Implementing Workstyle Transformation 2019

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Masayuki Hyodo) will be implementing “Workstyle Transformation 2019” (hereinafter, “WX2019”), an effort aimed at inculcating a new style of working by promoting telework, encouraging staggered commuting hours using the flextime system, and introducing an in-house award system.

Sumitomo Corporation is undertaking workstyle reform that will enable it to achieve maximum performance by putting into practice an output-oriented workstyle whereby each and every employee generates high added value. “Telework Days 2019,” a government-led dry run to test out traffic demand management for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, will be conducted from Monday, July 22 through Friday, September 6, 2019. WX2019 will be intensively focusing on the following three measures during this same time frame.

(1) Promoting telework

Sumitomo Corporation will set out specific numerical targets – e.g., having all employees take part in telework three or more times during the implementation period, and having 50% or more of the employees in each organization engage in telework on July 24 and August 23 (the scheduled dates of the opening ceremonies for the Tokyo Olympics and the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020) as telework core days – and will urge all organizations to achieve their targets.

(2) Encouraging staggered commuting hours that utilize the flextime system introduced in November 2018

Encouraging employees to commute at times that avoid commuting rush hours (08:00-10:00, 18:00-20:00) will ensure employees enjoy more comfortable commutes and help ease congestion in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

(3) Introducing an in-house award system

Suggestions for reforming workstyles will be solicited from all organizations in a contest format and awards handed out. Entries will be submitted on an organization-by-organization basis, and employees will vote on submissions from organizations other than their own, with the three organizations garnering the most votes to be given awards. As employees learn about the efforts of other organizations in the course of voting, in-house knowledge will be extended horizontally.

Sumitomo Corporation has advocated “Diversity & Inclusion – Making Diverse Strengths a Source of Competitiveness” as a key concept for the human resources strategy in its Medium-term Management Plan 2020. With the implementation of WX2019, an environment will be created enabling employees to work autonomously and flexibly without being bound by traditional work-hour and workplace constraints and accelerating the output-oriented workstyles of employees to maximize performance.

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■Sumitomo Corporation’s  Material Issues

Sumitomo Corporation Group positions “Six Material Issues to Achieve Sustainable Growth with Society” as an important factor in developing business strategies and in the decision-making process for individual businesses. Going forward, we will pursue sustainable growth by resolving these issues through our business activities. This Project especially contributes to “Developing Human Resources and Promoting Diversity”.