the Ainu, but still those would not be substantial minorities if categorized out and to some degree they remain geographically isolated within Japan.
Regardless of the causes for it, Japanese society is extraordinarily and wonderfully polite, civil and organized. However, that has the trade-off that social norms become so suffocating that Japanese seek escape from social obligations and comfort in relationships in what seems to westerners, bizarre commercial services. Following the rules means that sometimes the best way to get what you want while staying in bounds is to purchase it.
Japan's Rent-a-Family Industry [newyorker.com]
How to Hire Fake Friends and Family [theatlantic.com]
Rental family service [wikipedia.org]
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By that logic we'd have a LOT of conformists in Europe. At the least everywhere where the inquisition took place.
cathartic (Score:2)
. Take this job and shove it!!! (Score:2)
...may be carthartic, but it may backfire on you.. maybe not now, but you never know.
It's best grin and bear it while you look for another job. When the time comes, give them your two weeks (or whatever is customary), and end it on an up note. Why? You never know when you'll again work for someone you leave behind. Or someone that heard something. The scenarios are pretty much endless.
The cathartic part comes when, out of earshot, you see the goddamned place in your rear-view mirror, yell "FREEDOM!!!!"
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People already do that by text message for free.
Here's how you quit in style (Score:2)
Hey boss?
I found something new.
More money,
less YOU.
Re:Here's how you quit in style (Score:5, Funny)
We're talking about Japan here. At least make it a Haiku (a polite one of course):
Sorry, so sorry.
Working here was delightful.
A new job calls me.
Can't you dump them via SMS Text? (Score:2)
Geez. What is up in Japan? In the USA people breakup from dating via SMS text messages. That's one way to avoid conflict.
Not that I've quit a lot of jobs. Only once did I feel that I was letting them down - it was a great job, I loved them, they loved me...but I had to go a different direction for personal reasons.
The other few times I quit a job I was more than willing to let them know !!
I will do it for less (Score:1)