Executive Summary
34.9% of university graduates leave their jobs within three years, and 58.8% of those still employed have considered quitting (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2024; Recruit Management Solutions, 2023). Wanting to quit is not a sign of weakness -- it is a normal psychological and physical response to environmental change. However, workers in their twenties are more likely than any other age group to resign without consulting their employer, at a rate of 35.2%. The mistaken belief that "talking to someone won't solve anything" accelerates both the worsening of symptoms and the decision to leave (Persol Research Institute, 2024). Left unaddressed, individual health deterioration and organizational talent loss proceed in parallel. Early self-assessment and appropriate help-seeking behavior represent the most rational course of action for both the individual and the organization.
Definition and Current State
Definition: "Wanting to quit" in the first year of employment refers to the intention to leave one's job, arising from rapid environmental change after joining a company, the gap between expectations and reality, and difficulty building workplace relationships. It is a signal of adaptive stress from the mind and body -- not laziness or a lack of resilience -- and requires proper assessment and response as a legitimate workplace concern.
Common Scenarios
- The adjustment wall: The evaluation criteria, schedule flexibility, and social dynamics of student life are replaced overnight. Everything feels like it's going wrong.
- The expectation-reality gap: You joined hoping to do creative project work, but the reality is data entry and spreadsheet management. Being told to "stick it out for three years" offers no sense of growth.
- Social isolation: You can't fit in with the office atmosphere. You eat lunch alone. Your stomach hurts every morning, and Sunday evenings fill you with dread.
Self-Check (5 Items)
If any of the following have persisted for two weeks or more, consider seeking professional support.
- Difficulty waking up in the morning, or persistent trouble sleeping at night
- Significant changes in appetite (unable to eat, or overeating)
- Recurring physical symptoms such as headaches or stomach pain
- Fatigue that doesn't recover even on days off
- Crying over minor things, or experiencing intense mood swings
Data and Evidence
Graduate Turnover Rates Over Time
| Education Level | 3-Year Turnover Rate | Year-on-Year Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| University graduates | 34.9% | +2.6 points | (MHLW, 2024) |
| Junior college graduates | 44.6% | +2.0 points | (MHLW, 2024) |
| High school graduates | 38.4% | +1.4 points | (MHLW, 2024) |
| Junior high school graduates | 50.5% | -2.4 points | (MHLW, 2024) |
Turnover by Company Size (University Graduates, Within 3 Years)
| Company Size | Turnover Rate | Year-on-Year Change |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 employees | 59.1% | +5.0 points |
| 5-29 employees | 52.7% | +3.1 points |
| 30-99 employees | 42.4% | +1.8 points |
| 100-499 employees | 35.2% | +2.3 points |
| 500-999 employees | 32.9% | +2.2 points |
| 1,000+ employees | 28.2% | +2.1 points |
(MHLW, 2024)
Turnover by Industry (University Graduates, Within 3 Years, Top 5)
| Industry | Turnover Rate | Year-on-Year Change |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 56.6% | +5.2 points |
| Lifestyle services and entertainment | 53.7% | +5.7 points |
| Education and learning support | 46.6% | +0.6 points |
| Retail | 41.9% | +3.4 points |
| Healthcare and welfare | 41.5% | +2.7 points |
(MHLW, 2024)
Reasons for Resignation and Intent to Leave
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Top reason for resignation: "Poor working environment/conditions" | 25.0% | (Recruit MS, 2023) |
| 2nd reason: "Dissatisfied with salary level" | 18.4% | (Recruit MS, 2023) |
| 3rd reason: "Poor workplace relationships" | 14.5% | (Recruit MS, 2023) |
| Have thought about quitting | 58.8% | (Recruit MS, 2023) |
| Top reason for wanting to quit: "No sense of purpose or meaning" | 27.0% | (Recruit MS, 2023) |
| 2nd reason: "Dissatisfied with salary level" | 19.0% | (Recruit MS, 2023) |
| 3rd reason: "Can't do the work I want to do" | 12.8% | (Recruit MS, 2023) |
First-Year Challenges
| Rank | Challenge | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | No clear right answers at work; unsure what to do | 27.1% |
| 2nd | Can't find meaning or fulfillment in assigned tasks | 21.1% |
| 3rd | Work is too busy; little time for personal life | 19.3% |
(Recruit Management Solutions, 2023)
Mental Health Issues Among Young Workers
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mental health issues experienced by men in their 20s (past 3 years) | 18.5% | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| Mental health issues experienced by women in their 20s (past 3 years) | 23.3% | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| Resignation rate among those who experienced mental health issues (overall) | 25.3% | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| Resignation rate among those who experienced mental health issues (20s) | 35.9% | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| Resignation rate among workers in their 20s who did not consult their employer | 35.2% | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| Rate of workplace consultation/reporting | 46.1% | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| Percentage who consulted their supervisor | 30.6% | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| Top reason for not seeking help: "Didn't think it would lead to a solution" | 34.5% | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| Among those who did consult, percentage who received supportive response | Approx. 80% | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
The Perception Gap Around Seeking Help
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| "Can't picture what would happen after seeking help" (regular employees) | Approx. 40% (especially high among 20s) | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| "Seeking help would hurt my reputation or make things uncomfortable" | Approx. 40% (especially high among 20s) | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| Managers who suspected an employee of faking illness | 16.6% | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
| Actual rate of malingering-related leave | 1.0% (1 in 105) | (Persol Research Institute, 2024) |
Work Values (Generation Z)
| Item | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sense of personal growth through work | 35.0% | 40.8% | 24.2% | (Mynavi, 2024) |
| Want to do work that helps others | 48.6% | 36.3% | 15.1% | (Mynavi, 2024) |
What People Are Willing to Work Hard For
| Rank | Item | Percentage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Having time for personal life and making it fulfilling | 24.4% | (Recruit MS, 2023) |
| 2nd | Earning a high income | 23.0% | (Recruit MS, 2023) |
| 3rd | Being able to do what I want to do | 16.8% | (Recruit MS, 2023) |
Stress-Related Data
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Workers who feel significant work-related stress | 68.3% | (MHLW, 2024) |
| Workplaces implementing mental health measures | 63.2% | (MHLW, 2024) |
Traits of Supervisors/Seniors Employees Feel Comfortable Talking To
| Rank | Trait | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Competent and likely to give practical advice | 30.3% |
| 2nd | Regularly acknowledges my personality and values | 25.5% |
| 3rd | Listens without being pushy and accepts my feelings | 24.8% |
(Recruit Management Solutions, 2023)
Traits of Supervisors/Seniors Who Can Deliver Tough Feedback
| Rank | Trait | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Explains why something matters in a way I can understand | 40.9% |
| 2nd | Practices what they preach, lending credibility | 33.6% |
| 3rd | Clearly pays attention to and understands me on a daily basis | 33.2% |
(Recruit Management Solutions, 2023)
Reasons for Staying Despite Wanting to Quit
| Rank | Reason | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Considering changing jobs but aware of the risks | 21.3% |
| 2nd | No concern about the company going under | 18.0% |
| 3rd | Considering changing jobs but haven't found the right opportunity | 14.2% |
(Recruit Management Solutions, 2023)
Self-Care Fundamentals
| Item | Content | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Definition of self-care | Strategies you can practice on your own to manage stress effectively | (MHLW, Kokoro no Mimi) |
| Foundation of self-care | First, know your "normal self" so you can recognize when something is "not normal" | (MHLW, Kokoro no Mimi) |
| Stress factors for new employees | The major life transition from student to working professional | (MHLW, Kokoro no Mimi) |
| Tool | 5-Minute Workplace Stress Self-Check | (MHLW, Kokoro no Mimi) |
Analysis and Implications
Key Concepts: rejection avoidance orientation, psychological safety, cognitive distortion, desensitization to pain, learned helplessness, emotional exhaustion, reality shock, presenteeism, preventable turnover
Axis A: Mechanism Analysis -- Why New Employees Can't Seek Help When They Want to Quit
Three psychological mechanisms interact to produce the "want to quit but can't talk about it" pattern in new employees.
First, a strong rejection avoidance orientation. As the Persol Research Institute's research demonstrates, workers in their twenties show significantly higher levels of rejection avoidance than other age groups -- they are more sensitive to criticism, more conscious of others' perceptions, and more afraid of failure. This is rooted in a protective educational environment and the constant social comparison fostered by social media. When rejection avoidance is high, criticism from a supervisor triggers a disproportionately strong stress response. Critically, this is not "fragility" -- it is a characteristic of a generation shaped by fundamentally different environments. Comparisons like "when I was your age" miss the point entirely.
Second, structural barriers to help-seeking. While 34.5% of young workers believe "talking to someone won't solve anything," approximately 80% of those who actually did seek help received a supportive response. This gap is alarming. The anticipation that "I can't picture what would happen" or "my reputation would suffer" prevents help-seeking behavior, and as a result, 35.2% of workers in their twenties who did not consult their employer ended up resigning. In other words, not seeking help is itself a risk factor.
Third, desensitization to pain. Even when individuals report feeling "fine," their minds and bodies may be deteriorating. The cognitive pattern of prioritizing social norms of "normal" while ignoring one's own distress signals is common across all working people, not just new hires. Some people work 200 hours of overtime per month and feel "not particularly tired" -- only to realize years later that they had been desensitized to their own pain. When someone endures stomach problems, insomnia, or appetite changes while telling themselves "this is just what being new is like," they are in the early stages of this desensitization.
