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ITOKI CORPORATION (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Koji Minato) will release a book titled "Strengthening Companies Through the Office: When the 'Working Space' Changes, the 'Workers' Change Too," which introduces "the ideal form of the modern office" that solves corporate management challenges, along with numerous corporate case studies, in bookstores nationwide from May 15, 2026 (Friday).

Against the backdrop of rapidly changing work styles in recent years, the office is no longer simply seen as a "place to work," but rather as an investment in human capital.

This book explains the various effects that offices have on companies and their employees, including improved productivity and engagement, enhanced communication, fostered organizational culture, talent acquisition and retention, and employee development. Through numerous case studies from companies such as LIXIL and Asahi Shimbun, it concretely introduces the challenges each company faced and how they transformed their offices.

This content will provide valuable insights for thinking about the future of offices, not only for those involved in office renovation and operation, but also for a wide range of business professionals involved in work style reform and organizational development.

Against the backdrop of the spread of work remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in the social environment, and the worsening labor shortage, the nature of the "workplace" in companies has changed dramatically. Offices, which were often viewed as a cost in the past, are now being re-evaluated as something directly linked to management challenges such as improving productivity and engagement, and securing and retaining talent.

On the other hand, many companies lack clear guidelines for decision-making regarding how to rethink their office spaces and where to invest, highlighting the need for practical thinking and decision-making frameworks.

This book explains the effects and value that offices bring to businesses, based on the knowledge that Itoki has cultivated through its involvement in designing offices for numerous companies.

This book examines how the office impacts business operations, not only in terms of improving productivity and engagement, but also from the perspectives of revitalizing communication, fostering organizational culture, securing and retaining talent, and developing human resources. Through numerous company case studies, it specifically introduces the challenges each company has faced and how they have transformed their offices.

Furthermore, this book is useful not only for companies considering office renovations, but also for companies working on daily office operations and work style reforms. It will serve as a catalyst for reviewing the way your own office is structured and considering how to utilize that knowledge in management and organization.

This content is recommended not only for those in general affairs, human resources, and IT departments involved in office design, but also for management and others who are driving organizational development and work style reform.

Shunya Shimizu
Executive Officer and Director of Central Research ITOKI CORPORATION
Visiting Professor, Osaka Metropolitan University

Joined ITOKI CORPORATION in 1987. Became Director of the Central Research Institute in 2008.
By adopting a comprehensive and long-term perspective, and incorporating cutting-edge technologies into the office furniture business, we aim to spark innovation.

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Power of the Office for Companies
-- The secret to a comfortable work environment and increased productivity

1. Both the office and the people are valuable "capital."
2. Activity-Based Working (ABW) has transformed the office and the way we work.
3. The COVID-19 pandemic has completely transformed offices.
4. Neither an argument for a return to the office nor an argument for the elimination of the office.

Column: Offices change with the times.
A unique evolution in Japan born from changes in the economy and work styles.

Chapter 2: Offices for Interaction and Collaboration
1. The problem of "not knowing where the person you want to communicate with is."
2. Talk to the person you want to talk to, when you want to talk to them.
3. The value of "interacting and collaborating with people" discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
4. Towards an office that fosters the creative process.

CASE 1: The Asahi Shimbun Company
CASE 2: LIXIL Corporation
CASE 3: Otafuku Holdings Co., Ltd.

Chapter 3: Offices where people gather
1. The meaning of "people gathering together" has changed.
2. Promoting remote work is another rational option.
3. The office is a mirror reflecting the "essence of the company."
4. An office environment that attracts and retains talent
5. Towards an "open office" that connects with the community.
6. What is an "office where people gather"?

CASE 4 Matsukawa Repiyan Co., Ltd.

Column ■ Chuo Ward Harumi Library: What Public Facilities Aimed For
Creating sustainable spaces that people want to gather in.

Column: Manufacturing sites are also becoming "places where people gather."
The Ito-ki renovation case study demonstrates
New office designs and new ways of working in factories

Chapter 4: The Office That Nurtures People
1. What is the return on investment in office space?
2. The office becomes a device that fosters employee growth.
3. Employee initiative makes the office function effectively.
4. When managers and employees face each other, the value of the office is maximized.

CASE 5 Toyo Engineering Corporation

Chapter 5: The Ever-Evolving Office
1. What kind of data is overflowing in the office?
2. Sound, light, and furniture: The environment can be "measured" and "has an effect."
3. It becomes an indicator precisely because it can be "measured".
4. Measuring "health" and "well-being"
5. Layout and operational status: "another piece of data"
6. Combine data in a "three-dimensional" way.
7. Breaking away from the "office that becomes outdated the moment it's completed"

CASE 6 Menicon Co., Ltd.

Column ■ Offices can be measured. ITOKI's approach
Creating an office environment based on "data-driven thinking"

epilogue