Confined living advice, from astronauts to submarine captains, new corona countermeasures

Billions of people around the world are suddenly engaged in strategies to avoid human contact as part of the fight to limit the spread of new coronavirus infections (COVID-19). In fact, some people, from astronauts to submarine captains, are accustomed to living a life of seclusion at work. We asked those people for practical advice on staying healthy and avoiding stress for a few weeks of retreating to their homes.

Have a daily routine

　Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent about a year on the International Space Station (ISS), told AFP that a mindset is crucial. We need something that's going to be predictable while we don't know when it's going to be over.

This may be a long term situation, but the mindset we need is this. 'It's like living in space for a year. Set a daily routine anyway. It's about getting up at the right time and going to sleep at the right time.

　He also stresses that exercising for mental and physical well-being is key when you're at home. You also need to make exercise a part of your routine. If you can't go outside and don't have a garden, take off the awning, open the windows and face out. It's about making it part of your routine.

Find your mission.

　For Vincent Larnaudie-Eiffel, the former captain of a nuclear submarine, all it takes to get the job done in a confined space is to find your own "mission" and focus on it. All of us, cooped up in our own apartments, share a mission to protect others, protect the medical community, and get through this grueling ordeal successfully.

　He also stressed the importance of deciding what to do every day and sticking to it. Don't retreat... think of it as a grace period and do something about it.

Start something new

　Marine adventurer Isabelle Autissier is the first woman to circumnavigate the world on a yacht alone. During that time, Ms. Otissier spent a lot of time alone, but she never felt lonely. She says that this is because "I chose to be alone.

　Otissier's advice to those holed up in the house is to use that time to "do something new, read or listen to different music than usual, write a journal, take pictures, or start a painting. She says that the most important thing is not to think too much about the future.

　When Ms. Otissier was faced with the unpredictable length of time she spent at sea and alone, "the first thing I did was to stop counting the days," she said.

It's natural to lose motivation.

　Cyprien Verseux, an astrobiologist at the University of Bremen, Germany, lived in a small dome for a year with five volunteers in an experiment simulating a Mars mission.

Verseux said, "It's natural to be unmotivated and unproductive. It's not a sign of weakness. Don't add more guilt where there is a problem.”

　He recommends choosing one or two activities and putting in the hard work for them. Then there's sports. There are ways to stay in shape without a lot of space - dumbbells, yoga, Zumba.

Never miss a chance to interact with people

　Former Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne was the first European to command the ISS in 2009. According to De Winne, keeping in touch with people and each other is crucial, even if it's limited to online communications.

　Now on the ground in isolation, he has video calls with his elderly mother at the same time every day without fail. "My mother can see my face. Plus, she knows she's going to get a call from me (on the video call), so she can make her plan.”

[March 27, AFP]

Mandatory effort to retire at age 70

Employment of older people

　When it comes to hiring older people, the first issue is the retirement age. If we look again at what the retirement system is, it is a system in which the labor contract ends when the worker reaches a certain age.
　In the past, the main age for this "fixed age" was 55, but since the 1970s, the policy of extending the retirement age has been promoted, and since then, the retirement age of 60 has become common. Even today, most companies have set a retirement age of 60.

　Employment of older people is regulated by the Older Persons Employment Security Act, but with the increase in the age at which pensions begin to be paid, the regulations on employment of older people have also changed as follows.
(1) The retirement age must be 60 years or older.
(2) If the retirement age is less than 65 years old, take one of the following actions.
(a) Raising the retirement age to 65 years old.
(b) Introduction of a continuous employment schedule until age 65
(c) Retirement age was abolished.

　Most of the companies have set the retirement age at 60 and have introduced a continuous employment system until age 65 as in (2)-(b). In other words, once you have retired at age 60, you can be rehired as a contract employee (fixed-term employee).
In this case, since the employee has retired as a full-time employee, the wage structure is different from that of a full-time employee, and in most cases, the wages are lower.
A lawsuit has been filed against the company for unfairly lowering wages due to the reemployment of employees after retirement, and the company is subject to the same work and equal pay system to be introduced under the Labor Standards Reform Law, so it is necessary to pay close attention to what the future wage levels will be in the case of reemployment after retirement. This does not mean that wage reductions are categorically unacceptable, but whether or not they are effective depends on the circumstances and the extent of the reduction.

