Isn't it difficult to telework?

Isn't it difficult to telework?

January 14, 17:15

Boss "

I'm

reaching from the top to reduce the attendance rate by 80%"

I "Yes"

Boss "I go to work every day, but what do you do?"

I "What?"

Another boss "Hmm, well, do I also go to work

?"

Ah,

I, "What?" The

area covered by the state of emergency has expanded, and as the government strongly calls for "a 70% reduction in the number of employees attending work due to telework," such posts are increasing on SNS.

The reality is that there are occupations and workplaces that telework does not fit in, and you can see the circumstances in which you have to go to work.

However, even though it is actually an environment where teleworking is possible, there are widespread lamentations that "teleworking is not possible" due to the unspoken pressure of the workplace and industry.

How is your workplace?

(Reporter, Network News Department, Ken Memida, Yuki Taguma)

Even in an "emergency situation" ...

On the 8th of this month, a state of emergency was declared in 1 metropolitan area and 3 prefectures.

Mr. Nishimura, the minister in charge of economic revitalization, said to the three economic organizations, "If possible, I would like to ask you to go further than last spring," and strongly urged the promotion of telework.

However, there were a series of reports that the congestion of commuter trains in the morning had not changed and that the number of people in urban areas had not decreased as much as expected.

According to an analysis using big data from mobile phones, the number of people around Tokyo Station at 8:00 am on January 12 after the holidays was about the same level, down 2% from the number on weekdays in December last year. did.

Also, in 2 prefectures and 5 prefectures such as Osaka, Aichi, and Fukuoka, which have been newly added to the declaration, the number of people around major stations on the morning of January 14 has not changed significantly from the weekdays of December last year, and last year. Compared to the time of declaration, it increased by nearly 50% in many places.

“Going to work because of sontaku”

On SNS, there are a series of mourning voices for companies and bosses who have decided not to telework.

Boss "I have declared a state of emergency!"

I (Telework?)

Boss "So from tomorrow ..."

I (Telework?)

Boss "

I'll

open the window fully"

I "I'll

open the window fully

... ??? ?? "

Boss" Keep warm from tomorrow! Outerwear! "

I" ????????????? "It's

really cold ...

Although my husband's company says that it promotes telework, it was said that it may have been skipped in the previous summary.

As a result, my husband's boss basically goes to work because of his sontaku.

My husband went to work because telework was allowed by my boss

It's a job that I can do without going to work, and even though I work in the middle of Tokyo and the company recommends teleworking, my boss decides that I can't telework.

The boss said, "The train will be free because other companies will be teleworked." "Efficiency will be reduced!" "The purpose of this state of emergency is a restaurant! So there is no need for teleworking!"

Even in Kasumigaseki!

??

From a Twitter account that claims to be a national civil servant, you can also post something like this.

[Great sad news]

Due to the issuance of a state of emergency, 70% of telework is recommended in Kasumigaseki.

Along with that, the assistant section chief is taking paid leave, but for some reason he is still working at work today!

It seems to be an effort to report the telework implementation rate every weekend!

That's all from the Kasumigaseki site!

According to the person (boss), the "workplace" is the "home"!

The minister in charge of regulatory reform, Kono, who promotes telework, responded to this tweet by saying, "Which department?"

Mr. Kono, the minister in charge of regulatory reform, said at a press conference online from the parliamentary dormitory, "I would like to give instructions not to take paid leave and go to the office to make it consistent, and to thoroughly respond to managers etc." He even suggested that he and his boss could be subject to disposition if discovered.

I also felt that the unusual call of the minister within the government to "reduce the number of employees by 70%" symbolizes the atmosphere of the Japanese workplace.

"Before building a 70% reduction in attendance"

The man who posted responded to the interview on the condition that he did not reveal the central government agency where he works.

"Minister Kono responded to the tweet and sweated coldly that he might be identified."

Regarding the background of his boss taking paid leave and working at the workplace, the man managed to repair it because he was aware that "it is bad that there is no country in a position to call on the people to reduce the number of employees by 70%". He said he might have been aware that he had to do it.

Kasumigaseki pointed out that there is a strong awareness that "commands from above are absolute" and "I think there are similar things in other ministries and agencies. It is about ourselves that teleworking reduces attendance by 70%. I feel like I'm saying it well by putting it on the shelf. "

At the ministries and agencies where men work, about 70% of the staff are currently working, and it seems that managers' bosses are actively working.

