Japanese Company Strategies and New Hires. Updated Oct. 18, 2025.

Japanese companies employing various strategies to retain college hires

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251013/p2g/00m/0bu/026000c

Ideas

New workers today are not the same as workers 5 years, or 10 years ago, even 20 years ago. They have different priorities and ideas about work and companies, globally, need to understand what young graduates today want to and need from a company.

That doesn't mean companies can or should do everything that new graduates want or need to but they should try to find a balance between company needs and the need of today's young workers.

Apps are good and maybe needed but they don't replace the need for companies to understand what today's young workers are like and why they are the way they are.

The traditional Japanese company with it right hierarchy doesn't fit well with workers today as young workers might feel stifled and feel they are never seen or heard and basically are just told to do what is given to them.

What worked in a Japanese company 10 or 20 years ago or even five years ago is not going to work today. With the Japanese economy experiencing a labor shortage now that means workers can easily change jobs if they don't like the working condition of a company that just hired them.

Young workers today, globally, for the most part are looking for better work/life experiences and are not looking for a company that is going to make them work long hours or even weekends.

Of course that might not apply to the high-tek sector with its long hours of sometimes 9 to 6 and 6 days a week but for most companies they use a more normal work schedule.

Some might even be looking for a more remote style of work or a hybrid style of work, with working some days in the office and some days at home or in a coffee shop.

Poor relationships with bosses is always a common complaint among workers but in the past most workers just endured it as they needed the money or the job was OK, but bad enough to quit.

But today young workers might not have the patience or endurance to just keep working in a company where they don't get along with the boss.

And then there is the idea of company culture, which can mean many different things to different workers and again, today, if a young worker doesn't feel comfortable in that company they most likely are going to look for another job, while it the past workers tended to just endure the situation.

It would be interesting, with Japan's labor shortage today, what is the number or workers at different age groups who are leaving and changing jobs as it appears workers in Japan today can more easily find a new job if they don't like their present job.

Of course the 18 to 25 age group might be the most susceptible to change jobs as they have very different job perceptions compared to the 30+ age group or even the 40+ age group.

Knowing and understanding what the well-being of young workers with an app is good and needed but it doesn't take the place of human interaction as again, companies need to know and understand the human interaction side of the equation, which many companies, globally, have failed at doing.

Many companies, not all companies, treat their workers as commodities and or as they can be easily replaced, so they don't take the time to know or learn about their workers as today they are there but tomorrow they might need to get rid of them.

As far as the numbers deteriorating that doesn't mean a new worker is going to give any information that might help a company find out why some workers are unhappy with their jobs as young workers might be too scared to give a company any information.

But at the same time, an app being new and modern, might appeal to some or many young workers and they might feel it can help them communicate with the management of a company about their feelings about the job.

Young workers today, globally, need and want to be heard and they don't want to just be put on a team or given a desk and then forgotten about. Thy want to be seen and heard and they want to feel their actions in the company are treated fairly and given credit for their work.

It's  good and important, as much as possible, that new workers have a choice in where they want to work in a company, and not just put into a department that they have no desire to work at. Of course that might not be possible for all workers to get a job in the department of their choice but it would be good if most new young workers can have a choice, as they feel they have ownership of where they want to work.

There was a recent article that suggested that today many workers in Japan don't want to work overseas as they just want to work in Japan only.

The article went on to suggest that many companies don't provide enough training or education to help them in overseas assignments, leaving the learning to the worker only.

If Japanese companies need or want young workers to take overseas assignments they need to provide the education and training to help them have a positive work experience in their overseas assignments.

Have a nice day!