CO-CREATIONPOINT

Co-Creation Ecosystem [ Corporate Culture ]1

Intra-Group Company Profession Change System
for Fostering Empathy and Innovation

CO-CREATION ECOSYSTEMCORPORATE CULTURE

Development of Autonomous Organizations
That Continuously Produce Innovation
MARUI GROUP’s corporate philosophy of striving to “continue evolving to better aid our customers” and“equate the development of our people with the development of our company” inspires us to view companies as a platform for the growth of their employees. We are therefore fostering human resources
who are accepting toward one another, regardless of their age, gender, lifestyle, or sexual preference,
and who can support our business model of co-creating happiness. We adopted a unique pure holding
company system in 2007, granting our more than 5,000 employees access to shared Groupwide humanresource systems. This move made it possible to realize such systems as intra-Group company profession changes and Groupwide project teams open to voluntary participation. To accelerate its businessmerging retailing, fintech, and now co-creative investment, MARUI GROUP is transforming its corporate
culture based on three points. Through these transformations, we aim to develop autonomous human

MARUI GROUP’s profession change system is a unique human

The longer one works in the same position, the more they will

resource system that is shared throughout the Group and thatbe susceptible to being trapped in the preconceptions of thatallows for relocations between the Company and 12 Groupposition. Being placed in a new profession, however, can enable

companies. This system enables employees to experience a

employees to escape preconceptions. Such transitions thus

wide range of businesses, including retail at stores, IT, logistics,

contribute to the growth of the employees undergoing profession

and credit card services through a program that is almost likechanges as well as to transformations in the new workplaces inchanging one’s profession. We have been promoting this system

which they are placed. Moreover, cross-Group relocations form

since April 2013, and 2,626 employees, or 61% of our entire

connections throughout the Group, contributing to the enhance-

employee base, had undergone profession changes as of April 1,

ment of integrated Group management.

2020. A survey of employees that had undergone profession

Going forward, we will complement these relocations bychanges conducted in November 2016 revealed that 86% of

ramping up the secondment of employees to co-creative invest-

such employees felt they had experienced personal growth after

ees and other companies. We thereby aim to foster human

the change, indicating that this system is contributing to theresources that are adept at responding to change along with acultivation of highly resilient employees.

corporate culture founded on open communication that is afertile ground for innovation.

resources and a corporate culture founded on communication that can facilitate the continuous production of innovation via means such as co-creation with start-up companies.
Number of Employees Changing Positions Between Group Companies

OPEN INNOVATIONHAPPINESS

FY2016FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020

Number of employees changing positions (aggregate)

1,418

1,833

2,210

2,541

2,626

Ratio of employees changing positions (aggregate)

25%

34%

43%

52%

61%

FY2020Note: Figures use the total of employees changing positions in April and October of each year (excluding officers and managers).

Number of Employees Undergoing Secondment to Co-Creative Investees and Other Companies

Corporate Culture Transformations Enabling New Business Strategies

FY2016FY2017FY2018FY2019Number of employees undergoing secondment (aggregate)

0

1

9

19

35

Number of companies receiving seconded employees (aggregate)

0

1

6

12

17

Ongoing growth by today’s companies requires them to be ableof employees. The shaping of such corporate cultures takes

to respond to sudden operating environment changes by con-place naturally over long periods of time, and this process

stantly evolving their business models and structures after theyrequires creativity. Accordingly, there is no order or instruction

have become obsolete. However, changes in business strate-that can stimulate this process. For this reason, we feel thatgies will prove ineffectual if the corporate culture that drives

corporate culture transformations should be spurred in conjunc-

human resources who, armed with a deep understanding of our core values, are able to create new businesses. Our

those strategies remains the same. Corporate cultures shouldtion with business strategies after having taken the time toultimate goal is to develop a corporate culture in which co-creative human resources influence those around them,

not be built on the commitment of management but shouldcultivate the necessary foundations.

generating a virtuous cycle in which their actions lead to the development of new co-creative human resources, who inrather be shaped from the bottom up by the autonomous action

MESSAGE FROM AN EMPLOYEE 
One of the human resource policies under MARUI GROUP’s business model merging retailing, fintech, and co-creative
investment is the cultivation of co-creative human resources. We therefore must develop frameworks for fostering

turn stimulate the growth of additional co-creative human resources. We began seconding employees to D2C brandand other strategic companies in 2018, and approximately 40 employees have undergone secondment over theroughly three years that followed. When these employees return to the Company, they actively apply the lessons

