Maiko Hinomoto
Work Support Office, Mitsubishi Shoji & Sun

Introduction

Mitsubishi Shoji & Sun is an IT company set up in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, in 1983 through joint investment by the social welfare corporation Japan Sun Industries and Mitsubishi Corporation, and is a special subsidiary company of the latter. It started when Mitsubishi Industries decided to support Japan Sun Industries because they agreed with the philosophy of the founder, Dr Yutaka Nakamura: “No charity, but a chance!” “Even if there are people in the world with physical and mental disabilities, there can be no disabilities at work”. At the time we were established, our main work was systems development for our parent company, but this has expanded as our company grew, and we now carry out a wide range of tasks, including network building and operation and all types of outsourcing work. 

Our working from home initiative

Our company’s working from home initiative began in October 2014, when we employed two people with severe physical disabilities for data inputting tasks. Since then, at the same time as expanding the employment of staff members working from home, we have set up a system to support remote working in order to put in place a better working environment, and have accumulated knowledge and expertise in managing working hours and tasks using an online system.

In addition, given that our recruitment of local systems engineers had not been going according to plan in recent years, we launched a “Study at Home to Become a Systems Engineer” project in 2018 for people with disabilities nationwide who hoped to work from home. To enable people to obtain the skills necessary to work as systems engineers from home, we offered those hoping to work from home the opportunity to take an e-learning program provided by NTT Data Intra Mart, with a route to employment for those who completed the assignments. This training, which was offered three times from August 2018 onwards, attracted applicants from across Japan, and 13 of the 28 participants joined our company. 10 of them are still with the company, joining online from around the country to work together with us each day.

At the time of writing (1 June 2021), we have 15 members of staff with disabilities working from home (eight with physical disabilities and seven with psychiatric disorders): one in the General Affairs and Management Division, five in the Accounting Division, and nine in the Development Division. The majority work reduced hours and are employed on contracts, but from this year, two full-time members of staff have become regular employees. Furthermore, members of staff for whom the progression of their disabilities had made it difficult to travel to work have been able to continue in their jobs by switching to working from home.  

Insufficient communication between members of staff working in the office and those working from home is a constant issue. As means to resolve this, we have taken proactive steps to create venues for communication, including always-on connections via video chat and morning meetings each day. The company as a whole holds online afternoon meetings each month for all staff: those in our head office, our Tokyo office, and working from home. Before COVID-19, we held workplace events and trips where all our staff got together, but last year, we held an online quiz. It was very well-received as an event in which staff working from home, for whom mobility is difficult, could participate on an equal footing. We rounded it off with an online drinking party where everyone had a great time.

Feedback from a member of staff working from home

Takashi Tanaka, who belongs to the General Affairs and Management Division’s Business Team, is a graduate of a home-study training course to develop IT engineers run by Tokyo Colony. He entered our company in September 2019 after participating in the “Study at Home to Become a Systems Engineer” project.

He has limb and trunk impairment from childhood cerebral palsy, and uses an electric wheelchair to get around. Due to the severity of his disabilities, it is extremely difficult for him to commute or work in an office. He operates a computer sitting in a floor chair, using his feet to move a trackball mouse and keyboard. Since he cannot use his mouth to speak, he points to the letters on a communication board with his toes when communicating face-to-face; however, we have lively conversations via computer chat, and I forget that he cannot speak orally. He works from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. five days a week. Our company allows working hours to be set flexibly, so he takes a break of one and a half hours in the middle of the day, and uses the services of a helper during this time. His duties are the maintenance and improvement of the company’s infrastructure, such as computer settings. He puts his particular expertise to use in his work each day.

“After graduating from the senior high division of a special needs school, I studied programming and acquired computer skills more or less independently, at the same time as attending a day care centre. I did freelance programming work for a long time. Fate brought me to my current job, where I am working for the Business Team. Working from home might appear lonely at first sight, but my colleagues and managers are there on the other side of the network, so I don’t feel at all isolated. As I operate the computer with my feet, it can be hard to keep up with live conversations, but by making full use of predictive text input and choosing from the options offered rather than typing the whole sentence when chatting, I can reply more quickly. In addition, when the content is complex, I write in Editor and copy and paste this into the Chat screen, rather than typing there directly, in order to avoid sending messages in error. I also take part in team meetings, sending anything which I want to tell everyone in advance. I will try my hardest to make full use of the skills which I have already acquired, and to hone my skills even further, in order to work until retirement age.” (Comment from Takashi Tanaka)   

Takashi Tanaka, a member of staff working from home, during an online meeting with staff at our head office

The role of the Work Support Office

The Work Support Office, to which I belong, offers various forms of support at work to all our members of staff, not only those working from home, with the goal of being “a company where people can continue to work until retirement age”. It is made up of the Office Director, three mental health social workers, and one job coach.

When staff are employed to work from home, a member of the Office visits their home to talk with the person and their family members face to face, as well as to exchange information with the local support and medical care organizations. In addition, we also support staff with setting up a working environment and managing their health. For example, in the case of a staff member with a physical disability, we worked with a local physiotherapist to buy a desk stand for a laptop computer that was suitable for the range of motion of their hands and advise them on adjusting the angle. For staff who are not yet managing their health, we have them write down their moods, hours of sleep, etc. on a self-check sheet, and advise them on health management.　

After they join the company, we get in touch with them via Chat once a week, and make sure to hold an interview with them once every one to three months. We play an intermediary role, passing on anything which comes up that ought to be shared with their managers or the colleagues with whom they work, or arranging an opportunity for them to communicate it with our support.

Conclusion

Working from home has various merits both for people with disabilities and for companies. In times such as the present, when COVID-19 infections are spreading, people at high risk can concentrate on their work without having to worry about the risk. The stress of moving around and commuting is reduced for people who use wheelchairs or sticks, or the visually impaired. Moreover, people who use welfare services (such as helpers) on a daily basis are able to work while also making use of these services by adjusting their breaks and working hours.

For people with psychiatric or developmental disorders, issues such as “stress from interpersonal relationships”, “sensitivity to noise”, and “difficulty in communicating orally” are often cited, but working from home resolves the majority of these issues. For the employer, too, removal of the need to put in place accessible or quiet environments in their offices, toilets, and other facilities is also a plus. Furthermore, by expanding the target recruitment pool to the entire country, the probability of securing human resources who match the company’s requirements is increased.

I myself originally commuted to work in the Tokyo office but, as part of the measures to prevent the spread of infection, I now work from home three to four days a week. Working from home allows me, a person who is currently raising children, to make productive use of my former commuting time, and has made it much easier for me to work. I believe that working from home is a system that has benefits both for people with and for those without disabilities. I hope that more companies will introduce it and put in place better working environments.