[Approximately 1 in 3 Experience a 'Post-Joining Gap'] Gentle SNS 'GRAVITY' Conducts Survey! What is the True Nature of 'May Sickness' Among New Graduates?
HiClub Inc.'s SNS 'GRAVITY' conducted a survey on 'May Sickness' among new graduates, revealing that about one-third experience a gap after joining a company, impacting their motivation to go to work and leading to early turnover. Assignment mismatches are also a contributing factor.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 23:30
- 🔍 Collected: May 7, 2026 at 15:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 7, 2026 at 15:29 (28 min after Collected)
HiClub Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Yu Furuya) announced that its SNS "GRAVITY" (iOS/Android versions) conducted a "Survey on the Reality of May Sickness" targeting men and women aged 19 to 29.
While there is a strong image of "not wanting to go to work" after Golden Week, the actual motivation of new graduates to go to work is not uniform, with results divided into positive, negative, and neutral. This survey focuses on the "post-joining gap" and the impact of "assignments" behind this, as well as the spread of a career perspective that says, "if it doesn't fit, move on," to unravel the true feelings of new graduates.
This survey was conducted targeting users of the SNS "GRAVITY," with 637 valid responses. Respondents were limited to young people aged 19 to 29, obtaining responses from a wide range of individuals, including new graduates.
Number of respondents: 637 people aged 19-29
Gender: 391 women, 207 men, 39 others
▪️Survey Summary
・Approximately 1 in 3 experience a "post-joining gap"
・"Different from what I expected" influences motivation to go to work
・Approximately 35% are aware of early turnover as a close reality
・66% experience mental impact from work
・A career perspective of "if it doesn't fit, move on" is widespread
1. Is it not just "don't want to go to work" after Golden Week? Data reveals the gap with public perception
When asked, "Do you want to go to work after Golden Week?", positive responses were about 35.7%, and negative responses were about 35.3%, showing no significant difference. Those who answered "neither" accounted for 29.0%. The awareness of going to work is not biased in one direction but is divided into positive, negative, and neutral.
Generally, the negative impression of "after Golden Week = don't want to go to work" is widely prevalent, but this survey suggests that it cannot always be simplified in this way, and the reality is divided into various positions.
Aggregating free responses, reasons for being positive about going to work included voices related to work settling down and recovery of daily rhythm. On the other hand, opinions regarding psychological burden, such as difficulty switching after holidays and anxiety about environmental changes, were also confirmed.
Specifically, while there were positive voices such as "work will settle down as the busy period during Golden Week ends" and "Golden Week is busy with childcare, so daily rhythm will return after it ends," there were also opinions such as "it's difficult to switch after holidays" and "training is over and I'll have junior colleagues, so I'm anxious."
These results suggest that the awareness of going to work is not a simple matter of pros and cons but is influenced by various factors such as work situation, living environment, and job type.
2. The reality of post-joining mismatch and "assignment lottery"
When asked, "How is your current company's impression compared to your image before joining?", 20.9% answered "some gap and dissatisfaction" and 11.5% answered "quite different and regretful," totaling 32.4% who felt a negative gap.
On the other hand, positive evaluations existed at a similar level, with 32.3%, and those who answered "almost as imagined" accounted for 35.3%, showing a tendency for post-joining impressions to vary.
It is noteworthy that this difference in impression also affects motivation to go to work.
Among those who were "much better than imagined and satisfied," about 67% answered "want to go to work," while among those who were "quite different from imagined and regretful," only about 8% did, showing a significant difference in motivation to go to work.
There is a clear difference between post-joining impression and motivation to go to work, suggesting that a discrepancy with expectations may affect the awareness of going to work.
From these results, it has become clear that the true nature of so-called May Sickness may not be mere "fatigue" but a "post-joining gap."
One of the factors influencing this discrepancy is "assignment."
Among the satisfied group, about 76% had their first choice or a similar assignment, while among the regretful group, it was only about 20%, showing a significant difference in assignment alignment.
Also, among the regretful group, about 42% answered "assignment far from desired," suggesting a correlation with assignment.
These results suggest that the element called "assignment lottery" may have a certain impact and is one of the factors related to initial satisfaction and retention intention after joining a company.