Mandatory effort to retire at age 70

　In the midst of these ongoing revisions to the law requiring companies to continue hiring older workers, at the end of March, the revised Older Persons Law (Law Concerning Stabilization of Employment of Older Persons, etc.) was enacted, requiring companies to make efforts to ensure that employees work until age 70. It is expected to come into effect in April of next year.
　The main point is that the retirement age should be set at 70 years old (however, it is an effort obligation).
　In addition to (a)raising the retirement age to 65 years old, (b)introducing continuous employment system and (c)phasing out retirement age, the following measures are made mandatory for companies to make efforts to take the following actions.
(d) Support for reemployment to other companies
(e) Funding to work freelance
(f) Support for entrepreneurship
(g) Providing funds for NPO activities, etc.
　Unlike (a), (b), and (c), (d) to (g) call for support to enable people to continue working at other companies, etc., but the government's policy seems to be to create an environment in which people can continue to work until the age of 70 in some way.

In addition to the fact that life expectancy is getting longer and more people want to work and can work after 65, the aim of trying to get older people to work as a solution to the labor shortage caused by a declining population is listed as an objective, but there are also other ways to create an environment that further delays the age at which pension payments begin. (This is the main purpose of some of them.)

　The revised law does not seem to mean that each company will immediately violate the law because it is obligated to make efforts, including the 70-year retirement age system.
　However, intertwined with the issue of the start of pension payments, it is possible that eventually the age 70 retirement system, etc. may become an enforceable obligation rather than just an effort obligation.

　Although it depends on the industry and job type, some companies are extending or abolishing the retirement age to around 70. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to develop a wage system that is not based on age, since it is difficult to deal with the traditional seniority-based wage system.
　Since there is no common pay system that can be said to be the best for all companies (at least not yet), the development of a pay system is a difficult and troubling issue for companies. In addition, there are experts who recommend freelance work and advocate the introduction of fixed-term employment contracts for 10 or 20 years, which could lead to major changes in Japan's human resources system, including wage systems.
　In the midst of this trend of change, the mandatory retirement age of 70 is being introduced, but it may be time for companies to create a new HR system that includes a retirement age system.

I can't stand it anymore -Mou Gaman Dekinai-

A little deformation
I can handle it if it's just a little deformation
I can make it work if I am patient
Because patience is the key to day-to-day life
It's up to your state of mind

A little rip-off
I can live with it if it's a little rip-off
You know, any one can all live with that if it's a little rip-off
It's up to your own feelings

written by Akemi Edo

Corporate response to the new coronavirus: Survey

It's interesting to see how companies are responding to the spread of the new coronavirus. Mercer Japan Ltd., an HR consulting firm, conducted a survey from February 27 to March 4 to find out how companies are responding to the new coronavirus.

Staggered working hours, telework

In terms of the current status of company initiatives, 84% of respondents answered that they allow or encourage staggered working hours, and 69% answered that they allow or encourage telecommuting and telework, indicating that they are responding flexibly.

With regard to telecommuting and telework, 82% of the companies or some departments implement it. On the other hand, 18% of companies have not implemented the system because they do not have the infrastructure in place (78%), the related rules and regulations (66%), and the business characteristics are not suitable for telecommuting (62%).

Cancellation or postponement of the event

“Cancellation or postponement of less urgent domestic and international business trips" at 91%, "Cancellation or postponement of group internal training" at 71%, "Cancellation or postponement of workplace get-togethers" at 59%, "Cancellation or postponement of recruitment-related events" at 39%, and "Cancellation of new graduates and mid-career induction ceremonies" at 10%.

Go online

Switching to online meetings (52% of internal meetings and 39% of external meetings) and switching to online training (27%) are also progressing.

Impact on companies

The most common concern among companies was a slowdown in business meetings due to the cancellation or postponement of business trips, at 57%, and a decrease in sales due to stagnant domestic and international economic activity and a mood of self-restraint, at 50%.

Summary of points

In terms of company-wide communication, the company has generally taken the necessary measures to prevent the spread of infection, such as suspending or postponing unnecessary or urgent business trips and switching to telework. On the other hand, most companies were cautious about the impact of business and the review of business plans for April and beyond, and compared to media reports with a relatively strong pessimistic tone, there was a relatively calm response on the corporate frontlines.

