STUDENT VIEW

Working as an HR Specialist During
the Pandemic
Author Kanako Fujimoto

By Kanako Fujimoto
Pandemic in Japan
Many of us have found ourselves controlled by fear anduncertainties these past two years. It has been a challenge for all of us
universally. World GDP slowed down 3.7% in the year 2020 due to thespread of Covid-19. According to Nikkei Inc., over 1,000 companies invarious industries have closed down. Although Japan’s infection rates
are gradually decreasing, citizens are still unsure about going back toour normal life. The pandemic has continuously challenged us to stepoutside the box to make important decisions.
This article will look at how these new risks affected the status quo
within Japanese companies. I will also discuss the support that humanresources (HR) must provide and how alignment of work and creative
living can enhance one’s life, based on my personal experience as an
HR specialist during the pandemic.

Work Style & HR Role Transformation
Due to the sudden imposition of quarantines, companies had tomake a drastic transition to a more flexible working style. In a chemical
manufacturing company, the research and development institute andplants had a rough time adjusting due to safety regulations, but also
had to continue their production. Some institutes closed down 100%
while others adjusted attendance rates according to the research stageof the projects in each department. In handling new priorities,
managers were required to sort out which ideas and projects toproceed with and which to reject, more frequently using limited
amounts and resources of people, time and money.
A labor union survey showed positive results regarding
improvement in people’s physical health, increases in time for selfimprovement and a higher overall level of well-being due to theloosening of rules and a more flexible working style. During our firstmajor quarantine phase, I believe many of us spent a lot of time alone.
Some employees’ mental health declined due to everyday
uncertainties, and the lack of interactions both within and outside of
their company. It was especially for those who enjoy humaninteraction and were not able to ask simple questions to theirdepartment members. On the bright side, though, we were able toexperience more of what we truly enjoy doing and to think about ourideal and sustainable working environment. I am sure we all figuredout our own support system to maintain our physical and mental

60 Japan SPOTLIGHT • January / February 2022

health. Developing the skill sets to support an employee’s physical andmental health has become one of HR’s top priorities due to thepandemic.
Survey data also showed that due to work-style transformation andsuspension of business trips, productivity speed most definitelydecreased. Japan’s persistently low productivity is still a continuing
problem. After the big spread of online communication tools,
employees tried to fill in the communication gap through online
meetings, attempting to reboot productivity. But people still struggledwith a lack of communication, with fewer opportunities to share ideas
and have human interaction, leaving them feeling somewhat isolated.
In traditional Japanese companies, communication is often
maintained through after-work drinking parties (nomikai). Thiscertainly affected my company, but having the chance to reconsider
our methods of communication enabled us to look back at what istruly important in the trust-building process. My biggest impression of
the changes in human behavior was that employees became more
accepting and respectful of an individual’s situation by providing thenecessary support for them. Currently we are trying to maintaincommunication within working hours, respecting an individual’s
personal time. This could be the base mentality we need in the future
to accelerate diversity and inclusion.
Given that the various “norms” among individuals are different, I feltthat setting employment rules and standards for employees was very
difficult during the first quarantine phase. I remember handling themdelicately, being sure to create as many options as possible to meet
employees’ needs. The gradual shift to a flexible working style allowed
many of us to reconsider our work-life balance (what is valuable
enough to invest time in) and gave us a greater awareness ofproductivity. On this topic of productivity, many questions arose in mymind: Can we shorten the manager approval process in such anameba-like organization? Should we consider developing a digitalsystem to speed up the material sharing process for conferences?
Should we reconsider our work procedures and priorities?
As I have mentioned above, HR responsibility has broadened toinclude work-style reform, health management, system development
and retaining employee engagement levels. Each task has become
more complex, needing HR to become extra creative rather thansimply doing what we are told to do. Moreover, we are required toprovide high-level emotional support and to become more precise in
our communications than ever before. The “new norms” have brought

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about various challenges, but have also given us the opportunity toreconsider our needs and wants. A skill set to assess situations fromdiffering perspectives to arrive at appropriate solutions is the key tobecoming a professional HR specialist.