3. Is "if it doesn't fit, quit" common? The spread of a "discerning career" among new graduates
When asked, "Do you have colleagues who quit within one month of joining?", approximately 35% were aware of immediate post-joining resignations when combining "was in my department," "was within the same company," and "heard rumors." Furthermore, when asked, "Do you know anyone who quit on the first day?", about 40% answered that they had seen or heard of such cases, not limited to personal experience but also through information contact via SNS, etc.
While there is a strong image of "not wanting to go to work" after Golden Week, the actual motivation of new graduates to go to work is not uniform, with results divided into positive, negative, and neutral. This survey focuses on the "post-joining gap" and the impact of "assignments" behind this, as well as the spread of a career perspective that says, "if it doesn't fit, move on," to unravel the true feelings of new graduates.
This survey was conducted targeting users of the SNS "GRAVITY," with 637 valid responses. Respondents were limited to young people aged 19 to 29, obtaining responses from a wide range of individuals, including new graduates.
Number of respondents: 637 people aged 19-29
Gender: 391 women, 207 men, 39 others
▪️Survey Summary
・Approximately 1 in 3 experience a "post-joining gap"
・"Different from what I expected" influences motivation to go to work
・Approximately 35% are aware of early turnover as a close reality
・66% experience mental impact from work
・A career perspective of "if it doesn't fit, move on" is widespread
1. Is it not just "don't want to go to work" after Golden Week? Data reveals the gap with public perception
When asked, "Do you want to go to work after Golden Week?", positive responses were about 35.7%, and negative responses were about 35.3%, showing no significant difference. Those who answered "neither" accounted for 29.0%. The awareness of going to work is not biased in one direction but is divided into positive, negative, and neutral.
Generally, the negative impression of "after Golden Week = don't want to go to work" is widely prevalent, but this survey suggests that it cannot always be simplified in this way, and the reality is divided into various positions.
Aggregating free responses, reasons for being positive about going to work included voices related to work settling down and recovery of daily rhythm. On the other hand, opinions regarding psychological burden, such as difficulty switching after holidays and anxiety about environmental changes, were also confirmed.
Specifically, while there were positive voices such as "work will settle down as the busy period during Golden Week ends" and "Golden Week is busy with childcare, so daily rhythm will return after it ends," there were also opinions such as "it's difficult to switch after holidays" and "training is over and I'll have junior colleagues, so I'm anxious."
These results suggest that the awareness of going to work is not a simple matter of pros and cons but is influenced by various factors such as work situation, living environment, and job type.
2. The reality of post-joining mismatch and "assignment lottery"
When asked, "How is your current company's impression compared to your image before joining?", 20.9% answered "some gap and dissatisfaction" and 11.5% answered "quite different and regretful," totaling 32.4% who felt a negative gap.
On the other hand, positive evaluations existed at a similar level, with 32.3%, and those who answered "almost as imagined" accounted for 35.3%, showing a tendency for post-joining impressions to vary.
It is noteworthy that this difference in impression also affects motivation to go to work.
Among those who were "much better than imagined and satisfied," about 67% answered "want to go to work," while among those who were "quite different from imagined and regretful," only about 8% did, showing a significant difference in motivation to go to work.
There is a clear difference between post-joining impression and motivation to go to work, suggesting that a discrepancy with expectations may affect the awareness of going to work.
From these results, it has become clear that the true nature of so-called May Sickness may not be mere "fatigue" but a "post-joining gap."
One of the factors influencing this discrepancy is "assignment."
Among the satisfied group, about 76% had their first choice or a similar assignment, while among the regretful group, it was only about 20%, showing a significant difference in assignment alignment.
Also, among the regretful group, about 42% answered "assignment far from desired," suggesting a correlation with assignment.
These results suggest that the element called "assignment lottery" may have a certain impact and is one of the factors related to initial satisfaction and retention intention after joining a company.
3. Is "if it doesn't fit, quit" common? The spread of a "discerning career" among new graduates
When asked, "Do you have colleagues who quit within one month of joining?", approximately 35% were aware of immediate post-joining resignations when combining "was in my department," "was within the same company," and "heard rumors." Furthermore, when asked, "Do you know anyone who quit on the first day?", about 40% answered that they had seen or heard of such cases, not limited to personal experience but also through information contact via SNS, etc.