トピック

Do you think company loyalty is a thing of the past? (英検、2006 1_2 経済・ビジネス)

会社への忠誠心は過去のものだと思いますか？

意図や意味、具体例(政策、データ、時事ネタ事例、自分の経験持論)

特に日本に特有の終身雇用の維持が難しくなっている。一方、世界ではジョブ型雇用が一般的である。

以下のような、社会的な背景を踏まえておく：

• 日本型雇用は世界的には一般的でなく、日本企業の競争力の低下につながることがある。
  • 豊田章男会長「終身雇用守っていくのは難しい局面」
• 技術の進歩により、転職が容易になった。雇用の流動化。
• 技術の進歩により、gig economy が台頭してきた。
• コロナ禍で倒産する企業が増え、忠誠心の低下につながった。

語彙

lifetime employment

終身雇用

burst of the bubble economy

バブル崩壊

job-based employment

ジョブ型雇用

a decline in competitiveness

競争力の低下

job mobility

雇用の流動化

the coronavirus pandemic

コロナ禍

company loyalty

愛社精神

annual hiring of new graduates

新卒一括採用

seniority-based pay

年功序列型の賃金

スピーチ例

I think that company loyalty is a thing of the past.
I have two reasons to support my opinion.

Firstly,
Loyalty to the company is based on the assumption that people can work for the same company for their entire lives, which is called lifetime employment.
However, in general, sustaining this is a serious burden for companies.
Actually, during the recent coronavirus pandemic, many companies went bankrupt.
The chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation also stated that it has become difficult to maintain such system.
Also, with the lifetime employment system, many unmotivated employees can stay, which leads to less competitiveness.
That's why, recently, Japanese companies began to adopt more western systems like Job-based employment.
With the less chance of working for the same company for their entire lives, they became less loyal to their companies.

Secondly, it has become easier for people to switch jobs thanks to the advancements of technologies.
For example, linkedin allows corporate recruiters to approach candidates directly, and
people can find temporary jobs with their mobile phones like Uber eats delivery people are doing.
As people have more choices in the way they work, compared to the past, they are less loyal to their companies.

In conclusion, I am of the opinion that company loyalty is a thing of the past.

(216words)