Axis B: Institutional and Environmental Analysis -- What Organizations Are Missing
16.6% of managers have suspected an employee's mental health condition was faked, yet the actual rate of malingering is a mere 1.0%. This 16-fold perception gap fundamentally undermines the quality of organizational mental health support. As long as managers approach the issue with suspicion, employees will not feel safe seeking help.
On the institutional side, mental health measures targeting managers (such as stress checks and line-care training) reach an implementation rate of 79.8%, while measures targeting non-managerial employees (such as self-care training and information sharing) stand at just 34.7%. Managers want employees to come to them, but employees have no idea what would actually happen if they did. This perception gap between management and frontline workers renders the system ineffective.
The concept of "preventable turnover" is crucial here. A narrow perspective on the part of the employee, an organization's failure to leverage employee development systems, miscommunication -- these factors intertwine to produce resignations where the employee might have found renewed purpose had things played out differently. The fact that the top reason for staying is "considering a job change but aware of the risks" (21.3%) reveals a segment of the workforce that remains not out of commitment, but by process of elimination.
Axis C: Impact Analysis -- What Happens When Nothing Is Done
The resignation rate among those who have experienced mental health issues is 25.3% overall, but jumps to 35.9% for workers in their twenties -- roughly one in three.
The burden on managers should not be overlooked either. Approximately half of managers who have dealt with a subordinate's mental health crisis reported that it was "a significant emotional burden," and about 40% said it was "a significant workload burden." Increased workloads for other team members (35.2%) and the burden of task reallocation (26.2%) were also cited, illustrating how one person's distress ripples through the entire organization.
Generation Z's work values also warrant consideration. "Having time for personal life" (24.4%) ranks as the top priority they are willing to work hard for -- above "sense of purpose." Employees are unlikely to thrive long-term in environments misaligned with their values, making values mismatch a structural driver of turnover. That said, prioritizing personal time is not the same as lacking motivation for work. This misunderstanding generates friction with older generations of managers.
Recommended Actions
Phase 1 (Initial Response) -- Assess Your Current State
- Track physical symptoms: Record symptoms such as insomnia, stomach pain, appetite changes, and unexplained crying, along with dates. If symptoms persist for two weeks or more, move to the next phase
- Separate emotions from causes: Categorize reasons for wanting to quit into "environmental factors" and "personal factors." Environmental factors (harassment, excessive hours) are difficult to resolve on your own
- Use a self-assessment tool: Take the 5-Minute Workplace Stress Self-Check provided by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Kokoro no Mimi" portal
Phase 2 (Consultation and Action) -- Don't Go It Alone
- Identify who to talk to: Consider both workplace options (supervisor, HR, occupational physician) and external options (family, friends, public hotlines)
- The reality of seeking help: Approximately 80% of those who sought help at work received a supportive response. "Talking to someone won't help" is statistically incorrect
- Explore a third option: Instead of framing it as "quit" versus "stay," consider intermediate options such as department transfers, changes in working style, taking leave, or consulting a specialist
Role-Specific Actions
For the individual:
- Recognize that wanting to quit is not a sign of weakness
- If you are experiencing physical symptoms, consider seeing an occupational physician or your primary care doctor
- Example phrase for initiating a conversation: "I've noticed my concentration has been declining compared to before. Would it be possible to talk about it?"
For managers and mentors:
- Observe changes in new employees' behavior (facial expressions, how much they speak, tardiness patterns) on an ongoing basis
- Recognize that suspecting "faking" has no statistical basis (actual rate: 1.0%)
- Example phrase for reaching out: "I've been a little concerned recently -- could we find some time to talk about your workload?"
For HR professionals:
- Implement mental health awareness programs targeting non-managerial employees (self-care workshops, information in internal communications)
- Communicate the specific process of "what happens after you seek help" to all employees
- Regularly measure the perception gap between managers and frontline workers
Resource Guide
Public Consultation Services
| Service | Phone Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| "Kokoro no Mimi" Worker's Hotline (MHLW) | 0120-565-455 | Weekdays 17:00-22:00, Weekends 10:00-16:00 |
| Yorisoi Hotline | 0120-279-338 | 24 hours |
Self-Assessment Tools
- 5-Minute Workplace Stress Self-Check: A free tool provided by MHLW's "Kokoro no Mimi" portal for gaining an objective understanding of your current state
Conclusion
In an era when 34.9% of university graduates leave within three years and 58.8% of current employees have thought about quitting, wanting to leave during your first year is far from unusual. The problem is not the feeling itself, but what happens when it goes unaddressed -- or when help-seeking behavior is never initiated.
