The conclusion of this article
“Devote yourself to the company” alone is dangerous.
But “if you do not like it, just change jobs” alone is also dangerous.
That is because the job market has incentives too.
Companies would generally prefer, if possible, that people do not quit.
Career services basically make their business work when people change jobs.
Neither side is entirely evil.
But neither side will take full responsibility for your whole life.
What you need, then, is the ability to compare your options and choose for yourself without being swept along by either your company or career services.
Staying at your company is not the only right answer
First, staying at the same company forever is not the only right answer.
Some companies simply do not suit you.
Some workplaces do not reward you.
Some jobs do not help you grow.
Some ways of working damage your health.
Some workplaces have broken human relationships or broken boundaries around responsibility.
If you keep pushing yourself in a place like that because someone says, “You should struggle while you are young” or “You should contribute to the company,” you can simply be worn down.
That is why quitting, getting out, or changing direction must remain real options.
But changing jobs does not necessarily solve everything
At the same time, it is dangerous to think too simply that “changing jobs will solve it.”
A new employer has risks too.
- the job posting and the actual job are different
- the fixed-overtime burden is heavy
- there is no real training system
- you become the catch-all person for everything
- the job itself is poorly defined
- the evaluation system is opaque
- the job is easy to enter but does not lead anywhere useful afterward
- you are easy to hire only because the employer is understaffed
- you simply roll another workplace lottery
Changing jobs can be an effective tool.
But it is not universal.
A job change can also wear you down if you choose badly.
Career services have incentives too
Recruitment agencies and job media can be useful.
They can help you find openings.
They can review your application documents.
They can help you prepare for interviews.
They can introduce jobs that would be hard to find on your own.
Those are major benefits.
At the same time, career services also have business incentives.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare requires employment-placement businesses to comply with new rules starting in 2025/4, including publishing information such as their placement-fee track record on the Human Resources Service General Site.
In other words, employment placement has fees and a business structure behind it.
Even when the service looks free to the job seeker, it is not a perfectly neutral adviser.
This is not an argument that recruitment agents are bad.
It is simply worth asking, “Whose incentives is this person acting under?”
Temporary staffing and SES are not automatically bad, but being swept into them is risky
Temporary staffing and SES are not all bad.
They can suit some people.
They can provide useful experience.
In some cases, they can offer flexibility in how you work.
But it is risky to choose them only because “they are easy to enter,” “someone recommended them,” or “it looks like I can get hired quickly.”
What matters is whether that job connects to your future.
- What skills will I gain?
- What kind of role can I move into next?
- Will this become experience that other employers value?
- Can I explain this experience in my next job search?
- Does the work fit my aptitudes?
- Are the working conditions reasonable?
- Is there an exit path?
If you do not examine these points, you may simply move to another company and be worn down in the same way.
A third viewpoint that belongs to neither the company nor career services
What you really need, I think, is a third viewpoint.
Relying only on the company’s viewpoint is risky.
Relying only on the career service’s viewpoint is risky too.
What you need is your own viewpoint.
To build that viewpoint, you need questions like these.
- Is this a problem that can be improved at my current workplace?
- Can I separate problems that come from me from problems that come from the environment?
- Will this job increase my market value?
- Will this hardship increase my future freedom?
- Is this work damaging my physical or mental health?
- Are the conditions at the next job actually better?
- Is there anything about the job posting that feels off?
- Can I picture myself working at that company for several years?
- What will this job lead to next?
- Do I actually want to keep doing this kind of work?
What career consulting is supposed to mean
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare explains career consulting as responding to workers’ consultations on occupational choice, working-life planning, or the development and improvement of vocational abilities, and providing advice and guidance.
In other words, career support is not supposed to mean “get the person to change jobs no matter what.”
It is supposed to support occupational choice, working-life planning, and skills development.
Stay, change, retrain, or get out.
What matters is helping the person sort through those options in light of their actual situation.
What “choose where you work hard” actually means
It is easy to say, “Choose where you work hard.”
What actually matters is what that means in practice.
- Is this a place worth staying?
- Is this a place where I can learn?
- Is this a place that will break me down?
- Is this a place I should leave?
- Is this a place that leads to the next step?
- Is this simply a place taking people because it is understaffed?
- Is this a place where my strengths are useful?
- Is this a place that constantly punishes my weaknesses?
If you do not look at these questions, you can change jobs and still repeat the same problem.
Summary
“Devote yourself to the company” alone is dangerous.
But “if you do not like it, just change jobs” alone is also dangerous.
Companies have their own incentives.
Career services have their own incentives.
So instead of accepting either side’s words as they are, you need to judge with your own criteria.
What you really need is
the ability to compare staying, changing, getting out, and retraining, and then choose.
Do not simply get swept along by the company.
Do not simply get swept along by the job-change business either.
Look at your health, your time, your market value, and your future options, and choose where you will put in your effort.
I think that is the kind of career self-defense workers need today.
