Top reason for job change in food processing and restaurant industry is "working environment and conditions" at 28.4%. "I don't want to put down my knife, but..." The reality of deciding to change jobs due to dissatisfaction with conditions, treatment, and future anxiety is revealed.

TYL Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Shohei Kaneo, hereinafter TYL) conducted a survey targeting the interview records (free-text data) of job seekers who consulted and registered with TYL's job change agent "Meal Agent" in 2025. Using natural language processing technology to classify and analyze the free-text data, a research report was published on "Reasons why job seekers in the food processing and restaurant industry decided to change jobs."

This survey revealed that "working environment and conditions" was the top reason, followed by "salary and treatment," indicating that dissatisfaction with conditions was prevalent. Meanwhile, a certain number of reasons related to future anxiety and career-oriented aspirations, such as "future prospects and company structure" and "career, skills, and employment type," were also observed.

(Survey Report URL: https://meal-agent.jp/report/ranking-reason/)

■Background of the Survey
Meal Agent, a job change agent, receives many consultations from people working in "food-related" occupations such as food processing and restaurant industries, regarding issues like "continuous late-night returns," "unreasonable salary cuts," and "I love cooking and processing, but the environment is..." This survey analyzed the "reasons for deciding to change jobs" based on the consultation data received by "Meal Agent" in 2025.

■Survey Results:

・Reasons related to conditions, such as "working environment and conditions" and "salary and treatment," accounted for half of the total.

・Concerns about the workplace environment itself, such as "future prospects and company structure" and "human relations and evaluation," were also high on the list.

・"Career, skills, and employment type" also showed responses indicating a genuine desire to acquire skills and expertise.

Topic 1

・Reasons related to conditions, such as "working environment and conditions" and "salary and treatment," accounted for half of the total.

With "working environment and conditions" at 28.4% and "salary and treatment" at 23.1%, job change reasons related to conditions combined to exceed half of the total. Many consultations regarding job changes are received due to long working hours and demanding shifts specific to the food industry, as well as salary reductions for experienced workers.

Topic 2

・Concerns about the workplace environment itself, such as "future prospects and company structure" and "human relations and evaluation," were also high on the list.

"Future prospects and company structure" (17.2%) and "human relations and evaluation" (10.4%) also ranked high. Dissatisfaction with companies, such as "the burden per person has drastically increased due to industry restructuring and labor shortages" and "I felt anxious about the major changes in the organizational structure after the company was acquired," as well as problems with human relations in often closed-off kitchens and processing plants, are major reasons for deciding to change jobs.

Topic 3

・"Career, skills, and employment type" also showed responses indicating a genuine desire to acquire skills and expertise.

On the other hand, among the 4th-ranked "career, skills, and employment type" (14.2%), there were also reasons aimed at improving one's food processing skills and career advancement, such as "I want to hone my 'processing' skills for fresh fish and meat, but I'm being made to do administrative tasks and stocking" and "I want to acquire practical skills rather than administrative tasks."

■Survey Overview

・Respondents: 224 people who consulted and registered with "Meal Agent"

・Target data: 138 interview records (total text volume: approximately 310,000 characters)

・Analysis method: Classification and analysis of free-text data using natural language processing technology with AI

・Period: January 2025 - December 2025

■About TYL

TYL is a rapidly growing venture company with the mission of "promoting pets as family members." We develop services on two fronts: management support for veterinary hospitals and adjacent fields, and support for pet owners. We aim to create an environment where pets can live healthy lives and both pets and owners can lead happy lives, building valuable systems through the effective use of people and technology. For management support for veterinary hospitals and adjacent fields, we operate human resource introduction businesses and job search platforms, and provide consulting on management-related issues. For owner support, we offer on-call services related to pet healthcare and hospital management. Meal Agent specializes in employment and job change support for professions in supermarkets, food processing, and restaurants.

Corporate Website URL:https://pet-tyl.co.jp/

■Company Profile

Name: TYL Co., Ltd.

President and Representative Director: Shohei Kaneo

Established: August 1, 2017

Capital: 225,124,800 JPY *Includes capital reserve

Location: Sumitomo Fudosan Shiba Building No. 4, 4th Floor, 2-13-4 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo