What Are Proxy Resignations? The New Trend In Japan

Young professionals in Japan are seeking help from specialised agencies to quit their jobs. Momuri, a Tokyo-based agency, has reported a major spike in demand ever since it began offering proxy resignation services more than two years ago.

Shinji Tanimoto, the head of Albatross, the firm that runs Momuri, told The Guardian that they submit resignations on people's behalf as they are unable to do so for whatever reasons.

In Japanese, Momuri means "enough already".

"Sometimes it's just natural reluctance, but some might have experienced harassment or even violence from their employers. They are at their wits' end when they come to us," the official said.

At present, Momuri is among the estimated 100 companies that offer similar services across Japan. It has received a total of 350,000 online consultations and went on to complete 20,000 resignations.

How does it work?

For this service, people usually get in touch with these agencies via popular messaging apps. In the case of Momuri, clients have to first complete a questionnaire and then sign a contract, besides paying the fee of ¥22,000 (roughly ₹12,344) for full-time workers and ¥12,300 (around ₹6,900) for part-time employees as well as those working on fixed-term contracts.

On behalf of the client, one of Momuri's staff calls the employer. The entire process, starting with the initial consultation to resignation, usually takes 20-30 minutes.

Why are people leaving jobs?

Surprisingly, 60% of the Momuri users are those people, who are in their 20s. As per Japan's labour ministry, over 30% of the recent graduates in the country are leaving their jobs within three years.

If experts are to be believed then this growing trend is due to a generational shift in people's attitude towards work that has been accelerated by the disruption to jobs as well as the lifestyles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Labour shortage in Japan -- a symptom of its low birthrate -- has further made employers more determined towards retaining the staff members, even when it requires intimidating them into staying back. Also, there have been instances when they have allegedly forced workers to hunt for their own replacements before accepting their resignations.

Mynavi, an employment information provider in Japan, said that one in six workers in the country took help from resignation agencies to switch to another company in the 12 months period, till June this year.