Surge! Work at home background is “new virus”

Surge! Telecommuting background is still "new virus" February 17 21:55

"Do not go to company" "Do not meet people"
With the spread of new coronavirus infections, the number of companies introducing telecommuting is increasing rapidly. Do you see new ways of working when you take infection control measures?
(Reporter of the Network News Department Yoshiyuki Gunri Shintaro Matsui)

All employees at home!

Last month, GMO Internet, an IT company listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, ordered two weeks of telecommuting for nearly 4,000 employees of the entire group.

The headquarters office in Shibuya, Tokyo, which was full of employees, is surprisingly quiet.
This measure was originally planned for two weeks.
However, due to the successive infections of the new coronavirus, we decided to continue the measures without setting a time limit.
Even if you are forced to come to work, such as dealing with customers, conditions are set.

"Good health"
"I do not have a chronic disease"
Also, if you have a family or partner who needs to consider health, such as pregnancy, you will not be able to work.
If you're coming to work, we recommend avoiding the busiest commutes and rush hours, or cycling to work.

Public relations manager Harumi Ishii, who is in charge of media and other matters, also usually responds to inquiries at home.

Isn't it hard to find that almost all employees work from home?

"Early this month, we surveyed employees about working from home. About 90% of the employees answered that they were" good, "and said" no major problems "or" no trouble. "

The necessary exchanges are made by e-mail, and meetings are held at the video conference, which enables smooth work even at home.

On the other hand, there are also opinions such as "It takes time and effort to respond to chats that can be easily completed verbally by chat," or "It exceeds the limit of communication with a personal wireless LAN router."

GMO Internet's representative, Masatoshi Kumagai, posted on his Twitter the feeling of introducing telecommuting.

"I've been working from home for three weeks. What's amazing is that it has almost no effect on my business. Looking at these results, I'm seriously thinking about the need for an office in the first place."

In addition, "Specti" (Headquarters / Tokyo), which is developing an information and communication service utilizing AI and other services, has been prepared to work from home on a company-wide basis from the 17th for the time being.

The headquarters office in Tokyo only has about three employees, such as telephone service.
About 50 other employees work from home using mobile phones and personal computers.

The company has been working from home during typhoons and other events, but it may require long-term countermeasures against the new coronavirus. .

Specti: “As we move home, we will no longer be able to face-to-face exchanges, so the challenge is how to enhance communication.”

Working at home also changes the organization

Can you work smoothly even if you are suddenly ordered to work from home?

I found an illustration that has become a hot topic on the Internet.

Japanese who belong to the Chinese branch of a company whose head office is in Tokyo.
He was banned from working to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and returned to Japan this month.

The decision to work from home is only three days before the holiday of the Chinese New Year.

For employees who do not have a personal computer, the environment is improved by lending company terminals.
It seems that only one person who works at the phone is in the office.
All business contacts are chat.
The meeting will be held on the web.

Some members posted papers describing their working hours on the door of their room and asked for their family's cooperation.

These posts, with the most being over 20,000 retweets, are echoing.

I was able to hear the story from the woman (31) who posted this tweet.

The woman was told to return from the company on the 5th of this month, and she left her home in China on the 12th to return.
After that, I work from home.
From 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, I work at home from interaction with customers and management of subordinate work.

We share information while checking each other's faces in three web conferences every day.

A woman who posted “When I worked in a chat, I immediately came to a reply when I couldn't understand it. Everybody was thinking,“ Someone will help me. ” Work is progressing. "

At first she was anxious, but when she tried it, she did not feel uncomfortable.
In addition, the work environment and employee connections are changing.

A woman who posted “I can work with peace of mind because I no longer have the stress that I may be depressed, such as during commuting. I also feel that the sense of unity within the company has become stronger than in the face-to-face situation. `` I think the way we work and work more efficiently, and how we help each other, will strengthen our organization. ''

Recruitment interview OK at home

Countermeasures for the new coronavirus have begun in such places.

This month, the job-site operator, En Japan, has been conducting a recruitment interview on the WEB since this month.

About 5 years ago, this company has been conducting web interviews for those who have taken two hours or more each way to the interview venue.

Following the confirmation of a new coronavirus infection in various places, we decided to conduct a full web interview.

The interviewer sits in front of the computer and faces the student on the monitor screen one-on-one.

Students are free to wear clothes, and because they can take interviews anywhere, students have said that they can relax and talk, and that they are safe without going crowded.

Almost 300 people have already been interviewed on the web.

Tsunesaku Hirahara, Head of Human Resources Strategy Office "It is easy to adjust the schedule of interviews because there is no need to actually visit the company, but it is difficult to convey the atmosphere of the company that you can actually understand when you come to the company In any case, I think that interviewing this way is effective given the student's health first. "

Experts “Advance Change”

Experts point out that working at home is effective not only as a countermeasure for infectious diseases but also for continuing corporate activities.

"While some companies are starting to work at home for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the spread of the new coronavirus is said to be ahead of the curve. With the mission to continue economic activities, working from home would be effective, and it could also lead to the creation of new industries, such as the development of systems necessary for work. However, there are some places where capital investment is difficult, such as in small and medium-sized enterprises.I think the government should further support its posture in order to promote this movement. "

The introduction of telecommuting in companies as a countermeasure against the infection of the new coronavirus may not only prevent the health of workers, but also trigger a review of our way of living and working if we change our perspective. Is it not?

These efforts are likely to spread further in the future.