What are the trends regarding temporary job positions, such as part-time, dispatch, and contract jobs, for foreign workers in Japan? The company My Navi decided to find out, with its study regarding foreign employment, broken down by industry. The study was aimed at hiring managers, and the results were published on June 20.
According to the survey results, the percentage of companies employing foreigners in temporary positions is 34.7%, while the percentage of companies who plan on doing so in the future is 50.9%. Also, when looking at hiring results broken down by company size, the employment of foreigners at large companies （those with 300 employees or more） is 51.6%.
On the other hand, foreign employment at small to mid-sized companies （those with less than 300 employees） is 27.6%, showing a major gap in foreign employment between company sizes. The needs of foreign visitors to Japan is predicted to especially increase from 2019 through 2020, so in industries that require high foreign language proficiency （such as customer service at hotels or Japanese ryokan）, retail, （convenience stores and supermarkets）, these results show that companies are highly intent on hiring foreign employees. The top reasons for hiring foreign staff were solving and improving staff shortages （59.2%） and companies’ impressions that foreign staff seem like serious workers （32%）.
Are you currently hiring foreign workers for temporary positions? （single answer format）
Are you planning to hire more foreign workers for temporary positions in the future? （single answer format）.The study also asked questions regarding problems that companies felt when hiring foreign workers. 57.1% of respondents answered that Japanese ability was an issue, and 40.6% responded that differences in cultures and values were. There were many hiring managers who felt uneasy about language and multicultural misunderstandings. Only 6.8% of respondents answered that they felt no problems regarding these issues. Respondents were asked about if they were doing anything special to prepare for hiring foreign workers. 21.1% answered that they were establishing education programs for their foreign staff, 20.6% answered that they were improving the language ability of Japanese staff, and 28.4% answered that they were making no special efforts regarding this issue.
Have you felt problems when hiring foreign workers? （multiple responses possible）*This question was aimed at the 527 respondents who answered “We had good results hiring foreign workers.”
Everything that falls under efforts to hire foreign workers （multiple answers possible）*This question was aimed at the 874 respondents who answered that “We had good results hiring foreigners” and “We intend on hiring foreigners.”
According to My Navi, though the needs regarding the hiring of foreign staff increase, there are many cases of hiring managers feeling that foreign employees’ Japanese language ability and cultural and value differences can cause issues. Companies need to have Japanese language and culture training for their foreign staff. They also have to provide education for their Japanese staff and establish proper systems for hiring foreign workers.
This study was conducted from May 10 to May 20 of 2019. It was aimed at men and women from ages 20 to 69 who were engaged in hiring for temporary positions with the past half year. The study was conducted on the internet, and 1,519 people replied.
[Related Page] My Navi Agent’s Review
[Related Page] Job Board for Expats in Japan
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