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For new college graduates, getting a job is easier this year because of the massive retirement of baby boomers. However, as a result of increasing job offers, new recruits can easily lose their motivation -- in many cases almost as soon as internal job training has finished, says some experts. By the end of June, they will finish their training and then be assigned to their various departments.
“We often see many cases where first-year college students suffer from depression and stress in their new environment after having finished competitive entrance examinations in March and spending a long vacation during Golden Week. Similar things happen to new employees in companies in June,” said psychiatrist Toru Sekiya. “This is because new employees face a gap between idealism and reality. In addition, June doesn't have any national holidays and the weather is rainy, which is depressing to them. They suffer from a sort of malady of the mind.”
“New employees in 2008 are more likely to suffer from the 'June Blues,'” said Natsuki Iwama, a researcher at the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development. She adds, “They were easily able to find a job this year. We categorize them as the 'curling type.' While they need to have their back pushed like the curler does brushing ice, they are feeling 'I chose this company from several offers.' However, it is hard for them to compete in a competitive business environment where companies expect them to be adaptable and have fighting potential.”
Companies don't want new employees to quit only two months after investing in their job training. Iwama says companies like Mitsui Chemical Corp, for example, has lectures for new recruits on how to prevent mental illness.
Seitaro Higo of Mitsui Chemical says, “We encourage new employees to tell us their problems and anything they don't understand about their positions in the company in June, because they usually try to make efforts to get used to the working environment in May. Since they don't have close friends in the company yet, we provide them with opportunities to talk about their what they are feeling with someone other than their bosses.”
Trading company Mitsui Corp has let almost all its new employees live in their own apartments since 2006. A spokesperson says, “Senior staff also live in our company apartments, so new recruits can talk about their experience in the company with them. It helps new employees to have relationships with various other employees who joined the company in the same year, and with senior staff in the same and different departments. It's better for their mental wellbeing.”
Psychiatrist Higo stresses: “What is most important is that new employees should know who they are as soon as possible. Individuals have different personalities and behavioral patterns as well as likes and dislikes.”
Higo adds that bosses need to develop the skill to passively listen to their subordinates. “Phrases like 'You are young. You can do it' or 'When I was young, I could do it, unlike you' are not effective. They need to make their subordinates understand that they care about them. Bosses need to let their subordinate talk more.” (Translated by Taro Fujimoto)
© Japan Today
10 Comments
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capone
looks like another in an endless string of japanese euphemisms for 'poor productivity'
MichaelJP
Motivation is difficult. Its hard to get people's spirits fired up with enthusiasm for decades of life as a mindless, grey drone. I doubt Apple or Google have this problem. I, however, do not work for Apple or Google, and can empathise with these graduates.
WMD
4 years holiday, drinking and partying at university. Then the prospect of 50 years as a 14 hour day/3 days a year slave. The june blues are hardly surprising are they??
Sarge
"June blues"
Yeah, well, it's cloudy or raining most of every June... I think lack of sunshine has something to do with it...
timeon
I thought the May blues was the hardest, but I guess the all-round blues beats that... I have friends that started working for Mitsui Chemicals. There is another reason for the blues: you get into the company, you do the training, and then you are assigned to a research facility. And if you end up in some mountains at the end of the world (like my friend did), you start becoming depressed. especially if you're born and raised in Tokyo, and have a PhD degree from their top uni.
sourringo
'“This is because new employees face a gap between idealism and reality. In addition, June doesn’t have any national holidays and the weather is rainy, which is depressing to them. They suffer from a sort of malady of the mind.”' LMAO, thank you for explaining what depression is. Some sort of malady of the mind! That explains everything. Japanese pschiatry ftw.
what can you expect? life is tough, work sucks... deal with it.
GW
timeon
yr friend shud count his lucky stars, clean air, trees, just to young & stupid to appreciate it, been there done that, now I am in the sticks, sweet it is!
As for the rest if ya wit da bluuuues, let me get out my geetaaar & hit the Bflat for ya`ll...............
Noripinhead
Give me a break. No holidays in June after a long GW vacation is a reason to be depressed? How did Japan go from the land of the samurai to the land of the wimpy burger? And 25 year olds are already "tired of life," to use a recent criminal's phrase.
jerseyboy
Norpinhead ...agree. But I also read somewhere once that one of the major J-companies does not give employees any real responsibility until they have been on the job roughly 15 years. My God. Fifteen years -- or until you are nearly 40 -- before you can make any kind of a decision. That is pretty depressing. Probably, why, as Patrick_Smash said, these blues may start this month, but they go on for years.
saintseiya
Yup and in addition to the blues in the satanic work enviroment , there is (if they even have a day off) time they spend on the day off in liberty. In todays japan, also the last prehistoric male aknowledges that someone has more pride enjoying his free time, then walking like robot inblack suits around 24houres.
The salaryman of 1978 only knew his fake pride of work enviroment and saw his ego in that strict and unforgiving world. Today the salary man asks him self, why he can't go with his family to Disneyland, can't have time to travel where he wants, can't enjoy his what so ever hobby (other then sleeping, drinking, smoking and soaplands), and most of all can't devellop another self estime and individuality, then the sigular one , his idiotic boss imposes him, without exit . . . . modern slaves, given the right to choose . .very soon it will also happen in japan!