JSR recognizes the need for continual innovation of work styles to turn organizational strengths into organizational results. Work style innovation does not just refer to continuing to search for better work styles by checking and reflecting on your own work styles. It includes innovation to achieve better work styles for the organization as a whole while learning about and understanding the diverse work styles adopted by those around you and mutually supporting one another from time to time. We think that, as individuals and the organization continue to innovate work styles, this will lead to a resilient organization that is able to respond flexibly to changes in the external environment.

The “New Work Style Project” launched in FY2020 in response to the spread of COVID-19 determined that the ideal work style conditions would “provide a flexible work format with various tools to facilitate work activity to achieve targets and expected results.” To accomplish this, we recommended three actions: (1) revise the image of the ideal office (particularly in terms of headquarters functions), (2) strengthen IT support that will contribute to greater convenience and work productivity, and (3) develop human resources systems and measures that will improve productivity and competitiveness and maximize engagement.

In FY2021, we implemented concrete initiatives based on these three points. For Point (1), we are responding to actual working conditions after working from home became a common practice as an infection prevention measure by installing booths and small meeting rooms for Web conferences to accommodate telecommuting in the head office as well, among other measures. For Point (2), we used a system to visualize work styles and compare work styles immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic began (April-June 2020) and during the same period one year later (April-June 2021). We provided this feedback to employees to encourage them to continue to revise work styles. For Point (3), we completely revised the personnel evaluation system for managerial level positions to clarify position requirements and the treatment for each position.

In addition to the above efforts, we continued to pursue efforts to promote WSI by thinking about creating a workplace environment that provides a psychological sense of safety by holding seminars and posting articles on the intranet to put the focus on good communication and management within and among teams.

COVID-19 was a catalyst for rapid change in work styles. For JSR headquarters, it became increasingly obvious that the difficulty in team building and management caused by the extended period spent working from home was a problem. Restrictions were also placed on business trips between plants and research laboratories, and on visits to customers. We therefore held a WSI Management Seminar for managers in FY2020 to think about how to update team management so that we could continue to produce results as an organization during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the seminar, participants shared what they could do personally to foster a sense of psychological safety in the team and their concerns about management. Participants engaged in constructive, energetic discussion of what action could be taken to resolve these problems.

In FY2021, we expanded eligibility for the seminar to assistant managers and held a seminar on thinking about what action each manager and assistant manager could take to utilize the diverse human resources in their own division to reinforce organizational strengths, not just under extended pandemic conditions, but when confronted with any sort of change in the external environment. The reason for including assistant managers was to strengthen connections between assistant managers and managers. We received an extremely large number of requests to participate in the seminar from managers who participated in FY2020 and from assistant managers. This showed us how far the new mindset has spread of recognizing the essential need to foster a culture of DE&I in order to maximize organizational strengths.

The impact from the COVID-19 pandemic has substantially changed work styles and it has now become a common practice to work and communicate while mastering online tools. The adoption of work styles that use online tools will likely accelerate even further in the future. To visually grasp past and present work styles, we used data on the use of Outlook and Teams by roughly 500 employees in JSR headquarters to analyze work styles. When we compared the data from immediately after the pandemic began (April-June 2020) with the data from one year later (April-June 2021), we saw a large decline in communication via email and an increase in the use of chat as an alternative efficient communication tool. However, there was room for improvement in the time spent in meetings and the time spent working, and this revealed the need to revise work styles on an ongoing basis. We are continuing to create mechanisms to sort out what type of work needs to be performed, visualize skills, and enable the active use of systems such as RPA, and to update work styles.

We strive to maintain a relationship with JSR Workers’ Union that allows us to routinely engage in constructive dialogue through regular labor-management councils, meetings concerning the revision of labor agreements, and other opportunities. We are also working to build better workplace environments with attention to union concerns—namely, wage policy, labor environment policy, welfare policy, leisure time, public relations and volunteerism policy, and organizational policy.

We will abide by national and international labor codes and respect workers’ right of association and right for collective negotiation in the realm of basic labor rights.

JSR and JSR Workers' Union have entered a labor agreement based on workers' union regulations. As specified in the labor agreement, we notify JSR Worker’s Union before implementing significant changes in operations.

The president, directors in charge of individual business segments, and workers’ union representatives have regular discussions to exchange opinions and conduct Q&A sessions regarding the working environment, business conditions, major company policies, and workers' union activities. JSR Workers' Union discloses the content of these discussions with union members. Moreover, we endeavor to deepen mutual understanding and trust as well as to maintain and strengthen sound labor relations through frequent labor-management councils at the employee and plant levels, local labor-management councils, and Safety and Health Committee meetings. In FY2021, we endeavored to maintain smooth business operation through repeated discussions concerning a business transfer agreement, revision of various rules, and other matters.

Union members at each workplace represent workplace workers' opinions. They also act as a conduit between union leadership and the union members. Workplace discussions and questionnaires are conducted to ensure the ideas and opinions of union members are incorporated into union activities.

As of the end of March 2022, the membership enrollment rate in JSR Workers’ Union was 100%, made up of 2,746 employees excluding board members, management personnel, etc. The Union is a member of Japanese Federation of Chemical Workers’ Unions, an umbrella organization.

The total number of union members is 3,775, including members of unions organized at consolidated subsidiaries. This represents 38.9% of the 9,696 employees at the consolidated level.