What is the value of working in an office? Now that many people have realized the benefits of remote work during the coronavirus pandemic, the significance of the office is being questioned. However, there are many people who have reaffirmed the "goodness of real life" while working remotely. If you were to define its goodness, how would you describe it?
The discussion on this topic took place between Calbee Inc. President Ito Shuji and ITOKI President Hirai Yoshiro.
Itoki relocated its headquarters in 2018, realizing an office where individuals can freely choose their working location and style. Meanwhile, Calbee is also aiming to create an environment where employees can fully utilize their capabilities, such as by promoting hot desking and work remotely, and will begin construction on renovating its head office this July with the keywords of engagement, relationship, and collaboration.
Looking back at the confusion employees felt about work style reforms at both companies and how they have been working during the COVID-19 pandemic, the two said that in the future, "offices will become important for creating new value."
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Shuji Ito (right)
Calbee, Inc. President and CEO
Yoshiro Hirai (center of photo)
President and CEO ITOKI CORPORATION
Masako Takeda (Facilitator) (left in photo)
Senior Executive Officer, CHRO and General Manager of Human Resources and General Affairs Division, Calbee Inc.
High performance generated by free working style
Takeda: Today, I would like to talk to you about the future of offices. First of all, work remotely has become widespread due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What do you two think about these changes?
Ito: Calbee launched a new way of working, "Calbee New Workstyle," in July 2020, which includes standardizing remote work and introducing full flextime. Even before that, the company had already put in place systems to support diverse working styles, but in reality, it was difficult to say that remote work had taken root.
I think one of the reasons that prevented this from taking root was the old concept that you feel like you're "working" when you come to the office and sit down at your desk. Naturally, there was also resistance from superiors who wanted to put their subordinates in a "box" called the office and check the status of their work one by one.
However, unless we are liberated from such control, I don't think we will be able to create new added value in the coming age. I think good working styles can only be achieved if each employee thinks about the kind of environment they want to work in, and chooses for themselves the place and time that will maximize their performance.
Hirai: I sympathize with you very much. Our idea also boils down to "giving employees self-discretion leads to maximum performance. However, on the other hand, there are people who feel they have done their job by managing employees. We have been thinking for some time about how we should resolve this gap.
This is how the office "ITOKI TOKYO XORK (Itoki Tokyo Zoke)" was born two and a half years ago. XORK The name "" means "the next way of working," and it was coined by combining the letter "W" followed by "X," because it is an evolution of WORK.
What is ITOKI TOKYO XORK?
Rather than working in a workplace based on hierarchy, organization, or team, the work area is characterized by allowing each workers to choose the optimal space for their own working style and the task at hand. The expected activities of workers are classified into 10 categories, and a space corresponding to each activity is provided.
Ito: We were just shown around XORK, and it was wonderful. Itoki was involved in the design of Calbee's new office, and construction is finally about to begin. Looking around at XORK, my expectations are rising even more.
Hirai: Thank you. However, when we created XORK, not everyone was happy. The concept here is freedom in how we work, but from my perspective, only 10 to 20 percent of our employees were happy to have that freedom. The rest of the employees were probably confused.
Ito: Were there many people who were confused?
Hirai: Yes. Because here, each person has to design every day what time they will work, in what space, and with whom. For example, you can concentrate alone for an hour in the morning, brainstorm with someone for the next hour, and have a large meeting in the evening. This seems simple but is difficult, and none of us were used to thinking about where to work every day with so many different types of spaces. That's why we were confused.
However, a year had passed since the relocation in 2018, and just as employees had become accustomed to the new environment, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in work remotely. As a result, employees began to see their homes as an extension of the space provided at XORK. As one of the options for work space. As a result, we were able to accommodate work remotely without resistance, and I think that up until now, each person has been able to continue the habit of choosing the most suitable work space.
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Both presidents shared their past efforts to reform the way they work and the situation at Corona Disaster.
In the next session, they will talk about the future of management and the possibilities of the office of the future.
This is a must-see for workers who are looking for new ways to work, including how to use remote and real offices. Please come and watch!
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