"Please Submit My Resignation Letter for Me" Over 100 Resignation Agency Services Across Japan [Nichiyobi Nichibunka]

"I want to quit my job, but I don't know how to bring it up."

Although it is rare to find in our country, in Japan there is a new service that is gradually increasing, which can be called a resignation agency service. It is a place that directly communicates the intention to resign to the company on behalf of the person wishing to quit and handles the procedures. Some might say, "Why pay someone to do it when you can just quit yourself?" but there are already 100 companies offering this service across Japan. Japanese media find it intriguing and have been reporting on it, but the fact that there are 100 companies suggests it is quite an established culture.

Advertisement for the resignation agency service 'Momuri'. (Photo by Momuri)

Recently, a Japanese resignation agency service company released an analysis of user data. There were some interesting points, so today I will share the story of Japan's resignation agency services.

According to Nikkei a while ago, the resignation agency service "Momuri" announced the results of analyzing data from 16,000 users. "Momuri" means "now it's impossible" in Japanese. This company was founded in 2022 by a single CEO and has since grown to over 50 employees. They operate 24/7 in three shifts, taking requests around the clock. For regular employees, the service fee is 22,000 yen (about 200,000 won), and for part-timers, it is 12,000 yen (about 108,000 won). They also help clients claim all the money they might not know about, such as unemployment benefits and various retirement allowances, and complete the resignation procedures.

The reason for the 24-hour system is that many service requests come late at night or early in the morning. People come home, stay up late worrying about quitting, prepare to go to work in the morning but just can't muster the courage to leave. In a way, this is something many can empathize with.

By age group, users were mostly in their 20s (60.9%) and 30s (22.4%), making up over 80%. Users in their 40s accounted for 8.4%, and those in their 50s were 2.9%, showing a decreasing trend with age. However, the oldest user was 71 years old, and the youngest was 15, showing a wide age range. The 15-year-old user reportedly applied for consultation because they "did not know how to quit a part-time job."

By length of service, 75% of users had been employed for less than one year, 15.3% for 1 to 3 years, and 9.7% for over 3 years. Most quit shortly after joining. Notably, this year there was attention on users who requested resignation on the very day they joined. In Japan, where most new employees start on April 1 after graduating from university, four people requested resignation agency services on April 1 itself. After the Golden Week holidays in May, 76 people applied.

The most common reason for resignation was "discrepancy between the contract terms and working conditions before joining and the actual working conditions." This was because the company culture and working conditions described during recruitment were very different from reality. For example, a company that emphasized a free atmosphere regardless of hair dyeing might notify employees that they cannot come to work unless their hair is dyed black, or a company that emphasized no overtime might have frequent overtime work.

Since June, many have sought resignation agency services due to workplace interpersonal relationships. Especially in cases of sexual harassment or sexual violence, it is difficult for victims to directly express their intention to resign and handle all the processes, so the agency often steps in. In fact, 30.2% of service users answered that they were discouraged from quitting because they feared damaging their reputation with higher-ups.

Also, in workplaces with shift work and high work intensity, such as medical or nursing care services, many apply for the agency service because they feel sorry to face their colleagues. In some companies where agency service requests are particularly frequent, they even assign a "resignation agency service manager" to the department to handle these cases.

(Photo by Ajis Japan)

Of course, opinions about people using resignation agency services in Japan are divided. On Japanese Google, searching for resignation agency often brings up related searches like "(users) are strange." Some say it is "not a normal way to quit" or "quitting unilaterally is irresponsible." However, there are cases where resignation letters are repeatedly submitted but not accepted, cases of depression due to workplace stress, or cases where employees are asked to delay quitting until a successor is found, so it is understandable that some feel they have no choice but to use the service.

A representative of Momuri said, "The outdated idea that once you join a company you should endure and work does not apply to Generation Z young people." This is a fascinating service not yet available in our country. What do you think? Would you consider using it?