Shigoto-ni nareru-ni shitagatte, dandan raku-ni natte-iku mono-da. (As you get used to your job, you'll gradually be able to relax.)

Situation 1: Mr. Okubo's niece Aki is complaining about her job.

亜紀： 要領が悪くて、上司や先輩に怒られてばかりなの。 もう、会社をやめたい。

大久保： 仕事に慣れるに従って、だんだん楽になっていくもの だから、今やめるのは、早すぎると思うよ。。

Aki: Yōryō-ga warukute, jōshi-ya senpai-ni okorarete-bakari-nano. Mō, kaisha-o yametai.

Ōkubo: Shigoto-ni nareru-ni shitagatte, dandan raku-ni natte-iku mono-da-kara, ima yameru-no-wa, hayasugiru-to omou-yo.

Aki: I'm very clumsy at work and my boss and senior colleagues are always telling me off. I want to quit.

Okubo: As you get used to your job, you'll gradually be able to relax. So, I think it's too soon for you to quit now.

Today we will introduce the phrase Xに従(したが)って (following X) and its related expressions. The intransitive verb 従う(to follow) is used in the pattern and means to follow X, as in: 親(おや)の言(い)うことには従うものだ (You should do what your parents say). The pattern X(verb phrase)に従ってY(verb phrase) expresses that when X changes, Y also changes with X, as in Mr. Okubo's comment. The verbs used for X and Y should both be ones that express change, and they appear in dictionary form. Xに従ってY is a rather bookish or stiff expression, so it is used mainly in written language or formal conversations, or when talking about a serious matter. に従って can be replaced by につれて, which is is a bit more casual.

Situation 2: Head of Department Yamani concludes a meeting.

ヤマニ： では、大久保課長の企画案に従って、このプロジェクトを進めることにします。

Yamani: Dewa, Ōkubo-kachō-no kikaku-an-ni shitagatte, kono purojekuto-o susumeru koto-ni shimasu.

Yamani: So, to sum up, we decide to proceed with this project, in line with Section Chief Okubo's proposal.

In the pattern Xに従ってY, component X can also be a noun, as it was in Ms. Yamani's sentence in Situation 2. Another example: 副社長(ふくしゃちょう)の指示(しじ)に従って、置物(おきもの)を応接室(おうせつしつ)に飾(かざ)った (In accordance with the vice president's instructions, we placed the ornament in the guest room). In this usage, it cannot be replaced by につれて.

Bonus Dialogue: Mr. Tian and his client Mr. Suzuki are walking down a bustling street.

ティエン：　あ、また新(あたら)しいビルが建(た)ちますね。前(まえ)は、ここに何(なに)があったのか...？

鈴木：　　　ここには、小料理屋(こりょうりや)があったんですよ。じつは、ここは、私(わたし)の母(はは)の実家(じっか)でしてね。ここを通(とお)るたびに、母が「子(こ)どものころは裏(うら)の空(あ)き地(ち)でよく遊(あそ)んだけど、今(いま)は空き地なんか全然(ぜんぜん)ないね」って言(い)うんですよ。

ティエン：　じゃあ、これはお母様(かあさま)のビルなんですか？

鈴木：　　　いえいえ、そうだといいんですけどね。地上(じあ)げ されて、今は父(ちち)の田舎(いなか)にひっこんでいます。

ティエン：　そうですか。都市化(としか)が進(すす)むに従って、古(ふる) いものや古い建物(たてもの)が消(き)えていきますねえ。文化(ぶんか)や伝統(でんとう)も。残念(ざんねん)です。

鈴木：　　 そうですね。でも、そうは言っても、昔(むかし)の生活(せいかつ)に戻(もど)りたいかと聞(き)かれたら、「ノー」ですね。

ティエン：　確(たし)かに。世(よ)の中(なか)が便利(べんり)になるに つれて、それに慣(な)れていき、あたりまえになって しまいますからね。

Tian: Oh, they're putting up a new building. I wonder what was there before.

Suzuki: There used to be a small restaurant here. Actually, this was where my mother's parents' house was. Every time my mother walks by here, she says, "When I was a child, I used to play in the vacant land at the back, but nowadays there's no vacant land anywhere."

Tian: So, is this building your mother's?

Suzuki: I wish it were. Speculators bought it all up and my parents retired to my father's old town in the country.

Tian: I see. As urbanization advances, the old things and buildings vanish, don't they? And so do the old culture and traditions. It's a shame.

Suzuki: Very true. That said, if I was asked whether I wanted that old life back, I'd say "no."

Tian: I agree. As our lives get more convenient, we gradually get used to it, and, in the end, convenience becomes something we take for granted.