Business trip is "Go To"?

Business trip is “Go To”? Spreading ripples July 16th 20:20

As the infection spreads again in Tokyo and other areas, there is growing concern over business trips across the prefectures and attending work by train. The government's consumer spending policy, the "Go To Campaign," which discounts domestic travel costs, is being called for to be canceled or postponed, and plans to exclude travel to and from Tokyo are being considered. How should we, who work for companies, act now? (Network news department reporter Yoshiyuki Gun, Yoko Ideue)

Voice of anxiety on the net

The number of new coronavirus infections confirmed in Tokyo on the 16th was 286, the highest number so far. On the internet, "I want you to stop your business trip right now." "Restart your work from home soon. Isn't this situation worse than when you declared the emergency?" "I'm worried because the train is too full. But commute to work." Voices of anxiety such as "I'm being sought after" are spreading.

Companies that resume work from home or cancel business trips

Some companies are starting to work from home or canceling business trips.

"Meetscom," which has 12 employees and develops communication apps and creates videos in Tokyo, has resumed working from home on the 16th. In response to the spread of the new coronavirus, all the employees below the representative director switched to work from home in late March, but the situation has calmed down, so from the 1st of this month, regular work began. Was back to.

However, the number of infected people increased again, and on the 15th, after seeing a press conference telling that the alert level had been raised in Tokyo, it was decided to urgently discuss the response and decide to resume work from home. Kensuke Yao, Representative Director and CEO, was planning to make a business trip to Nagoya in the near future, but with the understanding of the other party, he said that he had canceled it.

Kensuke Yao, CEO of Meetscom CEO
"I thought that the spread of infection would come again, but it is said that it will come so soon ... It is meaningless to complain, so I will do what I can to protect employees. I have no choice but to go.''

Majors also resume working from home

The same is happening in large companies.

Daikin Industry Co., Ltd., a major air conditioning equipment company, has resumed working from home from 14th of this month. Regarding "Business contents that do not reduce efficiency and productivity" (the company), I decided to use teleworking again at the discretion of my manager.

This company allows business trips as needed at the discretion of the manager, but considering the recent situation of infection, business trips to areas where the infection is spreading may take into account the importance and urgency. doing.

A Daikin Kogyo spokesperson said, “We have resumed working from home to protect the safety of our employees. This is a response to the increasing number of people infected with the new coronavirus nationwide.”

“A business trip is an aggressive approach”

On the other hand, I have the following opinions regarding business trips.

A man who runs a recruiting agency in Sapporo city makes a business trip to Ibaraki prefecture once a week, but says he has no plans to cancel it for now.

The man said, "I'm sure it's scary if there are infected people like this. Although I can work online, I can show offensive attitude to the other person by going to the site. Something like a declaration of emergency comes out again. If that happens, I will stop on business trips, but at the moment I would like to continue my business trips."

Correspondence of company

What should companies do?

“Isn't it necessary to prioritize what really needs to be done and steadily do what can be done?” points out MS&AD Inter-Risk Research Institute's Risk Management Department 4 Director, This is Hitoshi Fukawa. Mr. Fukawa makes the point that it cannot be said in a general sense because the situation varies depending on the type of industry and the size of the company.

Mr. Hitoshi Fukawa, MS&AD Inter-Risk Research Institute
“Because companies have to protect the employment of their employees, we will keep an eye on the current situation and review the company participation rate and devise the environment in the office to reduce the risk of infection. It is important to continue working while suppressing the above-mentioned situation. Then, it may be necessary to re-examine what the work that must be done now and prioritize it.”

Eiji Yamada, director of the Japan Research Institute, says that we should review the way we work so far one by one.

Mr. Eiji Yamada, Japan Research Institute
“When a business trip isn't organized by several people, but when it is absolutely necessary to go to the site, we decide a representative and then work online while connecting. Companies are emerging.''

In daily work, it is important to properly use both telework and attendance.

Eiji Yamada
"In major companies, we are working while using remote work together, but it is necessary to review it, such as not everybody gathers uniformly, but work at different departments and departments at different time zones."

On the other hand, it is pointed out that small and medium-sized enterprises may need public support because it may be difficult to maintain the communication environment required for remote work and secure personal computers and personnel.

Eiji Yamada
"The important thing is how to protect employees, their families, business partners, etc., so I think companies are required to review their operations even more."

The situation of the spread of infection is changing every moment. We seem to need to review the way we work each time.