Many Newly Hired Employees in Japan Hate to Make Mistakes

September 28, 2018

Tokyo- Many newly recruited employees in Japan are afraid of making mistakes though they know that doing so provides valuable lessons, a survey by a human resource development service provider showed Thursday.

The survey was conducted by JMA Management Center Inc. in June, covering 391 people who joined companies across the nation between 2017 and 2018.

Of them, 71.9 pct answered "yes" to a question whether they agree that it is important to take on tasks without worrying too much about messing up because a lot can be learned from mistakes.

But the survey also showed that 82.9 pct of all surveyed corporate recruits said they do not want to make a mistake at work.

The survey also covered those who entered companies between 1999 and 2003, when college graduates in Japan had a hard time finding jobs due to the sluggish economy.

Of them, 76.1 pct affirmed the importance of taking on tasks without fear of making mistakes, while 70.1 pct said they do not want to screw up.

"The results show that newly recruited employees hesitate to take on a challenge because of fears of making mistakes even though they know that doing so is a valuable learning experience," a JMA Management Center official said.

As for enthusiasm for self-growth, 60.6 pct of the surveyed recruits showed readiness to undertake a challenge even if their workload and working hours increase.

Meanwhile 39.4 pct answered that they want to take on jobs within their abilities, the survey said, showing that a large proportion of newly hired workers are eager to improve themselves. Jiji Press