[City Hall] "Is lifetime employment unique to Japan?" The future of work as seen through global comparisons

"Lifetime employment has already collapsed, hasn't it?"

I've started hearing that phrase, but did you know that the very practice of lifetime employment is a culture unique to Japan?

By the way... I didn't know that.

Furthermore, practices like "mass hiring of new graduates" and "seniority-based promotion" are actually rare in the rest of the world (I just learned this for the first time!)

On the other hand, in other countries, "job-based" employment, which is based on specific job duties and skills, is common, and civil servants are no exception.

This time, while delving into just how unique Japan's traditional employment practices are, I would like to explore hints for thinking about the future of work through a comparison with civil service systems abroad.

1. Is "lifetime employment" only in Japan?

"Lifetime employment" refers to an employment practice based on the premise that employees will work for the same company until retirement.
This system is said to be a culture unique to Japan.

It is like an "unspoken understanding" between companies and employees, and a relationship of "the company protects employment in exchange for the employee's loyalty" has continued for many years.

During the period of high economic growth, this system functioned well, and both companies and employees enjoyed "stability and growth through long-term employment".

However, in an era like today where changes are rapid and diverse work styles are required, lifetime employment is becoming a cause of lost flexibility.

Also, I think this trend is the reason why changing jobs was once perceived negatively.

2. "Mass hiring of new graduates" is also rare in the world

Another Japanese employment culture is "mass hiring of new graduates."
Job hunting happens all at once to coincide with graduation from high school or university, and everyone joins the company at the same time in April.

"Potential-based hiring" where assignments and job duties are not yet decided is the mainstream, and employees are raised as generalists after joining the company—.

This is said to be an unthinkable system in many countries.

Overseas, job-specific hiring based on a "job description" (= job-based employment) is common.

For example, people with the necessary skills and experience apply for positions such as "Digital Marketing Specialist" or "Financial Analyst."

Age or whether one is a new graduate is irrelevant.

3. Are civil servants abroad also "job-based"?

So, what about public servants overseas?
Actually,the system of joining as a "generalist" and rotating across departments, as seen in Japan, is quite rare.

🇺🇸 In the case of the United States

In the U.S., public servants are also basically employed under a job-based system.
They apply for and are hired into positions where job duties and skill requirements are clearly defined.

There are many political appointments and fixed-term positions, and lifetime employment is not a given.
Promotions and salaries are also basically determined by performance and contribution.

🇬🇧 In the case of the United Kingdom

In the U.K. as well, many positions are filled through open competition (public recruitment).

Even within the same organization, transfers generally require "applying," and there is no Japanese-style system of "bulk hiring followed by automatic transfers."

Performance evaluation and professional development systems are also well-established, adopting a form close to a job-based system.

🇫🇷 In the case of France and 🇩🇪 Germany

In France, for national public servants, careers start through competitive examinations, and there are aspects close to "lifetime employment" in that they are long-term employees.

However, here too, job duties are clear and transfers are limited.

Although Germany has a system called "Beamte" (lifetime civil servants), many local government employees are hired on a job-basis, similar to general workers.

4. Merits and limitations of the Japanese model

The Japanese employment model (lifetime employment, seniority-based pay, and bulk hiring of new graduates) certainly has strengths in terms of"a sense of security," "nurturing ability," and "long-term human capital investment.".

In fact,the culture of carefully training even inexperienced people from scratch is rarely seen in other countries.

However, on the other hand,

• it is difficult to develop expertise

• career flexibility is low

• it is difficult to hire talent from outside

These are some of the challenges.

Of these, the top two are areas where I feel uncertain about my current career.

Also, this is just my personal opinion, but in the case of lifetime employment, don't many people think that getting a job is the finish line?Especially us civil servants.

It seems that many Japanese people stop studying after they start working, and I think this is because there was no need to improve skills and increase one's market value.

Studying expands your world and is fun!

5. What is the future of working as a civil servant?

There are signs of gradual change in the Japanese civil service system as well.

In recent years, elements of job-based employment have begun to be incorporated little by little, such as through fixed-term staff systems and the recruitment of digital talent as specialists.

However, it is also true that a deep-rooted "generalist orientation" and a culture of "transfers as a given" remain.

In an era where specialized tasks are increasing and "talent strong in a certain field" is in higher demand than "talent who can do anything," I feel that human resource strategies for civil servants are also being forced to be reviewed.

Both lifetime employment and job-based employment have their own merits and demerits.

However, I believe what is important is to think about "how I want to work" and "what kind of career I want to build."

Knowing these differences is a great hint to help you choose proactively rather than being swept away by systems and culture.

I wrote this not to say which is good or bad, but simply because I "didn't know about it and wanted to share it."

It is fun to be able to see things from various perspectives, so I would like to continue this kind of "exploration of knowledge" in the future.