There is increasing pressure from the labor and capital markets on Japanese companies with the lowest “motivation” in the world

There is increasing pressure from the labor and capital markets on Japanese companies with the lowest “motivation” in the world. Workers seeking freedom are becoming more inclined to change jobs, and the number of institutional investors who are trying to select investment destinations based on the happiness of their employees is increasing. The balance of power between the company and the individual is about to change.
There are signs of crustal movements in the Japanese labor market, where lifetime employment was the norm. According to the Labor Force Survey of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of applicants for changing jobs in 2009 (January-September average) was about 8.84 million, the highest since 2013, which is comparable in statistics. While the number of job vacancies in the food and beverage and service industries is decreasing due to the impact of the Corona disaster, the number of people who actually changed jobs is about 2.81 million (same as above), which is 20% less than in 19 years before the Corona disaster, but the priority for workers' jobs is high. You can see the change.

Originally, Japan has low liquidity in the labor market, and workers have a strong tendency toward stability. Especially during the recession, many people tried to stay in their existing work to defend their lives even if they were dissatisfied. However, when asked by British human resources giant Hayes in August-September 2008 that Japanese workers place importance when changing jobs, the most cited "flexible working style" (76%) was "stability of employment." It exceeded "safety" (60%). The highest survey in January-February 2008 was "salary and benefits" (77%). It can be seen that the establishment of telework has reviewed the meaning of many people working, and has increased dissatisfaction with long commuting and rigid working time management.

The changes brought about by the Corona disaster are not limited to changing jobs. At JOINS (Hakuba Village, Nagano Prefecture), which introduces local side businesses to human resources in urban areas, the number of people registered for the service doubled to about 9,000 at the end of 2009. Since it is mainly online remote work and there is no need to relocate, some advanced engineers find the job itself, such as supporting the digitization of small and medium-sized enterprises, worthwhile and start a side job. Aitaka Inoo, president of the company, points out that "side jobs are easier to challenge new jobs than changing jobs. It is easier to earn even jobs with high sociality such as regional revitalization."
Miyuki Yanagi turned from a travel agency employee to a freelance web designer
According to a survey conducted by Lancers (4484), a human resources service company, in the fall of 2009, 2.97 million freelancers are not hired by specific companies in Japan. It has increased five times since February 2008. Miyuki Yanagi, 34, turned into a freelance web designer in the fall of 20 when her travel agency's performance deteriorated. Learn her necessary skills online. She has many requests to create homepages for small and medium-sized enterprises. She has expanded the relationships she had previously closed within the company and is also working with her freelance colleagues to regenerate old rural homes. She said, "Multi-tasking (which handles a variety of jobs) has increased the value that I create" (Mr. Yanagi).

Increasing the liquidity of the labor market poses a major threat to companies. According to estimates by the Persol Research Institute, Japan's labor demand will exceed the labor supply by 6.44 million in 30 years due to the declining birthrate and aging population. As it becomes difficult to secure human resources, it is the expansion of the use of services called "engagement surveys" that reflects the impatience of companies. Measure the motivation of workers through a questionnaire. It will lead to improvement of human relations and prevention of turnover through interviews. In Japan, Link and Motivation (L & M) and Atlae provide services.

Colowide, a major restaurant company, will use L & M services from 2009. "We need to put more effort into retaining human resources. We are approaching the achievement of a single-digit turnover rate," said Mieko Nagasaki, general manager of the marketing department. In Atrae, the number of users has exceeded 2,000, doubling in two years. Noritz, which was introduced company-wide in 2009, says, "In order to produce high results, it is necessary to strengthen the connection between the company and the team and the individual" (person in charge). Yoshihide Arai, CEO of Atrae, said, "In Japan, there was little concern about leaving a job even if the working environment was bad, but if lifetime employment is no longer the norm, companies will need to work to improve the motivation of workers. It will increase. "

In the United States, where employment liquidity is originally high, the number of voluntary turnover (non-agricultural sector) reached a record high of about 4.52 million in November 2009, an increase of 30% from before Corona. In a survey conducted by US Bankrate in the summer of 2009, 55% were considering changing jobs within a year, and the most requested new workplace was "flexibility in working style" (56%).
Until now, Japan has been characterized by low motivation for workers, but low job changes. According to a survey by Ran Effectry, 9% of people are enthusiastic about working in Japan. It is well below the world average (35%) and is the lowest in the 57 countries / regions surveyed. The happiness of working is being pushed down by the human relations of the command hierarchy and the low career autonomy. On the other hand, the average length of service is 11.9 years (16 years), which is as long as Italy in major countries.

If workers prioritize freedom and happiness over stability, it will become a reality that a "great retirement era" like the United States will come. The tug of war between the workers who strengthen the centrifugal force and the companies that try to keep them together is likely to become fierce.
■ Movement to disclose happiness

"I want to know the job satisfaction of that company." Since last year, OpenWork (Shibuya, Tokyo), which operates a word-of-mouth information site on corporate treatment and working environment, has been constantly receiving such requests. The company's site has more than 12 million reviews from about 50,000 companies. After removing the personal information of the poster from 20 years, when we started full-scale service to provide data to investors for a fee, "Inquiries came from about one third of the top 50 global investment funds." (Company executive).

The reason why OpenWork data is so popular is that employee well-being is now regarded as a leading indicator of corporate performance. When researchers at Yokohama National University compared the reviews of OpenWork posted in 2007-19 with the performance of each company, it was confirmed that there was a certain correlation between improvement in job satisfaction, performance improvement, and stock price rise. Similar studies have been published one after another in the United States, and the motivation of workers as non-financial information has attracted a great deal of attention.

The creation of a system that requires companies to disclose such data has also begun. In August 2008, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revised the "Regulation S-K" that stipulates information disclosure rules for listed companies. Mandatory disclosure of information on human capital, such as recruitment and training of human resources. The European Union (EU) also enforced the Non-Financial Information Disclosure Directive in 2018, which includes working conditions and workplace health management in the disclosure of human capital.

The Japanese Corporate Governance Code (Corporate Governance Guidelines) revised in June 2009 also included a clause that specific information on human capital investment should be disclosed. Gartner Japan predicts that by 2013, 50% of Japanese listed companies will include "improvement in employee well-being" in ESG (environmental, social and governance) disclosures.

Nippon Life Insurance Venture Capital (VC), Nissay Capital, will incorporate the motivation of workers as a criterion for investment decisions in startups from 2010. Encourage investees to use engagement surveys in collaboration with Atrae and utilize the data obtained. President Tetsuya Adachi points out, "Compared to large companies, there are a small number of elite startups. Retention of human resources is directly linked to company performance. If know-how is accumulated, it can be used to make investment decisions for listed companies."

At present, the capital market uses job satisfaction as a criterion for finding promising investment destinations, but it is undeniable that divestment (investment withdrawal) may occur in the future due to sluggish job satisfaction. There is no doubt that it will put a lot of pressure on companies.

(Employment Editor Motoichi Matsui)