The popularity of "XX-gacha"

In 2021, "Parent-gacha" was nominated for the Buzzword Award. Recently, as a derivative of this, words such as "Boss- gacha", "Assignment-gacha", and "Synchronization-gacha" have also appeared, lamenting bad luck in the workplace. "XX-gacha" is a word that expresses that you can’t choose yourself and there are hits and misses, like items that appear randomly in a capsule toy(gacha). What they have in common is an attitude of resignation that "you can’t choose luck," and if you feel a sense of failure in the "gacha results," your motivation to work will decrease and you may not even have the energy to go to work.

An oft-cited story in the context of "luck" is that Konosuke Matsushita asked "Are you lucky?" at the end of a job interview, and rejected all those who answered "unlucky." In Japan, it is said that "luck is something you carry yourself", and even if bad luck happens (objectively), you can carve out your life in a good direction depending on your thoughts and actions. Mr. Matsushita was exactly looking for a person who "can say that he is lucky = can change any event for the better with his own power".

Is the career theory of "the right person in the right place" outdated?

The conventional way of thinking about careers is based on Matching Theory, that is, the idea that a good career choice is to match the skills and abilities (= characteristics) of an individual with the skills and abilities required for each job. To put it simply, it is important to have the right person in the right place for choosing a profession, and the aim was to reduce "undecided (= a state where the perfect job cannot be found and the career is not determined)".

However, if we place too much emphasis on the right person in the right place, we end up ignoring the fact that professions themselves are constantly evolving and that people with various characteristics can succeed in the same profession, leading to growing skepticism about this approach.

Planned Happenstance Theory

Traditionally, the emphasis has been on setting clear career goals and planning to achieve them, but in reality, one’s career is rarely shaped by meticulous planning alone. It’s good to create and set career plans and goals, but if you look for accuracy and correct answers, you may end up creating constraints and barriers in your career. In such a situation, Planned Happenstance Theory is attracting attention. To put it simply, 80% of an individual’s career is determined by an unexpected accident, so the impact of that event should not be underestimated, but should be actively addressed and utilized in career development. In order to turn a unexpected event into a career opportunity, five skills such as "Curiosity" and "Optimism" are important (Table). When an unexpected coincidence leads to a desired career vision, it is called " Planned Happenstance " because it seems as if the coincidence was planned to meet you.

Career life is, in a sense, a series of gacha. "Unexpected events" that seem negative at first glance can also occur. By using this as an opportunity for your own career, you will be able to live a career life that you will be glad to have later.

Table: 5 Skills for Turning Random Events into Opportunities
in Planned Happenstance Theory

（Source）Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training 2016.3

Table: 5 Skills for Turning Random Events into Opportunities in Planned Happenstance Theory

（Source）Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training 2016.3

Original in Japanese:
https://www.dlri.co.jp/report/dlri/417690.html