While researching workplace trends in Japan, I came across survey results from the Persol Research and Consulting Institute that made me do a double-take.
According to the research, fewer young employees today view “growth through working” as important than they did just a few years ago. At the same time, the share of younger employees who say they are “not doing anything in particular” for learning or self-development outside their job duties has risen by roughly 10 points. These shifts are not being observed among employees in their forties and beyond.
What caught my attention was how younger employees seem to be redefining what growth means.
The study found that younger employees are becoming less likely to associate growth with traditional outcomes such as higher compensation, improved efficiency, improved expertise, stronger team collaboration or mentoring skills, earning recognition through results and evaluations, or a broader perspective. Yet interest in career clarity has remained relatively stable.
Years ago, while leading a development program for new graduate employees, we encouraged participants to think of their manager, HR, and director as their career support team. The goal was to help them discuss their aspirations, explore possibilities, and better understand the opportunities available to them within the organization.
I remember one meeting with managers when one of the managers asked a question I have never forgotten:
“What do we do if the employee’s goal is to leave the company?” To get their input, I returned the question to them.
The room went quiet.
The longer I have worked in Learning and Development, the more I have come to believe that career development is a shared responsibility. Organizations provide opportunities, support, coaching, and experiences. Employees must take ownership of where they want to go and how they will get there.
Looking back, most of the young employees I worked with were not asking how to become managers or climb the corporate ladder faster. They wanted a clearer understanding of where they were headed and how today’s work connected to tomorrow’s opportunities.
Perhaps that is what makes Persol’s findings so interesting.
If younger employees are becoming less interested in growth as organizations traditionally define it, then the challenge may not simply be encouraging more development. It may be helping employees understand what development looks like in a world where careers, organizations, and even the skills required for success are changing faster than ever before.
Source: Persol Research and Consulting Co., Ltd., “10,000 Working People Employment and Growth Tracking Survey” (働く10,000人の就業・成長定点調査)
Analysis referenced: Mari Kanemoto, “Younger Employees’ Growth Orientation Is Declining: An Era Where We Must Ask What Growth Means” (若手社員の成長志向が低下 成長とは何かが問われる時代へ), Persol Research Institute, published June 30, 2025.