1 in 6 workers in Japan use resignation agencies to change jobs

In Japan, 1 in 6 workers used resignation agencies to change their jobs in the year through June, employment information provider Mynavi said in a survey report Thursday.

The survey showed that 16.6% of respondents who changed their jobs used such agencies, which perform resignation procedures on their behalf.

It found that 18.6% of people who changed careers in their 20s and 17.3% of those in their 40s used resignation agencies. Only 4.4% of those in their 50s used such a service.

For reasons why they let an agency handle their resignation, the largest proportion, or 40.7% of respondents, said they did so because they were stopped from quitting, or thought they would be stopped, by their employer.

The survey showed that 32.4% said they were not in an environment suitable for handing in their notice by themselves, while 23.7% said they wanted to avoid trouble.

A lack of communication or miscommunication between companies and employees could be a factor behind people opting to use resignation agencies, a Mynavi official said.

The internet survey, conducted in July, covered 800 regular workers in their 20s to 50s.