Survey Reveals: 45% Of Japanese Workers ‘Quiet Quitting’ Challenges Overwork Culture

The survey revealed that many self-identified quiet quitters were content with merely meeting their job requirements and plan to keep it up.

A growing share of

Japan

According to a recent survey, ‘s employees are practicing what has been termed as “quiet quitting,” where they perform only the minimum required work without aiming for advancement or accolades. This musim indicates a nuanced but substantial move away from the nation’s long-standing tradition of excessive labor.

According to a study conducted by the Japanese job-matching company Mynavi, which surveyed 3,000 employees between the ages of 20 and 59, 45 percent reported they were quietly quitting.

“‘Quiet quitting’ is emerging as the latest animo,” stated Akari Asahina, a researcher from the Mynavi Career Research Lab, in an interview with The Japan Times.

The phrase, which gained traction on TikTok in the United States during 2022, describes workers who fulfill the minimum requirements of their roles without embracing additional duties or seeking career progression.

According to the findings from Mynabi’s survey disclosed last month, over 70 percent of individuals in Japan who labeled themselves as quiet quitters stated their intention to keep following this approach.

Approximately 60 percent expressed satisfaction with the result, which encompasses having additional time for personal interests both during and after working hours.

The survey pinpointed major factors behind quiet quitting amongst employees, such as a sense of mismatch between their responsibilities and expectations, emphasizing work-life equilibrium, and an overall lack of enthusiasm concerning professional advancement.

“As values are becoming more diverse, it’s important for companies to accept the diverse values of individuals and offer flexible work styles that fit them,” Asahina said.

Japan’s workplace culture has historically been characterized by lengthy working hours and personal sacrifice, leading to the coinage of a particular term for this phenomenon:

karoshi

, due to excessive labor.

However, Mynavi’s survey indicates that this attitude might be beginning to change.

Among human resources professionals, 32 percent voiced worry that quiet quitting could negatively impact morale. In contrast, about 39 percent indicated they were open to this concept, recognizing that some employees may not aspire to advance their careers.

Japan has also seen a reduction in annual working hours over the past few years.

A report released in November by Takashi Sakamoto, an analyst from the Recruit Works Institute, revealed that

average annual hours fell

By 11.6 percent — decreasing from 1,839 in 2000 to 1,626 in 2022 — aligning Japan more closely with numerous European nations.

Like elsewhere in the world, the shift is driven by generational change. Observers say Japan’s youth are prioritising personal time and rejecting the demanding work culture their parents often embraced for economic growth and job security, a trade-off that no longer resonates as well with a generation facing a more challenging economic landscape.