When Toui Iida, 25, wanted to resign from his job, he hired someone to do it for him. In Japan, the stress of confronting a boss can make quitting feel impossible—so some are turning to “resignation agencies,” companies that resign on clients’ behalf for fees of up to about $350. Traditionally, most Japanese workers stayed at one job for their entire career. But that’s changing now, especially for those in their 20s and 30s. The pandemic led many to reevaluate work-life balance, and Japan’s shrinking workforce has created more job opportunities. One agency, Momuri, receives about 2,500 cases a month, up from around 200 in 2022. Although some managers dislike proxy resignations, the practice seems to be here to stay. “When [people] reach the breaking point . . . they may not be able to say it themselves,” Keiko Ishii, a Nagoya University professor, told The Washington Post. “That’s probably why services that act on behalf of individuals, like resignation agencies, start to seem appealing.”