Don't blame resignation agencies for your employees quitting.

Read the original article (in Japanese):https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/877282


1. Labeling It a “Nuisance” Only Proves the Point

Many companies loudly complain that resignation agencies are a nuisance. But the risk of employees quitting exists regardless of these services. What provokes agency use is not the service itself—it’s the HR reaction: labeling it “trouble,” threatening non-hiring, or warning of future consequences. Ironically, those reactions make agencies more necessary.

2. How Employment Mindsets Shape Resignation Culture

Behind this lies a Japanese employment mindset: companies believe they "raised" employees. Unlike the Western approach of assigning people to jobs, Japanese firms treat workers like family. Quitting is seen as betrayal. But we’re entering an era where resignation is just another contract decision.

3. What’s Needed: Not Emotion, But Structure

Companies must shift their focus from resentment to resilience—building systems that function even if a resignation agency is used. More importantly, they need to create environments where such services become unnecessary. The attitude of “We don’t like it, so we’ll ignore it” is a hallmark of companies that get used repeatedly.

Resignation agencies appear when employees decide that talking internally is pointless. The real issue isn’t how they quit—but why they felt they couldn’t speak up.

4. Japan vs. the West: A Structural Comparison

In Japan, quitting is still viewed emotionally—as disloyalty. Lifetime employment and seniority-based systems support the idea that once someone is hired, they’re part of the “company family.”

In contrast, job-based employment in the West links roles to individuals via contracts. If it doesn’t work, they part ways. No drama. No moral judgments.

CategoryWestern Model (e.g., US, Germany, France)Japanese Model
Employment TypeJob-based (clearly defined roles)Membership-based (fluid roles)
Hiring CriteriaSkills & performance-basedPersonality & potential-based
Resignation NoticeFormal (2 weeks+)Often met with pressure and guilt
Retention CultureMinimalStrongly expected
Reason for LeavingRespected as personal choiceExpected to be justified

The rise of resignation agencies is a symptom of emotional dependence embedded in Japan’s employment culture. Structural problems won’t be solved with emotional resistance.

5. Companies Must Be Resilient to Resignations

Companies should stop treating resignation agency cases as anomalies. Instead, they should prepare systems that allow exits to happen cleanly:

  • Enable resignations and equipment returns via mail

  • Streamline payroll and insurance processing

  • Create separate channels for employees who prefer not to speak directly

Ironically, designing systems that allow clean exits leads to companies where people are less likely to want to leave.

6. Workers Must Also Mature in How They Resign

Employees also need to reflect. Using a resignation agency isn’t wrong—but relying on it every time is not sustainable.

Avoiding every difficult conversation, using an agent for each job change—these habits erode trust and make a person harder to work with long-term.

Quitting a job should be an act of negotiation, not escape. Dependence on third-party resignations should be a last resort, not a reflex.

7. Conclusion: Resignation Reflects the Trust Gap

Ultimately, resignation agencies are not the problem. They are a symptom of a larger issue: a breakdown of trust between employer and employee.

What companies must ask: Are we a place where people can speak honestly?
What workers must ask: Have I truly tried to speak first, before walking away?

The rise of resignation agencies signals that both sides have stopped talking—and that silence has become more dangerous than speaking up.


Read in Japanese↓

退職代行を使われる会社には本質的な理由がある（2025.5.21）

Read more articles (in Japanese)↓

 

「初任給バブル」に踊るな──中小企業が生き残るための採用戦略（2025.5.19）

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