There are many difficult tasks in telework, such as responding to a huge number of telephone calls and members of parliament, and he said, "It is difficult to achieve a 70% reduction in the number of employees because we have not created an environment."

Feelings of giving up

I also talked to the person who posted this.

The remote environment is in place, and when the last state of emergency was declared, I was immediately switched to home, and although it is a company that can telework at any time, it is a company that no one is currently doing.

The reason is "no one is doing it."

Even in the morning assembly, I was told something like "This declaration does not stop economic activities unlike before, so let's tighten our minds and do our best."

An office worker in his twenties, who sells IT products at a company in Tokyo, sent a message saying, "I'm already giving up."

It seems that there is an internal discipline that telework can be done within 3 days a week, but since neither my boss nor my colleagues are teleworking, I feel that it is difficult for me to telework.

About 100 people are in the same space in the office, so if someone gets infected, everyone is at risk of becoming a close contact, and most colleagues say they want teleworking.

However, the boss of the company confessed that "the government's policy is different from the time of the last state of emergency, and while maximizing the prevention of infection by individuals, it is said that" economic activity is prioritized "." It was.

“Possible increase in unnecessary attendance”

The actual situation of such a workplace can be seen from the survey data.

According to a survey conducted by the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry from the end of September to October last year for more than 13,000 member companies, 53% of the companies answered that they are "currently implementing telework", and in May and June last year. It was 14 points less than the survey.

In addition, more than 22% of companies answered, "We had implemented it for a while, but now we have canceled it."

When asked about issues related to continuing telework with multiple answers, "internal communication" (57.9%) was the most common, "supporting stamping on documents" (56.7%), "labor management / management" (51.6%), and "paperless". ”(45.0%).

The reasons cited by companies that "currently canceled" were "business productivity declines" (45.7%), "maintenance of equipment and networks such as PCs" (39.7%), and "internal communication" (33.6%). I did.

The hurdle is "peer pressure"

On the other hand, in a private-sector survey conducted last November on about 23,000 people working in companies with 10 or more employees, the average telework implementation rate for full-time employees was 24.7%.

Regarding the reasons for not teleworking, compared to the survey conducted in May, the number of respondents who answered that "it is not a business that can be done by teleworking" decreased significantly, while the number of respondents who answered that "the company is reluctant to telework and it is difficult to carry out" increased. It was.

On the other hand, in this survey, 78.6% of full-time employees wished to continue teleworking even after the end of Corona.

The "Persol Research Institute" that conducted the survey said, "Even if the work can be done by teleworking, the message that the organization will continue to recommend teleworking is not clearly stated, or" synchronization pressure "is created by the arrival of bosses and colleagues. Therefore, there is a possibility that unnecessary attendances are increasing. "

How to remove the "shackles of the heart"

Researchers point out that the background to the lack of progress in telework is the "stuckness" caused by the "peer pressure" in the workplace.

"Unlike Europe and the United States, the scope of work of employees in Japan is ambiguous, and because they have been working within their respective relationships, there is a characteristic that" sympathetic pressure "is likely to occur." Boss and colleagues also come to work. Even if I originally wanted to telework because I was doing it, I would be in a state of being "stuck in my heart" in relation to others. "

How can we get rid of the "shackles" and promote telework?

Yuji Kobayashi, Senior Researcher, Persol Research Institute "In a

work environment where" sympathetic pressure "is likely to occur, there are limits to the measures that can be taken by each individual. The management of the company, while looking at the type of job and the local situation, said," It is necessary to send a clear message saying "I will not go to work unnecessarily". In principle, it is also effective to set a rule of telework and introduce a "work approval system" that obtains the permission of the boss when going to work. Achieving the reduction target is not easy, and it is necessary to form a group-level awareness that "teleworking is the norm," including efforts that transcend the framework of companies such as industry groups. "

Looking back on myself

In an NHK poll conducted this month, when asked if they think the period of emergency declaration can be lifted by February 7, 88% said they couldn't, and only 6% said they could. It was.

If the period of declaration is extended, the wrinkles will hit medical personnel and restaurants, etc., and will rebound in our daily lives.

Telework alone does not end the infection, but I felt that it was necessary to look back and change consciousness to see if we were "synchronized" with the unnecessary "peer pressure" that hindered the promotion of telework.