Mathematical Relationship Between “Corporate Cultures” and “Business Strategies”

New Business Strategies
New Corporate Cultures64

learned through their secondment from the perspectives of both business and corporate culture. Some employees areseconded primarily to facilitate co-creation activities. By positioning these employees in divisions in fields relevant totheir secondment upon their return, they can continue to promote co-creation from within the organization to acceler-

Masami Endoh
Chief Manager
Human Resources Section
Human Resources Department
MARUI GROUP CO., LTD.

ate our co-creation initiatives. Furthermore, the venture company perspectives these employees bring back with them

Improvement of Corporate Valueare being incorporated into organizational management to co-create a new work communication culture.

65

POINT

Co-Creation Ecosystem [ Corporate Culture ]2

Autonomous Organization Founded on
Voluntary Employee Participation
Over the more than a decade since the Company underwent afor discussion of important management themes. Employees,

management crisis in 2007, we have continued to promote a

who are the main driving force behind our business, can partici-

culture of voluntary participation by employees. Undertaking apate regardless of their age and rank. With each iteration, the

new endeavor or creating something completely new can place anumber of applicants greatly exceeds the number of available

great burden on employees. The potential to create innovation isslots, and we have thus chosen to select members based onmuch greater when an employee has chosen to tackle such aessays. Furthermore, as all Group employees are provided

challenge of their own volition, as opposed to being ordered toaccess to the same human resource systems, employees fromdo so by supervisors. It is for this reason that MARUI GROUP has

across the Group can apply, and those selected can participate

established Groupwide project teams and the Medium-Termin meetings during workhours from wherever they work in Japan.

Management Visionary Committee, which function as forums

Groupwide Project Teams Encouraging Autonomous
Thought and Action
Members selected for Groupwide project teams discuss the given
themes together with their colleagues and propose ideas over a periodof one year, and take the knowledge and ideas learned while on the
project teams back to their workplaces. This insight is used to formulate

Diversity & Inclusion
Project Team
Launched in 2011, the Diversity &Inclusion Project Team’s activities are
aimed at fostering respect andcontributing to the happiness of all
people by encouraging receptivenessto the diversity of all stakeholders.

and implement action plans for shaping the business and work styles of2021, project team activities will include a combination of online andoffline events.
Please refer to the following website for details.
www.0101maruigroup.co.jp/en/sustainability/theme02/
development_01.html

Committee Meeting Discussion Topics in 2019
Happiness × AI—Lecture by Dr. Kazuo Yano, Fellow and Director andHappiness Project Leader of Future Investment Division of Hitachi, Ltd.
Feb.

forum for discussing various topics that will be important to the futureof Group management. Discussions are not limited to in-house person-

Financial Inclusion through Insurance—Lecture by Tooru Ushiroda,
Representative of Office Baton Insurance Consultation OfficeJun.

Background for Direct-to-Consumer Brands, Physical Stores in a DigitalSociety, and Retail as a Service—Lecture by Yuichiro Mori, CEO/Founder of
FABRIC TOKYO Inc.

Jul.

Japan’s First Employee-Driven Effort to Source 100% of Electricity from
Renewable Power with Visibility of Producers: Familiarity with the SDGs
through the World’s First Venture Combining Power and Blockchain—
Eiji Oishi, Representative Director CEO of Minna-denryoku, Inc.

Oct.

Equal Opportunities Offered through Financial Access—Lecture by Taejun
Shin, Co-Founder, Representative Director & CEO of Gojo & Company, Inc.

Nov.

Activity report by ultralong-term management research committee—Reportby Yutaka Matsuo, Professor from the Department of Technology
Management for Innovation; Artifacts, Center for Engineering; Graduate
School of Engineering, Tokyo University; and Yoshiki Ishikawa, Co-Founderand Executive Vice President of Campus for H Inc.

nel as external experts are also called to give lectures. At both online

received from employees of various ranks and divisions for each

Wellbeing Promotion
Project Team

iteration.

Established in 2016, the Wellbeing
Promotion Project Team believes it isimportant to go beyond the basic
approach of preventing illness tofoster more energized and happy
employees. It is thus promoting
wellness management that combines these approaches inside andoutside of the Company.

Future View by kono yubi to-mare
MARUI GROUP posts summaries of the lectures byexternal lecturers conducted at meetings of theMedium-Term Management Visionary Committee

Dec.

course of MARUI GROUP through the maxims of experts shaping

Committee Meeting Discussion Topics in 2020

MESSAGE FROM AN EMPLOYEE 

Feb.

Businesses That Contribute to Sustainable Societies—Lecture by
Akihiko Nagata, Executive Vice President and Head of the Healthcare Company
at euglena Co., Ltd.

Mar.

Forum for sharing information on activities of the Wellbeing Promotion
Project Team

Jun.

Life After the COVID-19 Pandemic: How to Realize Ideals and Happy
Living—Lecture by Yoshiki Ishikawa, Representative Director of Well-being
for Planet Earth Foundation

Jul.

Panel discussion by employees having undergone profession changes orsecondment and work forumAug.

D2C Brands Shaping the Future—Lecture by Yasuhiro Sasaki, Director
and Business Designer of Takram Inc. and Yuichiro Mori, CEO/Founder of
FABRIC TOKYO Inc.

I applied for the Wellbeing Promotion Project Team because the Misato Web Sales Distribution Center, where I work,ranked among the worst 10 in the Group in the stress check conducted in 2019. I volunteered because I figured thatinvolvement in the project team would give me insights into how we could reform our organization. In the project team
activities, Dr. Reiko Kojima, a company physician and general manager of the Wellbeing Promotion Department, held alecture teaching us how to manage energy related to the body, mood, mental state, and thinking. This lecture was easy
to understand and very interesting, and I learned a lot. Apparently, Dr. Kojima has been giving this lecture since theinception of the Wellbeing Promotion Project Team, which is probably why wellness management is such an
entrenched concept at MARUI GROUP. This lecture made me more committed to fully engaging with both my work andmy family and enabled me to respond more positively to challenges. I am currently focusing my efforts on future
generations. I want children to be able to learn and experience the fun and motivation of working so that they will havebig dreams for the future.

66

Masaki Kimoto
Wellbeing Promotion
Project Team Member
MARUI Fulfillment Department
Solutions Business Division
MOVING CO., LTD.

Development of a Comfortable Society That Bridges the Gap Between
Ideals and Reality—Lecture by Shoji Marukawa, Representative Director of
Nature Innovation Group Co., Ltd.
Panel discussion by employees having undergone profession changes orsecondment

on its community site. We invite you to learn about the future
the future.

Venture Companies and New Businesses Viewed from the Perspective ofVenture Capital—Lecture by Soichi Tajima, CEO and General Partner ofGenesia Ventures, Inc.

Mar.

300 members that are selected from the 1,000–1,500 applications

producing a new set of autonomous employees with increased knowlconducive to business innovation. In the fiscal year ending March 31,

The Medium-Term Management Visionary Committee is an internaland offline events, active discussion is conducted among the roughly

their workplaces. Project members are changed on an annual basis,edge and awareness each year and fostering a corporate culture that is

Medium-Term Management Visionary Committee
Receiving Over 1,000 Applications for Participation
with Each Iteration

Please refer to the following website for summaries of the lecturesby external lecturers (Japanese only).
www.to-mare.com/fv/

Sep.

Co-Creation with the Future Generations That Will Shape the Future—Lecture
by Yusuke Mizuno, Representative Director and CEO of Life is Tech, Inc.
Investor relations information sharing forum

67

POINT

Co-Creation Ecosystem [ Corporate Culture ]3

Wellness Management Energizing Employees
and Improving Happiness
The goal of MARUI GROUP’s wellness management is not justensuring that all of our employees are healthy; we aim to makepracticed on a Groupwide scale through coordination between
the Wellbeing Promotion Department and MARUI GROUP’s
health insurance union (see Figure 1).

including one that stresses the diverse thought patterns of people and mployees able to viewEfrom a different perspectiveEmployees unable to view
from a different perspective

how awareness of this fact and different perspectives can prevent
supervisors play a central role while employees teach one another. To

Figure 1: MARUI GROUP’s Wellness Management
Wellness management at MARUI GROUP is aimed at energizing all employees, not just those who are ill or high risk, and invigorating all of society.

+has been positioned as an important element of our strategies
under the medium-term management plan and is thus being

MARUI GROUP conducts a variety of self-care training programs,

Figure 4: Employees Able to View Their Thought Patterns from a
Different Perspective

mental health issues. A characteristic of this program is how workplace

all of society a happier place by creating new value from theperspectives of wellness and well-being. Wellness management

Self-Care Training

0

representing more than 80% of all full-time employees (see Figure 4).

Improvement of Organizational Engagement
through Stress Checks

Not illNoabnormalities

The results of organization analyses via stress checks are being used to

Employees Deepening Their Understanding Regarding Self-Care
Understanding greatly deepened
67%
Understanding somewhat deepened 31%
Understanding slightly deepened
1%
Understanding not deepened1%

institute targeted measures aimed at items identified as important forStandard healthcare management initiatives

8%

date, a total of 5,400 employees have taken part in these programs,

High energy–

92%

specific workplaces (items that will contribute to improve work engage-

Note: Based on September 2020 employee surveyment). Committees are assembled to examine the results at individual
workplaces so that each workplace can take proactive measures toWork Style Reforms Creating a Venue forContributions of All Employees

Figure 2: Average Monthly Overtime Hours per Person(see Figure 6). Successful measures will be shared throughout the10.9 hours
Head officemonthly overtime decreased to 3.5 hours in the fiscal year ended March
7.0 hours

Wellbeing Promotion Project Team andResilience Program

6.1 hours

Translation of Psychological Capital into Corporate Value
value. One facet of MARUI GROUP’s efforts for energizing employees isto track employee happiness. With the help of Hitachi, Ltd., we began

Stores0.8 hours

measuring data on the movements of employees’ bodies using the

FY2020sensors installed in their smartphones to measure their degree ofdata to change their behavior

awareness and understanding of wellness management. In its third year,

while assessing the types of work

this project team extended its activities to outside of the Company. The

70%

styles that contribute to improved

fourth year of this project team’s activities kicked off in the midst of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Members are thus highly motivated to makecontributions from the perspective of wellness and well-being, and they
continue to pursue this goal through a process of trial and error together
with various stakeholders. The project team members received strong60%—— Ratio of employees that take an optimistic
outlook toward adversity

and well-being activities.

50.9

50.0

FY2016FY2017FY2018FY2019administered surveys to employ-

High work engagement
Members of happiness tracking project

ees to measure their psychologi-

50%

FY2020At risk of fatigue

55

Motivated and energized

45 Workplace A

50

55

cal capital.*2 These surveys showed a 0.27 percentage point increase inpsychological capital. Analyses based on massive quantities of data

40%

have found that this improvement translates to a rise of 5.3% in operating income (approximately ¥2.1 billion).

30%

20%

These wellness management initiatives have been highly evaluated,

Start of Companywide
Resilience Program
June 2012

June 2016

As a result of these activities, we have since seen massive improve-

July 2020

Stock Selection arranged by the Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange for three consecutive years. In
addition, the Company has received the highest rank of A in Development

ments in self-efficacy and other indicators related to happiness inBank of Japan Inc.’s DBJ Employees’ Health Management Rated Loan

Companywide surveys. Specific items for which scores have improved

Workplace D

resulting in MARUI GROUP being included in the Health & Productivity
Workplace B

Unenergized

Low stressResilience Program, enabling them to better support internal wellness

50.9

50.5

High stressapproximately 100 officers and managers had taken part in the

50.9
50.6

score of employee teams, we

incredibly understanding of the ­autonomous activities of project teammembers, and they offer proactive support. As of September 2020,

51.4

Figure 6: Changes at Workplaces After Conducting Two Stress
Checks in One Year

ment on raising the happiness—— Ratio of employees that utilize strengths andindividual talents to tackle new challenges

support from senior managers who have participated in the Resilience
Program, which targets officers and managers. These managers are

51.7*1 The nationwide average is 50.0. Larger figures represent more favorable results.

scores. After a three-week experi-—— Ratio of employees feeling respected in theworkplace

52.2

51.0

happiness. Employees use thisFigure 3: Indicators Related to Happiness

53.0
52.6

52.5

52.5

51.5

3.5 hours

FY2008—— Work engagement

52.0

Energizing employees is of utmost importance to improving corporate—— Stress

53.0

Company in the future to energize other workplaces.

Consolidated

Promotion Project Team is now in its fourth year. In the first and second
years of its activities, this project team primarily focused on spreading

53.5

in the second check, with lower stress and higher work engagement

hour management and work system diversification since 2008. As a

Established in 2016 as an official Groupwide project team, the Wellbeingof improvements in stress and work engagement scores (see Figure 5).
checks a year. Almost all of these workplaces showed improvements

20.0 hours

reforms, MARUI GROUP has been advancing reforms pertaining to work31, 2020, representing notable increases in productivity (see Figure 2).