At the same time, there were some companies that did not have sufficient measures in place to prevent the spread of infection, highlighting differences in crisis management, business and IT infrastructure, and leadership in individual companies.

These materials and the information contained herein are provided by Office Tomisaka and are intended to provide general information on a particular subjects and are not an exhaustive treatment of such subjects.

40% of teleworkers were required to come to work

In February and March of this year, 40% of teleworkers were required to come to work.

This is the result of a survey conducted by the CFO Association of Japan titled "The Impact of the New Coronavirus on Accounting and Financial Operations of Japanese Companies".

The survey was conducted online in March and April of this year. Responses were obtained from 577 CFOs and accounting and finance executives at companies.

In February and March of this year, 7% of respondents answered that they had a period of compulsory telework, 34% answered that they had not enforced it but strongly recommended it, and 25% answered that they neither enforced it nor recommended it.

The percentage of respondents who were required to come to work during the telecommuting period amounted to 41%. The reasons cited were processing paper documents, attending meetings, and participating in meetings.

A total of 96% of the respondents thought that telecommuting would be necessary in the future during emergencies such as earthquakes.

When asked what the bottlenecks were at the time of implementation, the most common answer was "system constraints" at 50%, followed by "going to work for meetings with other departments" at 37%.   

These materials and the information contained herein are provided by Office Tomisaka and are intended to provide general information on a particular subjects and are not an exhaustive treatment of such subjects.

Summary of subventions from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare available for measures against new coronavirus infections

A succession of measures announced in response to the growing impact

The impact of the new coronavirus infection is growing due to the government's request for school closures and self-imposed restrictions. Here are some of the subventions that the company can take advantage of to maintain employment and maintain business.

Employment adjustment subsidies

Regardless of the type of business, this program is available to employers who have been affected by a decrease in Order Quantity, the closure of an office at the request of the government, the voluntary closure of an office due to a worker's illness, or a worker taking leave of absence to care for a child, making it difficult to maintain the production system, etc.

Under the special case, workers who have been employed for less than six months are also eligible to receive the subsidy, even if they have received the subsidy within the past year. The maximum number of days of payment can be received separately from the limit of 100 days in one year (150 days in total in three years).

The amount of the subsidy is four-fifths of the absence allowance, the amount equivalent to the wage for the training, and the amount borne by the originating employer (two-thirds for large companies, up to 8,335 yen per person per day).

After taking a leave of absence, etc., submit the necessary documents to the Labor Bureau and apply for payment.

Subsidy for improvement of overtime work [Telework Course]

If one or more workers newly introduced and implemented telework between February 17 and May 31, they are eligible for this program.

The subsidy amount is half of the total amount of eligible expenses (up to 1 million yen), and includes honoraria, travel expenses, loan expenses, conference expenses, miscellaneous service expenses, printing and binding expenses, equipment expenses, purchase of machinery and equipment, and consignment expenses (purchase of computers, tablets, and smart phones are not eligible; web conference equipment and equipment for remote control of internal computers are eligible).

After submitting the necessary documents to the Telework Consultation Center by May 29 and implementing the initiatives, the application for the grant will be submitted by July 15.

Subsidies for elementary school holidays, etc.

If a worker (including grandparents, foster parents, etc.) is allowed to take leave (including half-day off and time off) in addition to annual paid leave in order to take care of a child by June 30 due to temporary school holidays at elementary schools, etc. (including after-school children's clubs, kindergartens, daycare centers, and unapproved childcare facilities, etc.), the employee is eligible for the program if he or she takes leave (including half-day off and time off) in the same way as when taking annual paid leave.

The amount of the grant is the amount equivalent to the wages paid (up to 8,330 yen per day).

Fyi,
METI’s Support Measures for Companies Concerning the Impacts of the Novel Coronavirus Disease
https://www.meti.go.jp/english/covid-19/index.html

Useful Information on the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
https://japan.kantei.go.jp/ongoingtopics/coronavirus_info_e.html


These materials and the information contained herein are provided by Office Tomisaka and are intended to provide general information on a particular subjects and are not an exhaustive treatment of such subjects.