閑職(かんしょく)

かんしょく
noun
quiet post; sinecure; dead-end position
formalwork
1. quiet post; sinecure; dead-end position
A position with little real work or responsibility, often implying the person has been sidelined or demoted without being formally dismissed. Carries a negative connotation of being shelved.
閑職(かんしょく)に回(まわ)された。
I was transferred to a dead-end position.
部長(ぶちょう)は失敗(しっぱい)の責任(せきにん)を取(と)らされ、閑職(かんしょく)に追(お)いやられた。
The department head was held responsible for the failure and pushed into a dead-end position.
定年(ていねん)まで閑職(かんしょく)で過(す)ごすのは辛(つら)いものがある。
Spending the time until retirement in a do-nothing position is a painful experience.

Usage

閑職(かんしょく) almost always carries a negative connotation. Being placed in a 閑職(かんしょく) is a form of indirect punishment or marginalization in Japanese corporate and government culture, where outright firing is uncommon.

Common collocations

  • 閑職(かんしょく)に回(まわ)される (to be transferred to a dead-end post)
  • 閑職(かんしょく)に追(お)いやられる (to be pushed into a sinecure)
  • 閑職(かんしょく)に就(つ)く (to be placed in a quiet position)
  • 閑職(かんしょく)に甘(あま)んじる (to resign oneself to a quiet post)

Related Words

Related: 窓際族(まどぎわぞく) (sidelined employees)
general
Added 2026.3.5 18:37 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
15000/15211_kanshoku