Interview with ITOCHU Corporation
Please tell us about the work style reforms you have made
There are five main types.
① Morning work
② Desuit Day
Every day in summer and every day except Monday in winter, it is a desuit day. The goal is to get a way of thinking that is also relevant to person-to-person business by incorporating flexibility from clothes to enhance creativity and self-branding ability . We also carry out self-color diagnosis and the introduction of styling projects with the cooperation of Isetan.③ 110 exercise
Nowadays, due to the corona, the party is not held in the first place, but the dinner and drinking party is set to end by the first party and 10 pm . I am. Drinking a lot of alcohol can lead to trouble and affect your work the next day.④ Cancer compatibility support system
For example, if an employee over the age of 45 is examined, if he / she has cancer, he / she will support treatment that is not covered by insurance, or if an employee dies due to cancer, he / she will go to university. We also provide financial assistance to the employee's children. In this way, the support system is substantial in all aspects of prevention, treatment, and symbiosis .⑤ Childcare balance support system
ITOCHU has a system that exceeds the standards stipulated by law . For example, the reduced working hours system is legally up to 3 years old, but ITOCHU can earn income until graduating from elementary school. After all, children in the lower grades of elementary school still have a lot of work to do, so this period was set. The male childcare leave income rate is 57%, which is much higher than the national average of 6.16%. Furthermore, with the aim of creating an environment where you can concentrate on your work, we have created an employee daycare center "I-Kids" right next to the Tokyo head office .What made you decide to promote work style reform and why?
The goal of work style reform is to become a "strict but rewarding company" .
ITOCHU has 1000 to 2000 employees less than other trading companies, so the load per person is heavy, and it is necessary to work efficiently.
I'm giving back in terms of salary, but I'm giving back not only in terms of being strict, but also in terms of providing a comfortable working environment so that I can work lively, healthy and happy. For, we are reforming our work style.
Please tell us how good you were to promote work style reforms
Working style reforms have greatly improved labor productivity . It is about three times higher than before the work style reform. Through various measures, I think that the fact that employees were informed that they valued their employees led to an increase in labor productivity.
Also, after 8 o'clock when I finished my work, I was able to take self-improvement time such as English conversation school and training.
Please tell us how difficult it was to promote work style reforms
Many employees were reluctant to introduce morning work .
Until the introduction of morning work, ITOCHU had adopted a flextime system with core time from 10:00 to 15:00. However, if you do so, it may happen that there is no person in charge when you receive an inquiry from a customer around 9 o'clock.
For this reason, I decided to introduce morning work, but it took about half a year for employees to get used to it . This is because the time to get up is shortened at once, and many employees are reluctant to return at 20:00, as the word “overtime work” implies.
I think it was tough, but it's definitely more efficient, and I'm getting the same allowance as overtime, so I think it's becoming more and more profitable.
Did the Corona sickness affect your work style reforms?
Due to the coronavirus epidemic, 90% of employees have been working from home. The problem with this is that you can't speak to them, so you can't stop overtime . Since it is prohibited in principle after 20:00, there are almost no employees who work after 20:00, but the number of employees who originally worked until 18:00 has increased to 19:00.
However, working from home is not always bad. I think you can make the most of it by balancing it .
What do you think about the future of this profession
For example, like Costco, it seems that purchasing will be done by yourself, so I think that trading will decrease .
However, I think that business investment will continue. Therefore, from now on, The power of connoisseurs to examine when investing will be important .
Also, when some industry declines, some other industry grows. Since general trading companies deal with all industries, in such cases, it has been necessary for many years to focus on the growing industries and steadily remake them. I think it will continue to be needed in the future.
Please let us know if you have any suggestions or ideas for a better way of working
I think that the number of companies that are easier to work with today is increasing considerably. However, I don't think it should be possible to make working easier by making it easier to work. Ease of work when deciding on a job, such as whether the job will make you happy or whether you will accumulate know-how. Not only that, I want you to have a perspective of job satisfaction .
Also, in Japan today, lifetime employment is the basis, but after decades, what you want to do will change. Therefore, I need a mechanism to review my working style . I think. Of course, I think there are also work styles such as side jobs. Who is better for "a better way of working"? I think it depends on the person.
Summary
・ The goal of work style reform is to become a “strict but rewarding company”, and in fact, labor productivity has tripled.
・ In the future general trading company, the power of connoisseurs when trading is important
・ When deciding on a job, I want you to have a perspective not only about ease of work but also about job satisfaction, and I want you to be aware of that perspective on a regular basis even after you get a job.
・ In the future general trading company, the power of connoisseurs when trading is important
・ When deciding on a job, I want you to have a perspective not only about ease of work but also about job satisfaction, and I want you to be aware of that perspective on a regular basis even after you get a job.