Figure 5: Stress and Work Engagement Scores*1

In addition, 24 workplaces have volunteered to conduct two stress

Recognizing that healthcare management is one facet of work style

result, average annual overtime hours decreased to 42 and average

address any issues. These efforts have led to four consecutive years

Workplace C

45

Unmotivated

Low work engagement

Program.

include “I take an optimistic outlook toward adversity,” “I feel as though I
am respected in the workplace,” and “I utilize my strengths and individual*2 Indicator proposed by U.S. management researcher Fred Luthans that represents
employees’ work confidence and overall positivity and that correlates with businessprofitability

talents to tackle new challenges” (see Figure 3).

Members of Fourth Wellbeing Promotion Project Team

68

69

Co-Creation Ecosystem [ Corporate Culture ]Translation of Individual Strengths into Organizational
Capabilities via Understanding and Interaction

Desired Characteristics in Employees

Propensity for innovation
based on a capacity for empathy

MARUI GROUP has established a framework for translating the human capital represented by the individual strengths of its employees
into organizational capital. This framework is the integrated Group management achieved through the shared Groupwide humanresource systems made possible by the transition to a pure holding company. Individual strengths are merely tacit knowledge. It is whenthese strengths are focused through the lens of co-creation with customers or other stakeholders or through MARUI GROUP’s uniquecorporate culture that they are able to form new, greater capabilities. The resulting organizational capabilities underpin the co-creation ofvalue through our business model integrating retailing, finance, and IT.

MARUI GROUP’s pure holding company system is unique in that all Group
employees are hired through the Company and that, even if an employee isappointed to an operating company, they will still have access to the same
shared human resource systems available at the Company. MARUI GROUP

Employees that embody acustomer-first mentality andare adept at responding tochange adopt a Groupwide
perspective.

employees are provided with a range of opportunities, including the intraGroup profession change system that enables them to hone their individual
specialized skills and expertise, the Groupwide project teams that allow for
discussions that exceed the boundaries of age or position, and chances for

Intra-Group Profession

engagement with stakeholders and secondment to start-up companies. By

Changes Made Possible throughmerging the capabilities of our employees through these opportunities, we

Shared Human Resource Systemtranslate the human capital represented by their expertise and knowledge

By experiencing various professions,

into organizational capital for the Group.

employees develop a propensity forinnovation that inspires them to enjoychanges and drives them to
Employees foster acapacity for empathy byengaging with customer
needs at MARUI CO., LTD.,and other positions.

autonomous action.

All employees first join
MARUI GROUP CO., LTD.

Unification

Innovation

Forward-looking mind-sets
are cultivated among employees through discussions of management
issues across age and­position lines in Groupwide
project teams.

Co-creation of new businesses based on the perspective of inclusion ispracticed with start-up
companies and otherpartners.

Exchanges

Empathy

Employees are invited toescape preconceptions
through intra-Group company profession changes.

All employees experience
work in stores after joining
to foster business processes founded on cocreation with customers.

Individual Strengths (Human Capital)
Development of our people

Individual expertise and knowledge can be personaland difficult to transmit.

Capacity for Empathy

Propensity for Innovation

Ability to comprehend the position of others and build sharedunderstanding to be more sympathetic to them

• Ambition to continue growing by setting goals and learning• Love of people and bringing joy to them
• Drive to understand the thoughts and pain of others• Desire to work for the benefit of others

70

Organizational Capabilities (Organizational Capital)
Entrenchment of expertise and knowledge of individual employees
into the organization through its business model andcorporate culture

Development of our company

Human resources witha capacity for empathy and apropensity for innovation enact
proposals that are not boundby preconceptions.

Unique Pure Holding Company System

The concentration of individual
strengths gives form to thecorporate philosophy calling on us
to “equate the development of ourpeople with the development ofour company” and makes bothsustainability and earnings growth
possible.

Drive to autonomous thought and action• Aspiration of tackling unprecedented challenges

Ability to find joy in changes and differences• Positivity required to detect changes in society and the environment and to change oneself in response• Receptiveness toward diverse perspectives and opinions

71

D

DIALOGUE 05

Ishikawa: In the past, society has stressed a single path to

Values Spreading Among Millennials

success, underscored by the idea that good lives come fromREIKO
KOJIMAYOSHIKIISHIKAWAHIROSHIAOI

Happiness Arising from Well-being Amid
the COVID-19 Pandemic
The idea that physical and mental health is intrinsically linked to happiness is at the heart ofthe concept of well-being. As we are pressed to reassess our values amid the global COVID-19 pandemic,
the concept of well-being is gathering attention. In July 2020, President Hiroshi Aoi and MARUI GROUP’s own
Dr. Reiko Kojima spoke with Yoshiki Ishikawa, a leading well-being researcher and an advisor at the Company,on the topic of how to achieve happiness in the new era.

