More than half of professionals plan to change jobs within the next year

On February 3, specialist professional recruitment firm Robert Walters Japan announced the results of a survey conducted among 855 company employees working in Japan on their career plans and employer preferences.

60% of professionals thinking of changing jobs in the next 12 months

Sixty percent of employees said they plan to change jobs within the next 12 months, consistent with 2021 trends. One in four responded that they have no immediate plans to look for a new job opportunity which seems to indicate that some employees were still cautious about changing jobs amidst the pandemic. The top motivators for moving to a different company were: “to progress my career” (50%), “to increase my salary” (43%) and “time for a change and try something new” (34%). 

Professionals value “challenging & interesting work” most; “inspiring colleagues & work culture” and “flexible working” come in 2nd and 3rd

We asked employees what they value most in an employer today and the most common answer was “challenging & interesting work” (41%). “Inspiring colleagues & work culture” (34%), which was the top value in 2021, ranked 2nd followed by “flexible working” (30%). “Convenient commute” (29%) made a comeback to the top five ranking, which seems to indicate that more companies in Japan are adopting a hybrid work style that combines remote work and work in the office.

89% of professionals willing to disclose their vaccination status

To secure a new role, 89% of professionals we surveyed said they were willing to disclose their vaccination status to a potential employer. On the other hand, only 5% said they would not share whether or not they have been vaccinated.

Generally, companies in Japan have been cautious about pushing employees about vaccinations to avoid discrimination or placing anyone at a disadvantage. With Covid-19 cases on the rise again and the Japanese government rolling out booster vaccines for the public, it is still unclear whether we may see more requests for disclosure of vaccination status in the future. However, our survey results seem to indicate that a majority of professionals do not seem to mind sharing their vaccination status in order to secure a new role. 

(Survey period: October to November 2021, Target: Domestic and foreign-affiliated companies in Japan n=170; Company employees registered with Robert Walters Japan and living in Japan n=855) 

Press Release(PDF)

About Robert Walters Japan:

Established in London, United Kingdom, in 1985, Robert Walters is a specialist recruitment consultancy with operations in 31 countries around the world. Robert Walters Japan established its Tokyo office in 2000 and Osaka office in 2007.  For over 20 years, we've been a driving force in the Japanese bilingual recruitment market, providing high quality candidates for our clients and access to the best jobs. Our consultants are experts in their respective industries and work in teams to provide recruitment consultation services across a wide range of industries and job categories.