Ever been nervous about quitting your job? Ever been so nervous that you wish someone could do it for you?
In Japan, there’s a service for that.
Resignation proxy companies (退職代行サービス; taishoku daikō sābisu) in Japan do the dirty work of giving your boss the message and negotiating your exit from the company so you don’t have to. A new phenomenon, they’ve gained traction in recent years, as a conflict-averse generation of younger workers relies on them to get them out of a bad situation.
Recently, I talked to Satō Nobushige, who manages the Resignation Support Division at Mō Muri, currently Japan’s most popular resignation service. We talked about how Japan’s unique corporate culture led to the birth of such services – and why Mō Muri is working towards a future where resignation proxy services are no longer necessary.
What does a resignation proxy service do?
Mō Muri (モームリ, which means “I’ve had it!” in Japanese), run by Albatross Inc., has been in business since March 15th, 2022. For 22,000 yen (USD $148), full-time workers can get a professional stand-in to deliver the bad news to their employers. Part-time workers only pay 12,000 yen ($81).
The company was the idea of CEO Tanimoto Shinji. Tanimoto said he started the business after working at an awful services company 10 years prior and seeing workers quit left and right. Afterwards, he learned some of them had used a resignation proxy service. Thinking that such a service operating at scale could help まnypeople, Tanimoto set out to make his own.
Back in 2022, Mō Muri received maybe 100 requests a month. According to Satō, business shot up in 2023 due mainly to a popular YouTube video that shows the company’s callers in action during Golden Week. To date, it’s racked up 3.5 million views.
The video offers a fascinating glimpse at how the company operates. It shows Mō Muri reps calling their clients’ employers and confirming the procedures required for the client to resign by proxy. (For example, whether they need to submit a formal resignation request, if there’s a set format for the request, etc.) They also arrange matters such as returning employer property, often down to minute detail. (In one call, a rep confirms whether the employer requires uniforms to be cleaned prior to return.)
The reaction from employers is varied, to say the least. Some take the news in stride, asking the reason for resigning and confirming their resignation procedures. Others seem taken aback by the news and ask if they can speak to their soon-to-be-ex-employee – a request that Mō Muri’s reps politely refuse. (“Our client has asked not to be contacted.”)
Others quickly cycle through Kübler-Ross’s Five Stages of Grief. In reaction to one educational worker who didn’t want to work weekends, the employer shot back, “Other employees work weekends!” before softening and saying, “I’d like them to keep working, we can improve on that…”
While not depicted in the video, there are employers who will outright refuse to work with a resignation proxy service. In that case, says Satō, Mō Muri works with employers via physical mail or email. After all, employees have a right to quit their jobs – whether employers like it or not.
Who uses a resignation proxy service – and why?
After that video, said Satō, requests for Mō Muri’s services shot up to around 500 per month. With its recent advertising push, it’s up to around 1,000 to 1,500 requests every month. The company continues to generate buzz through social media, which Satō says fuels its continued growth.
Resignation proxy services are very recent. They’re also unique to Japan, which Satō chalks up to the country’s tradition of lifelong employment.
“People in Japan are used to working at the same place for a long time, and job transfers tend to be few and far between,” he said. “So employees feel apprehensive when it comes to resigning.”
The majority of the company’s clients, says Satō, tend to be young people in their teens, 20s, and sometimes 30s. Data from over 15,000 clients shows 9,708 users were in their 20s, evenly split between men and women.
However, people of all ages have used the service. Satō says they had their oldest client recently, an 80-year-old.
Why do people quit via proxy? The top reason shouldn’t be any surprise: harassment. 33.9% of respondents used Mō Muri because their boss had harassed them – an enduring problem in Japan, especially for working women. 30.2% said they used the service because their boss would otherwise stop them from quitting.
Others cited overtime (24.7%), other work responsibilities (18.7%), pressure not to take paid holiday and vacation days (13%), and an inability to take off on public holidays (7.6%) as other reasons for quitting and seeking Mō Muri’s help.
The majority of workers are in service industries; they account for 1,010 of 3,507 people surveyed, or 28.7% of the total. 15.6% of users are in retail, followed by restaurant workers (14%) and caregivers (6.4%).
As for time in service, out of 15,934 clients, the majority (38.7%) quit within their first six months. Another 24.5% quit even before the month was out, which tells you how bad Japan’s so-called “black companies” can get.
Using a resignation proxy company to quit the resignation proxy company
I was curious: Do people use Mō Muri to quit Mō Muri?
“No,” Satō laughed.
Do they use other resignation services?
“They do!” he said, expressing shock and perhaps a touch of dismay.
The company emphasizes to new employees when they onboard that they’re free to quit at any time. While one frequently resigns directly to their boss, Albatross encourages employees to communicate the news to a person at the company with whom they have a good relationship. That initiates a chain of communication that enables the employee to leave on good terms. “We never stop anyone from quitting,” he emphasized.
Despite this, sometimes, a resignation service will call the company to inform them one of their own has left. “Much to my surprise,” Satō said with a laugh.
A company that’s trying to run itself out of business?
Resignation proxy services like Mō Muri aren’t without their critics. Some say the service is a sign that Japan is growing soft and being “too easy” on its younger generation. Others say using such a service might endanger your chances of landing meaningful work with future employers.
Mō Muri also hasn’t been shy about marketing itself in unique and controversial ways. Recently, it garnered controversy when it employed an advertising truck to wander around midtown Tokyo. The controversial trucks are best known for advertising nightlife services, such as host clubs and the company Vanilla, which connects women with “high-paying” jobs at cabaret clubs, soaplands, and other nightlife and sex-oriented businesses.
The trucks were the idea of the company’s CEO. “We knew it might get blowback online,” Satō said, “but figured, so what if it does? Let’s use that.”
As for the criticism, the company doesn’t seem to mind it. CEO Tanimoto has said in interviews that the company is working towards the day when services such as Mō Muri are no longer necessary. Satō emphasized that in our interview as well.
“We believe an increase in the use of resignation proxy services isn’t good for society,” he said.
The company recently released a new service, Mō Muri+, a consulting service that hopes to use the data it gathers to help both employees and employers reduce the resignation rate. For employees, that means “closing the gap” between their expectation of an employer and its reality. For companies, that means addressing the reasons why people quit after only a few months on the job.
This aim is contained even in the name of the parent company, Albatross. A wandering albatross is a bird that’s uniquely bad at walking. So bad, in fact, that it requires an effort to take off from land.
Once aloft, however, it’s a highly efficient flier. The bird can soar for miles without flapping its wings, managing up to 560 miles a day. Similarly, says Satō, Albatross Inc. aims to nurture both employees and employers to help them take flight and soar on their own.
That day is likely a ways off. For now, services like Mō Muri are there to fill the gap.
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