Survey Results on Trends of Young Employees from Managers' Perspective (FY2025) Released

Link and Motivation Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Yoshio Ozasa; Stock Code: 2170) hereby reports the results of its survey (FY2025) on the trends of young employees from the perspective of their managers, conducted by its research institute, the Motivation Engineering Laboratory.

▼Survey Results Here

Background of the Survey
Amidst accelerating population decline, securing and developing young talent has become a fundamental management challenge.

Regarding the securing of young talent, topics related to preventing early turnover among young employees tend to attract attention.

However, even if early turnover can be prevented, without improving the quality of human resources through development, it will not lead to increased corporate productivity. Furthermore, the work values of young people, who are the対象 of development, are diversifying, and the work environment itself is changing. In particular, the gap with the manager generation involved in development at the front lines is widening, and voices suggesting that traditional development styles are becoming less effective are increasing year by year.

Precisely because of these significant changes, a perspective that continuously re-examines the reality of development is important. The insight gained from the previous survey, that "trends of young employees from managers' perspectives have not significantly changed over the past 10 years," indicates that the development challenges perceived by managers are consistent. However, considering the changes in young people's values and perceptions, there is also an inherent risk that the same approaches will have diminishing developmental effects. Therefore, this survey was conducted to analyze the reality of young employee development from multiple angles, serving as basic data for continuously tracking changes over time.

Survey Overview
- Research Institution (Survey Subject)

Motivation Engineering Laboratory, Link and Motivation Inc.

- Survey Target

The survey targeted 12,000 individuals from 151 companies who underwent the Business Stance Survey provided by the Link and Motivation Group (hereinafter referred to as "our company") between January 2015 and December 2025.

- Analysis Method

Participants were classified into four groups: pre-COVID (2015-2019), during COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022), post-COVID (2023-2024), and 2025. Rankings for each of the 40 items were created for each group.

Additionally, participants were classified into four groups based on employee size: under 99, 100-499, 500-999, and 1,000 or more. Rankings for each of the 40 items were created for each group. The top 5 and bottom 5 items from these rankings were extracted to analyze the differences in trends of young employees from managers' perspectives.

Survey Results
- The strengths of young employees were consistent regardless of the period (pre- or post-COVID), industry, or company size. Specifically, these included "receptive to advice," "pleasant interactions with colleagues," and "perseverance to see things through to the end."

- Consistent challenges for young employees emerged regardless of period or industry. These included "predicting potential issues," "proactive participation in meetings," "execution in ambiguous situations," and "proactive utilization of opportunities."

- Differences in challenges for young employees were observed based on company size. In smaller companies, "efficient approach to tasks" was prominent, while in larger companies, proactiveness such as "execution in ambiguous situations" and "proactive utilization of opportunities" was highlighted.

Future Challenges
This survey suggests that while the challenges of young employees from managers' perspectives vary by company size, neither their strengths nor challenges have significantly changed over the past 11 years. This implies that the "roles expected of young employees by managers" are determined not solely by the micro-relationship between manager and subordinate, but are also influenced by the functions the organization performs and the environment in which the industry is situated.

On the other hand, the fact that challenges differ by company size may indicate that the required behavioral patterns change depending on the company's growth stage, such as expansion or maturity. The emergence of efficiency as a challenge in small companies and proactiveness in large companies can be interpreted as a reflection of differing organizational growth stages.

Therefore, when interpreting the trends of young employees, it is important to re-examine them not by confining to generational theories like "young people these days," but from the perspective of the business environment the organization is in and the market environment surrounding the company.

Moving forward, in addition to these perspectives, a deeper understanding of the challenges related to young employees will require multifaceted analysis that also considers changes in young employees' self-perception.

▶List of Past Reports Here

Link and Motivation Inc. Overview

- Chairman and CEO: Yoshio Ozasa

- Capital: 1.38061 billion JPY

- Stock Code: 2170 (Prime Market, Tokyo Stock Exchange)

- Headquarters: Ginza Kabukiza Tower, 4-12-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

- Founded: April 2000

- Business Activities

Organization Development Division (Consulting/Cloud Business, IR Support Business)

Individual Development Division (Career School Business, Cram School Business)

Matching Division (ALT Placement Business, Human Resources Introduction Business)

Venture Incubation