CHART

What youLOVE

Mindset Shift
Having been raised in the United States, working in a traditional
Japanese company has been an interesting adventure for me. I foundthat with the shakaijin (company employee) mentality, bigger
challenges are approved more easily by building up examples of small
successes. If proven safe with minimum risk, the chances are you will
get your ideas and projects approved. But how many endless “whatifs” should we list up? How governments and companies handled thepandemic revealed how our actions and decisions are strongly tied toour cultural background. An article published by Nippon.com claimed
that Japanese people interoperating on “risks” would lead to a negative
outcome, and as a result it is only natural that people in Japan do theirbest to avoid risks. The pandemic in a way forced Japanese people totake risks counter to the status quo, and allowed us to try out newprojects and events within our own roles. Even though companies still
struggle to balance out risks, the pandemic has certainly changed both
HR and employees’ mentality more than ever.
For better or worse, I also believe this pandemic has pushedcompanies to change how they perceive uncertain situations. We haveseen how situations are handled differently in other countries, onceagain often a reflection of personal beliefs and cultural backgrounds,
and have learned to accept different actions and propose diversesolutions. Corporate globalization can only be achieved by team effort.
Just as Japanese citizens and government worked together to getthrough the pandemic, so globalization has forced us to change ourmindset and to be more accepting of each other. If we can all imagine
our glass is half empty and the other half can be filled by learning frompeople around us, wouldn’t our life be more fruitful? I truly feel this is
the mindset we all should work on, building together to aim to become
more open-minded for our company to succeed in expanding its
global business in the future.

Alignment of Purpose & Creative Living
One of HR’s biggest roles is to have occasional career development
interviews with employees. This pandemic has given an opportunity
for all of us to look back on our careers and to reconfirm our beliefs inthe value of our careers and lives. It is almost like an onion skin being
peeled off, exposing our most natural and authentic self.
A trusted mentor of mine once told me: “Create your own paradise.
Your actions and decisions must align with your own values bothcareer-wise and life-wise.” This was the most powerful advice I havebeen given. I have seen many people look for happiness externally,especially during this pandemic, but no work tasks, culture orcompany is perfectly made just for you. Friends and employees havecome to me for help, saying “I do not know what is bothering me
exactly, but I feel extremely stuck.” Some people felt as if they werelosing their sense of self, reconsidering what they want to do for aliving, and were confused about their purpose in life.

Image: Wikipedia

PassionWhatyou areGOODATMission
Whatthe world
NEEDSikigaiProfession

VocationWhat
you can be
PAID FOR

On the other hand, we can take this as a signal to reevaluate whatfeels right, with what is aligned with our values, and what is not. I havenoticed many people already unconsciously know what they want, buthave not yet have been able to implement or connect their actions totheir daily work tasks. As the “ikigai” (roughly, “reason for being”)
Chart shows, career falls between profession and vocation. For those
who are struggling with the “purpose of life” due to the effects ofprolonged quarantine and massive lifestyle transformation, listing
points in each criteria may help them figure out what to do on a daily
basis to make their career and life purpose clearer.
Once I got the hang of creative living myself, it brought me more joy
in work, and I found meaning in small daily tasks and regained mysense of self. This mentality is the same in our private life. I haverealized that no education teaches us “alignment of life” or “how tobuild or create our own career”. I believe this will be one importantrole that HR will be handling in the future. From my own personal
experience during the pandemic, I am now able to give better guidance
to those who are struggling with their career development.
I feel happy when I am able to contribute to make an employee’s
work environment and career better. Career plays a huge part in ourlife and I believe that working is one way to make our life more joyful.
In that sense, there is no point in investing in something that does notmake our life fruitful. I wish to become a person who has the ability tocreate jobs around an individual’s talents to produce the best outcome
for the employee and the company.
In this article, I have mentioned how new risks were taken counterto the status quo in Japanese companies, and how alignment of workand creative living can enhance a person’s life based on my own
experiences working as a HR specialist during the pandemic. I hope tocontinue to contribute to enhancing ikigai for all people who come tome, leaving them just a little more joyful than I found them to be. I
would like to continue building skill sets to support employees increating their ideal career and guide them toward a better and more
fruitful life.

Kanako Fujimoto is an experienced HR specialist in a chemical manufacturing
company. She focuses mainly on recruiting, promoting diversity and businessglobalization through the development of human resources.

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