Thinking About Career TransitionsWhen Not Choosing Is Also a Choice

Thinking About Career Transitions

When Not Choosing Is Also a Choice

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Introduction: Do You Have Time to Think About Your Career?

Hello everyone. Today, let's think deeply about "career transitions" and "career development." When you hear the word "job change," most people immediately think of the action of "leaving one company to go to another." However, essentially, before "job change = action," the continuous process of self-understanding and choice about "how to design your life and how you want to walk your path" is what truly matters.

For example, in your current workplace, can you immediately answer "what have I become able to do compared to last year" or "what experiences have I gained"? This is what we call "career inventory." Once a year, taking a moment to pause and examine your skills and values. This is an extremely important habit for surviving the future, regardless of whether you change jobs or not.

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Chapter 1: The Shaking of the Lifetime Employment Illusion

In Japanese society of the past, "staying with one company until retirement" was considered a virtue. This was the so-called "lifetime employment." During the high economic growth period of the 1960s-80s, many companies grew at an upward trend and could employ workers long-term. However, this structure has now changed dramatically.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' Labor Force Survey, the number of job changers in 2023 was approximately 3.51 million. This is the largest number since statistics began. Even in large companies, "performance-based systems" and "early retirement programs" have advanced, and the era of "being protected by the company" has ended.

However, it would be premature to say that "the era of lifetime employment is over." In reality, there are still a certain number of employees who work until retirement age in major companies. However, this is not "guaranteed as a system" but rather "there are people who remain as a result."

In other words, lifetime employment has changed from a system to a "result".

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Chapter 2: Not Choosing Is Also Choosing - From "Wind Crossroads"

Here, let's recall Pochang Lab's short story "Wind Crossroads".

"Not choosing is already choosing."

This single sentence strikes at the very essence of career development.

People may think they are not choosing to "not change jobs," but they are actually making the choice to "continue staying in their current workplace" unconsciously.

Not choosing is also a form of choice. That's why we need to regularly ask ourselves, "Is this really okay?"

Not changing anything feels safe. However, that means making the decision to "not change." And as these decisions accumulate, the direction of your life story is determined.

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Chapter 3: The Difference Between People Who "Consciously Consider" Their Career and Those Who "Go With the Flow"

So, what kind of difference emerges between people who actually think about their career and those who don't?

Let's imagine a high school reunion. Some friends went straight to work after graduation, while others went to university. When meeting again after 10 years, one person said:

"I didn't go to university, so I have no choice but to continue this job for life."

But is that really true? The era when education determined your career is over. With the spread of IT and AI, opportunities for reskilling and career shifting have increased.

For example, there are people who learned programming from scratch and became engineers, and people who learned design through side jobs and became independent. In other words, whether you believe in your own potential changes your future.

On the other hand, there is also the personality of "disliking change." Not wanting change itself is not bad. However, not challenging yourself because you "don't know" is simply too wasteful.

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Chapter 4: The Psychology and Brain Mechanisms of Avoiding Choice

So why do people fear "changing" and "choosing"?

Psychologically, this is called "status quo bias". This is the psychological tendency for humans to excessively fear losses from change. According to behavioral economics by Kahneman and Tversky, people feel "loss" about twice as strongly as "gain" of the same value.

In other words, the anxiety of "I might fail if I change jobs" resonates more strongly in the brain than "I might increase my salary if I change jobs."

There are also genetic tendencies. Research from the University of Minnesota shows that 40-50% of risk-taking tendencies can be explained genetically. In other words, whether you have a "challenging personality" includes some innate factors.

However, humans are beings who can change their behavior through environment. According to psychologist Albert Bandura's theory of "self-efficacy", by gradually accumulating experiences where you feel "I can do it," people can reduce their resistance to change.

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Chapter 5: The Concept of "Diversified Investment" in Career

Let's talk a bit about economics here.

Leaving cash in Japanese yen in a bank. This is actually not the choice of "not taking risks," but rather the choice of "taking the risk of inflation and exchange rate fluctuations".

For example, 100 yen from 10 years ago and 100 yen today do not have the same value. Considering the inflation rate, the real purchasing power has decreased.

Career is the same. "Not changing" carries the risk of career value depreciation. That's why, instead of depending on a single skill or workplace, a "diversified career" with multiple abilities and experiences is required in this era.

Side jobs, certification acquisition, AI tool utilization, participation in external projects... All of these are "investments" that increase your "career assets."

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Chapter 6: The Power of "Decision" That History Tells

Looking back at history, the people who moved their era were all people of decision. Einstein, Edison, and many Japanese entrepreneurs as well.

Of course, behind their success, they made countless failures and decisions. Decision is not "an act that guarantees the future" but "the resolve to accept uncertainty."

Our careers are the same. To change jobs or not. To challenge or not. There is no correct answer for either path. However, "not stopping to think" is the only way to avoid the single incorrect answer.

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Conclusion: Your Career Is the Accumulation of Your Choices

Everyone, let's recall the final scene of "Wind Crossroads" once more.

"Not choosing is already choosing."

Career is exactly the same. By not choosing, you may find yourself standing in "the direction where the wind has stopped." That's why it's important to regularly reflect on yourself and be conscious of "what kind of choices am I making now?"

Whether you change jobs or not is not the issue. Are you prepared so that you won't regret it whenever you change jobs? That is the most reliable attitude for living your life proactively.

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Please read Pochang Lab's short story "Wind Crossroads" as well. In the quietly blowing "sound of the wind," you might see the crossroads of your own career.