A young man speaks with an official who matches job seekers with jobs at Young Hellowork at Shibuya, known as the ‘Town of Youth,’ in Tokyo. Japanese companies are increasingly engaging parents of prospective employees and recognizing their influential role in the decision-making process (Photo: AFP)
By Cristian Martini Grimaldi
Feb 5 2024
JAPAN – In the current Japanese job market, companies are increasingly adopting a unique strategy termed Oyakaku, a Japanese term that translates to “parental confirmation,” to ensure their job offers are accepted.
This approach involves actively engaging the parents of prospective employees and recognizing their influential role in the decision-making process.
A notable example of this trend was an office tour organized by Assist, a Tokyo-based software trading company, for both the candidates who were scheduled to join the company and their parents in December last year.
This initiative came in response to cases where job offers were declined due to parental apprehension, often stemming from a lack of familiarity with the company.
A 2022 survey by an employment information company revealed a significant rise in Oyakaku practices — from 18 percent in 2018 to 48 percent. Companies are increasingly reaching out to parents to get their backing, especially when students have multiple job offers.
A variety of Tokyo-based HR services noted an increase in parental concerns about their children living alone in Tokyo, particularly since the Covid-19 outbreak.
“This increasing reliance on parental input raises questions about the autonomy of young job seekers”
Ideal, an IT company in Osaka, has been creating a guide specifically directed at parents. This guide details the company’s operations and its aspirations for employees’ long-term careers. According to Ideal, this reassurance has resulted in zero rejections of job offers post-acceptance.
However, this increasing reliance on parental input raises questions about the autonomy of young job seekers. A recent survey found that 24 percent of university students regarded their parents’ opinions as most crucial in their job hunt.
Oyakaku, which involves a company obtaining confirmation from a student’s parents upon making a job offer, sometimes even extends to sending offer letters to parents or creating parental consent forms.
This trend underscores the evolving dynamics of Japan’s job market, where parental influence is becoming a pivotal factor in the recruitment process.
The perception that young Japanese people are increasingly reliant on their parents for decision-making, particularly in job hunting, can be attributed to several social and economic factors.
Over the past few decades, Japan’s economic landscape has undergone significant shifts, moving away from the traditional model of lifelong employment and job security that characterized its post-World War II economy.
This change has led to an increase in flexible and non-traditional employment, affecting how young Japanese approach career decisions.
Traditionally, Japan was known for its “lifetime employment” system, particularly in large corporations. This system offered employees job security from the time of their hiring until retirement.
“Young Japanese feel more uncertain about their career prospects given the challenges”
In the 1980s, more than 85 percent of male university graduates obtained full-time, regular jobs immediately after graduation. However, the economic downturn in the 1990s — often referred to as Japan’s “Lost Decade” — marked a significant shift. Companies started to move away from lifetime employment to cut costs and increase competitiveness.
By the 2000s, the term “freeter,” a combination of “freelance” and “Arbeiter,” the German word for worker, emerged. It was used to refer to young people who hop from one part-time or short-term job to another.
The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare reported that the proportion of irregular workers in Japan rose from about 20 percent in the 1990s to over 37 percent by 2019, while that of young people aged 15-24 in non-regular employment increased from approximately 15 percent in the late 1980s to around 45 percent by 2015.
Young Japanese feel more uncertain about their career prospects given the challenges, causing them to rely heavily on their parents’ guidance in navigating this new landscape.
Another reason is societal expectations and pressures to succeed, or better yet not to fail, which are concepts deeply ingrained in Japanese culture and can have a profound impact on the career choices of young adults.
The concept of gaman (endurance) and sekentei (social appearance) emphasize the importance of maintaining harmony, even within their family and avoiding failure in their professional career. This risk-averse mentality adds to the mix and has a deep impact even on broader economic dynamics, such as innovation and entrepreneurship.
Young Japanese individuals are less inclined to start their own businesses or pursue innovative ventures, which are inherently riskier paths. Ultimately, this educational ethos that prioritizes stability and discourages risk-taking sheds light on why Japanese youths are increasingly turning to parental guidance for direction and decision-making support. – UCA News
