Ensuring Employee Safety and Promoting Work-From-Home Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Benesse Corporation set out policy for a hybrid work style that combines work-from-home and office work, while reducing the risk of infection. This policy is referred to as the "New Work-Style Guidelines" and came into force on June 1, 2020.

These guidelines are made up of six components: (1) thorough management of physical condition/work attendance and determining whether to go to work; (2) thorough implementation of basic measures to prevent infection; (3) points to note when at work; (4) points to note when working from home; (5) business trips, overseas travel, and special leave; and (6) points to note in relation to office facilities and functions. The guidelines ensure employee safety during the pandemic, and promote working from home.

We encourage staggered work hours and online meetings, together with being thorough in preventative measures such as hand washing and measuring temperatures every morning. We have removed restrictions on the work-from-home system that had been operating until recently, and promote new styles of work amid the pandemic by recommending working from home.

At the Benesse Corporation, 64.1% of employees worked from home in June and 63.5% in July, staying at roughly the same level in the following months.

We will continue to thoroughly implement infectious disease countermeasures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and will achieve both work-life balance and improvements in productivity through this new style of work.