Why “this isn’t what I expected” happens: six patterns of mismatch after starting a new job

Three months into a new job, have you ever thought, “This isn’t what they told me at the interview”? That may not mean you judged poorly. It may simply be that there are a handful of predictable places a job posting (求人票) and an interview can’t show you well.

According to the Japanese Nursing Association’s (JNA) 2025 Hospital Nursing Survey, the FY2024 turnover rate for hospital nursing staff was 8.4% among new graduates and 16.1% among experienced hires (mid-career). People who joined mid-career left at about twice the rate of new graduates. Perhaps knowing how your previous workplace did things makes the differences all the more unsettling.

Source: 日本看護協会「2025年 病院看護実態調査」結果 (Japanese Nursing Association, results of the 2025 Hospital Nursing Survey), March 2026

Reading national surveys and research on why people leave side by side, the places where mismatches tend to happen narrow down to six.

First, why nurses say they left

In a 2010 survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of graduates of nursing schools (11,999 people who had left a job, choosing up to three reasons), the reasons for leaving were as follows. The survey is more than 15 years old, but it is one of the few sources in which the government asked nurses themselves why they left.

Setting aside life changes like marriage and childbirth, working relationships, overtime, commuting, leave and night shifts sit at roughly the same level. No single one stands out. That is exactly why it helps to decide in advance which of these matter most to you.

Pattern 1: The job differs from what you were told

A study that followed 923 new nurses at university hospitals found that leaving early, around the first six months, was associated with “dissatisfaction with being assigned to a ward other than the one they wanted“ and ”having no peers from the same intake for support“ (Suzuki et al., 2006). A Japanese study of nurses hired mid-career also describes confusion over differences from how things were done at their previous workplace.

How to check before you join

• Whether you can visit or try out the unit you’re likely to be assigned to. If the assignment isn’t decided, ask how it’s decided and how often preferences are met.
• See the flow of a day (patient load, handovers, how charting is done) during the actual shift hours.
• Whether it feels OK to say, “At my last hospital we did it this way.”

Pattern 2: Working relationships and how you’re taught

In the 2010 national survey, “poor working relationships” was 12.8%. In the JNA’s 2025 survey, 27.0% of nurse managers cited “relationships with supervisors and colleagues” as a reason new-graduate nurses left partway through the year (these are the reasons as seen by managers, not by the nurses themselves). A study analyzing 187 nurses hired mid-career found that fitting in at the workplace was strongly related to support from the head nurse, preceptor and staff (Ueno and Yamakawa, 2022).

How to check before you join

• The language used at handovers and conferences, and how people react when someone asks a question.
• Whether anyone else is starting around the same time, or whether you’d be the only new person on the unit.
• Whether you get a chance to talk directly with the head nurse or charge nurse, and whether staff know where to go for harassment consultations.

Pattern 3: Night shift frequency, breaks and naps

In the 2010 national survey, “heavy burden of night shifts” was 9.7%. A study of new-graduate nurses found that, besides psychological strain, factors related to deciding to leave included inadequate break facilities and not being given enough break time (Tei-Tominaga, 2013). The JNA’s night shift guidelines (2013) set standards such as leaving at least 11 hours between shifts and building nap time into night shifts.

How to check before you join

• Look at the actual duty rosters for the past few months: how many night shifts, days off after a night shift, and whether there are shift combinations with short gaps.
• Where the nap room and break room are and how big they are, and whether people actually get to nap.
• The conditions for reducing night shifts or switching to day shifts only.

Pattern 4: What’s really in the pay and allowances

In the 2010 survey, “dissatisfied with pay” was 8.0%; in nursing, pay isn’t one of the top reasons. Still, a job posting’s “monthly salary from ¥___” can cover a wide range, and quite a few people are surprised by the breakdown after they start. The JNA’s 2025 survey says flat-rate night shift allowances have been nearly unchanged since 2010.

How to check before you join

• Ask about base pay and allowances separately (how much per night shift, qualification allowance, housing allowance), and check a sample take-home amount.
• Actual records of pay raises and bonuses. In what increments overtime is paid, and how work done before the shift starts is treated.

For tax and social insurance on allowances, see our article on night shift allowances, tax and social insurance.

Pattern 5: The commute

It’s easy to overlook, but in the 2010 national survey “difficult commute” was 10.4%, about the same as working relationships (12.8%) and overtime (10.5%). The route in the daytime on your interview day is a completely different thing from the morning after a night shift or the trip home after a late shift.

How to check before you join

• Try the trip at your actual start and finish times: the first train for an early shift, the last train after a late shift, a snowy day.
• Whether you can commute by car, parking fees, and the cap on the commuting allowance.

Pattern 6: Balancing work and family

Childbirth and childcare (22.1%) and marriage (17.7%) are the top reasons for leaving, and “can’t take leave, or hard to take leave” is 10.3%. An MHLW document analyzing Nurse Center (ナースセンター) data also sums up that marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, and child-rearing are common reasons among people in their 30s and 40s, and relatives’ health and caregiving among those in their 50s.

How to check before you join

• How many people are actually working under the same conditions as you (raising children, shorter hours, day shifts only), and whether you can talk with them.
• Actual paid leave usage, who covers when someone has to take sudden time off, and how readily requested days off are granted.
• Whether there’s on-site childcare and its hours (including whether it can be used during night shifts).

A visit alone can’t promise to prevent it

To be honest: within the range the editors searched, we found no research that used actual nursing turnover data to confirm that workplace visits (見学) or paid trial shifts (お試し勤務) reduce mismatches. The “how to check” steps in this article are practical suggestions worked backward from the reasons people leave.

On the other hand, an analysis pooling studies of realistic job previews (RJP), which tell candidates about both the good and bad sides before they join, found a small but consistent effect in reducing turnover, mainly because people come to feel “this organization is honest” (Earnest et al., 2011).

A visit day won’t show you everything about a workplace. Even so, you should be able to sense on that day whether a workplace is willing to show you its bad sides as well. What to look for is covered in the workplace visit and trial shift checklist.