It is now time to review the system introduced by the Corona disaster

Staggered work hours remain unchanged at about 15%

According to the results of the 7th Survey on Workers' Attitudes conducted by the Japan Productivity Center, 15.1% of workers have staggered their workday (as of October). 16% of workers in the first survey in May 2020 also staggered their workday, so there has been no significant change.

The main reason for staggered work hours in Corona disasters is probably to avoid crowds. With Corona on the wane in Japan, this may be a good time to test the effects in your company.

While telework is becoming more and more popular

In the same survey, the telework implementation rate was 22.7%. In various surveys, there is a response that "telework was effective", but it seems that the most important reason is that there is no stress and fatigue of commuting, rather than an increase in the efficiency of work.

On the other hand, disadvantages of telework have also begun to be pointed out, such as the difficulty and inconvenience of internal communication and consultation, long working hours, and overwork due to the blurring of the boundaries between work and life. If you ask your employees, you will probably find that there are many things that need to be improved, such as the inability to give instructions and consultations all at once, the lack of control due to varying levels of proficiency and usage of chat and other tools, and the fact that some people are burdened with tasks that used to be done by everyone.

The time to review is now

I believe that now is the time to calmly analyze and judge the effects and challenges of the various measures that we have begun to implement in Corona, to see how they actually affect our own operational efficiency. 

It is important to make adjustments to the company's system, not only to deal with the corona disaster. We want to avoid a situation where we introduce a system once and then do nothing with it.

It is becoming increasingly important for people to manage the way employees work. Let's reflect the opinions of employees and create a sense of conviction as we proceed with the review.

Let's start preparing for the enforcement of the revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Law!

 

◆Major Changes in the Childcare Leave System

The revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Law will come into effect on April 1 next year, and in addition to the establishment of a new "Papa Ikukyuu" leave, it will be necessary to provide workers with information on the company's childcare leave system and confirm their intentions on whether or not to take childcare leave, and it will be possible to take childcare leave in installments.

Naturally, it is necessary to review the childcare and nursing care leave regulations and maintain internal forms regarding the use of the system, but that is not all.

◆A labor-management agreement must also be concluded

Under the amendment, the requirements for taking childcare leave will be relaxed for part-timers, etc., who are currently not eligible to take childcare leave depending on the period of employment. Therefore, it is necessary to conclude a labor-management agreement and decide whether those who have been continuously employed for less than one year are eligible to take childcare leave or not.

◆Preparation of materials to inform workers about the company's system is also necessary

As mentioned above, after the enforcement of the revised law, when a worker or her spouse requests for pregnancy or childbirth, the employer is obliged to provide information about the system and confirm the intention to take childcare leave. It is not enough to just provide the regulations, but you also need to provide information on where to apply for childcare leave, childcare leave benefits, and how to handle social insurance premiums during the leave period.

If the documents are already prepared, it is only necessary to check whether they meet the prescribed requirements, but if they are newly prepared, it is also necessary to check what kind of system the company has in place and whether there are any oversights that are not explicitly stated.