| "Diversification of working styles" is inevitable in order to correspond with future economic and social changes. As a result it is important to develop a social system that allows for diverse working styles. If workers can fully exert their abilities, regardless of working patterns, according to their willingness and abilities, it would not only result in improved productivity but also contribute to the revitalization of the Japanese economy. In order to achieve a desirable diversification of working styles in the future, the following conditions should be fulfilled.
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| (1) | As a part of diversifying employment types, new working opportunities such as SOHOs and NPO are emerging. |
| (2) | Working styles that focus on an individual worker's autonomy are increasingly being accepted. |
| (3) | The adoption of flexible work time systems is progressing. |
| (4) | Both regular and non-regular employees are willing to develop their abilities. |
| (1) | The wage system for regular employees tends to be based on performance, and the human resources management system tends to be individualized and diversified. However, current evaluation criteria are not clear enough to convince workers; the evaluation process is not transparent and fair; and evaluators are not given sufficient training. Consequently, these systems often would not work effectively. |
| (2) | In recent years, the working hours for younger and mid-level workers have tended to increase. Those who work for long hours find it difficult to balance their work and personal lives. |
| (3) | In terms of diversification of employment types, working styles corresponding individual's working needs are increasing. Under current severe economic conditions, however, companies are increasingly hiring non-regular employees due to the stronger pressure to reduce costs. In addition, some workers are forced to work on a non-regular basis. |
| (4) | Non-regular employees who do their work autonomously may sometimes not receive treatment commensurate with their performance. The work environment for non-regular employees has not been completely improved. For example, a system for converting to regular employees is slow to be adopted. |
| (5) | Companies' support for ability development helps raise both regular and non-regular employees' willingness to develop ability and work harder. In fact, regular and non-regular employees are not given sufficient opportunities for ability development. Number of graduates without jobs, unemployed, and "freeters" are on the increase among the young. There remain many problems, including human resources development. |
| (1) | Sufficient opportunities for employment should be provided. First, sufficient opportunities for employment should be provided. This is a prerequisite for achieving desirable diversification. The employment situation is considerably affected by trends in macroeconomic conditions. With a view to securing employment opportunities, it is necessary to end deflation, put the Japanese economy on the path of genuine recovery, and attain sustainable, stable economic growth. |
| (2) | Treatment and performance evaluation should be satisfactory for workers. It is important to ensure that workers are treated according to their actual performance, are able to gain satisfaction from their jobs and can fully exert their willingness and abilities. For regular employees, it is vital to develop an objective, fair, transparent and reasonable system for evaluation, complaint processing and so on, and to support career development appropriate to the individual. An evaluation system based on ability and performance, not on personal attributes, which is now spreading, will also help produce a workplace more acceptable to the elderly and women. For non-regular employees, it is crucial to clarify their job content, to treat them fairly according to their performance and to help career development according to their willingness and actual performance. |
| (3) | Various working styles should be available. In order to enable workers to work autonomously and select working styles of their own free will, it is important to develop an intermediary working style between full-time regular employees and part-time non-regular employees. This style could be one in which a part-timer converts to a regular employee position and a short-time regular employee system. The development of various human resources management systems under which workers' opinions are taken into account, including a in-house staff recruiting system and a system for recruiting local workers in a limited area, can help workers work autonomously and may lead to the revitalization of local employment. It is also important to build up a social system that is neutral in terms of working styles that will facilitate mobility between employment types. |
| (4) | Workers should be able to balance their work and personal lives. A work environment where work and personal lives are balanced is vital for maintaining a worker's mental and physical health, for handling both work and family life, and, moreover, for securing job efficiency and creativity. A flexible work time system, for example, should be adopted. It is also necessary to promote a short-time regular employee system that enables persons to choose the working style best suited to their lifestyle. |
| (5) | Motivated workers should be given opportunities for ability development. In order that people willing to work can work well throughout their career and choose working styles from various options, it is important to give them opportunities to develop their abilities based on their willingness and actual performance. With respect to regular employees, employers need to hold a long-term view, systematically offer opportunities for ability development, support career development and treat their employees according to their willingness and actual performance. In addition, it is important to improve the human resources management system so as to promote human resources development. Individual workers are also required to work autonomously and make efforts to develop ability under their own initiative. This requires support for career development. Moreover, opportunities for ability development should be offered broadly. It is important to cultivate human resources outside the company, for instance, at schools and public vocational training facilities, and to improve evaluation systems of occupational skills. As employment patterns diversify, it is necessary to develop non-regular employees' skills and treat them according to their willingness and actual performance. There are a growing number of part-time workers and graduates without job, therefore schools, public employment security offices and companies need to cooperate in developing the abilities of younger people. It is also important to help raise the vocational awareness of younger workers. In Japan, a country that lacks natural resources, human resources are a source of economic growth and added value. Human resources development is therefore essential. |