Part-Time Jobs Survey: Stay Stable in One Job or Job Hopping

How often workers change their jobs differs from country to country. Employees in China tend to change jobs often to seek higher pay, while employees in Japan are well known for staying in one company until they retire. However, research shows that lifelong employment is becoming a good past year by year in Japan. The number of job-changers reached 3.06 million in 2016, a seven-year high since 2009. Though it accounts for just 4.8 percent of the labor market, it is still a big number and a big step for Japan.

The same trend is also observed among part-time workers. Hopping from job to job is not surprising any more. Workers may change jobs for unavoidable reasons like relocating to a different geographic area. If you can choose freely, will you prefer to stay stable in one job or to be a job hopper? Let's learn about advantages and disadvantages of both sides first.

More part-time workers choose to be stable

A survey to workers aged between 10s and 20s who are working part-time now or have worked part-time before shows that, 64.0％ of them choose to stay stable in one job for a long time, while other 36.0％ think better of changing jobs to experience various jobs and working environments.

If you choose to be stable

No things have advantages only. Besides the often said good things, you should also know those not-good things.

Advantages

・Be competent to the job

The longer you work at the same job, the more competent you become to the job. A restaurant's menu should be really difficult for a new waitress to remember, but surely it will be no more a problem for the waitress one year later. Speaking polite Japanese may seem impossible for a foreigner working his or her first day at 7-11, but he or she will definitely speak good "Irashaimase" one month later.

You build a comfortable zone for yourself by becoming competent. You feel less stressed, much confident and happier if you can complete tasks well.

・Be expert at the job

By staying put in one job, you accumulate knowledge and experience of this job and go to be an expert. It takes several years for a convenience staff to become a store manager, after learning and practicing every part of one's work duties. If he or she changes job at the first year of work, he or she may be evaluated as a practiced worker but not an expert of this job, and will have no chance to become a manager.

Expertise in a job will be a wealth of the whole career. It helps you understand your work, the industry better and leads to new opportunities.

・Climb the career ladder

After being competent and expert in the job, you get the chance of promotion to climb the career ladder and chance of salary increase. Higher job title and salary bring higher social status and better livinghood in Japan.

・Build trust with co-workers

People working and having lunch every day for a lasting long period are easy to be friends. By working long at a job, you build good relationships with co-workers, customers. Going well with people at the workplace will absolutely make you smile every day and work happier.

To build trust with co-workers is very important for shift part-time workers. Otherwise, you may not be able to find someone to cover your shift in the case of a sudden leave.

Disadvantages

・Field of vision constricted

When you stay in the same position, you gradually lose touch with the outside world. Your field of vision constricts and you know little about other jobs or industries. Also you may feel it difficult to adapt to other jobs or other working environments.

・No passion

The longer you stay at a job, the more possible it is to feel bored at work. Work contents and co-workers keep no change every day and no freshness. You may show less responsibility at work, be unable to make new friends, or feel embarrassed to quit the job just because the employer has become a good friend.

If you choose job hopping

Like two sides of a mirror, the disadvantages of stability turn advantages for some workers.

Advantages

・Field of vision expanded

If you change jobs frequently, you have to learn new things a lot and may feel imcompetent. However, just as there is a comfort level with incompetence, you feel progressed, much skilled through learning at new jobs.

You experience different working environments, industries, and realize what you can do and what you enjoy to do.

・Feel passion

By changing jobs, you work at a fresh new store, with stranger coworkers, do unfamiliar tasks, and you will never feel bored. Also you can expand networking by being friends with new colleagues and customers. Your communication skills will also be improved by communicating with more people.

Disadvantages

Being a job hopper is stressful as well. You must force yourself to keep learning all the time to follow new jobs. Not just the work content, it also takes a lot of time and energy to do well with new colleagues. And you may face an unstable salary problem.

Before choosing one between staying at one job and job hopping, confirm what you want to get from part-time jobs. If you aim at being a convenience store's manager, working long at a store may be a better choice for you. If you just want to earn money by working part-time, it is okay to keep changing to better paid jobs.

Despite one word job-hopping there are many different cases, such as changing to another company, changing to another position inside a company, or changing from one chain store to another store. Try to make a best career plan for yourself and enjoy your part-time life by considering all the factors like your purpose of working part-time, your personality, your employer's status, etc.