The data tells a clear story. Approximately 80% of those who sought help received a supportive response. Yet the mistaken belief that "talking won't help" prevents people from reaching out, and 35.2% of workers in their twenties who did not consult anyone ended up resigning. Organizations bear responsibility too. Awareness programs for non-managerial employees are implemented at only 34.7% of workplaces, and the invisibility of "what happens after you seek help" keeps the barrier to consultation high.
The first step is to accurately assess your own state. Check for physical symptoms. Separate the reasons behind "I want to quit" into environmental factors and personal factors. From there, resist being cornered into a binary choice of "quit" or "stay" -- consider a third option. There is no need to rush the decision.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. Is it a sign of weakness for a new employee to want to quit?
No. 58.8% of university graduate hires have experienced thoughts of quitting (Recruit Management Solutions, 2023), and the most commonly reported first-year challenge is "no clear right answers at work; unsure what to do" (27.1%). It is a psychological and physical response to environmental change -- a signal that calls for assessment and appropriate action.
Q. Does quitting in your first year hurt your career prospects?
Not necessarily. The three-year turnover rate for university graduates is 34.9%, and a job market for "second new graduates" exists. However, it is important to distinguish between environmental factors like "poor working conditions" (25.0%) and personal factors like "no sense of purpose" (27.0%), and to determine whether a job change would actually address the underlying issue.
Q. Is the "stick it out for three years" advice valid?
There is no evidence-based foundation for this rule. What matters is not the length of time, but whether growth opportunities and skill development are realistically available during that period. If you are experiencing physical and mental deterioration, facing harassment, or see no prospect of improvement, there is no rational reason to wait three years. At the same time, the top reason for staying is "considering a job change but aware of the risks" (21.3%) -- remaining by process of elimination is not a healthy state for either the individual or the organization.
Q. Who should I talk to?
Within the workplace, options include your supervisor (consultation rate: 30.6%), HR, an occupational physician, or an internal counseling service. Outside the workplace, options include family, friends, the MHLW's "Kokoro no Mimi" hotline (0120-565-455), and the Yorisoi Hotline (0120-279-338). Approximately 80% of those who sought help received a supportive response from their employer, meaning the belief that "talking won't help" is statistically incorrect (Persol Research Institute, 2024).
Q. How should managers respond when a new employee wants to quit?
First, recognize that mental health-related malingering accounts for only 1.0% of cases -- suspicion is not supported by the data. Research shows that new employees find it easiest to confide in supervisors who are "competent and able to give practical advice" (30.3%), "acknowledge their personality and values" (25.5%), and "listen without being pushy" (24.8%) (Recruit Management Solutions, 2023). When it comes to accepting tough feedback, the most valued trait is a supervisor who "explains why something matters in a way the employee can understand" (40.9%).
Sources and References
Government Publications
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Turnover Status of New Graduates (March 2021 Graduates)" (Published October 2024) Agency: MHLW, Human Resources Development Bureau URL: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/houdou/0000177553_00007.html
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "2024 Survey on Industrial Safety and Health (Fact-Finding Survey)" (2024) Agency: MHLW URL: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/list/dl/r06-46-50_gaikyo.pdf
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Kokoro no Mimi: Self-Care Basics for New Employees" Agency: MHLW URL: https://kokoro.mhlw.go.jp/newemployee/
Private Research Organizations
Persol Research Institute, "Quantitative Survey on Mental Health Issues Among Young Employees" (Conducted August 2024) Organization: Persol Research Institute, Inc. URL: https://rc.persol-group.co.jp/news/202412241000/
Mynavi Career Research Lab, "2026 Graduate Work Values and Attitudes Survey" Organization: Mynavi Corporation URL: https://career-research.mynavi.jp/column/20250818_98924/
Recruit Management Solutions, "Survey on Early Turnover Among New and Young Employees" (Conducted March 2023) Organization: Recruit Management Solutions Co., Ltd. URL: https://www.recruit-ms.co.jp/news/pressrelease/0000000417/
Related Content and Author Information
Related Article
Author Profile
Kazuhiko Ehara
Certified Industrial Counselor (Japan Industrial Counselors Association). Director, Kazuna Research Institute. After approximately 25 years in the corporate world as an IT engineer, he established his independent practice in 2018. In his twenties, he personally experienced over 200 hours of monthly overtime, later recognizing through self-reflection that he had become "desensitized to pain." He practices Brief Coaching grounded in SFBT (Solution-Focused Brief Therapy), supporting the physical and mental optimization of working professionals. His guiding philosophy, the Reset Method, states: "It's okay to stop. Every time you start walking again, that single step changes your future."