72

Aoi: A lot of talk of stakeholder capitalism has been taking place

working at good companies and going to good schools. My

since 2019, representing the rise of a new sense of value thatgeneration grew up amid the last breaths of this view. People

prioritizes contributions to the interests of all stakeholders, ayounger than me, on the other hand, are more interested in

shift from the approach of solely focusing on shareholder inter-finding the lifestyle that they personally think is best. Hardly any

ests. During the process of examining the interests of stakehold-of them are obsessed with becoming rich at all costs. This isers, we couldn’t help but wonder just how many people areunderstandable considering you don’t need to be rich thesesatisfied purely by having their monetary interests accommo-

days to be happy. People can afford most things.

dated. Monetary interests are, of course, something we need to

Aoi: I think that people who have fully sated the desires foraddress. However, we are also expected to provide value thatphysical things that can be satisfied with money will find them-cannot be measured monetarily. This statement is backed byselves starved for things money can’t buy. This hunger arises

data showing that around 60% of millennials expect companies

from a sense of external pressure that restricts and prevents one

to place the resolution of social issues above the pursuit offrom feeling free. This pressure could be seen as associated withprofit. This belief, which is antithetical to the prior approach of

the desires of younger generations for things like diversity,

shareholder capitalism, has been spreading rapidly in recent

sustainability, and well-being.

years. This trend serves as the backdrop for the recent focus on

Ishikawa: Up until now, the idea of capitalism was seen as

well-being.

absolute. The children of today, however, probably do not agree.

Ishikawa: I have only been promoting well-being in Japan for just

We cannot help but wonder what the right way to live is. In theabout two years. At first, this idea was met with question marks,

past, people wanted expensive things. Today, they are seeking

but it has since spread rapidly. This is perhaps due to younger

something more pragmatic. One company I am looking at in thisgenerations coming into power. For example, the presence ofregard is HAIR O'RIGHT INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION.

millennials is increasing among shareholders and venture capital

Aoi: We have one of their stores in Yurakucho Marui.

firms. In fact, it is likely that millennials will become the main

Ishikawa: One tube of O’right toothpaste costs about ¥3,200.

proponent driving society by around 2025. Sustainability, diver-

People might initially be put off by the price, but they will soon

sity, and, yes, well-being are all values that millennials haverealize the value as this toothpaste is made from 100% recy-

grown up with.

clable materials and is good for their health in addition to the

Aoi: Ah, so the value that we had noticed, but previously beenenvironment. In fact, it is made entirely from food. Considering

unable to name, was well-being.

that, we could almost say that ¥3,200 was the right price for

Well-being could be seen as an indicator that hints at the possibility of
future social unrest. Well-being is therefore of utmost importance toensuring medium-to-long-term stability in management.
Yoshiki Ishikawa, PhD
Representative Director
Well-being for Planet Earth Foundation
AdvisorMARUI GROUP CO., LTD.
Born in Hiroshima in 1981, Yoshiki Ishikawa is a preventative medicine researcher with a Doctor of Medicine,which he received from Jichi Medical University after graduating first from the School of Integrated Health
Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tokyo and then from the Harvard School of Public
Health. He is now the representative director of the Well-being for Planet Earth Foundation and is engaged ininterdisciplinary research on what constitutes a good life together with companies and universities. He specializes in fields such as preventative medicine, behavioral science, computational creativity, and conceptual engineering and has written books on the subject of fulfilling lives.

73

D

DIALOGUE 05

toothpaste and that the stuff we have been using up until now
has been too cheap. I suspect that the people of the future will
be drawn to more sustainable and virtuous options.
Aoi: You touch on something incredibly important there. On thesubject of sustainability, the biggest topic of late has been
France’s Danone S.A., which rewrote its articles of incorporation
to define the company as an entreprise à mission (company witha mission). French corporate laws apparently are also changing
to require companies to do more than just generate profit.
Danone’s rewriting of its articles of incorporation was a responseto this regulatory change. It also looks like Danone has established a Mission Committee with a positioning similar to that of
the board of directors at a standard company. If the company
wants to do something that goes against the interests of shareholders, they have to get approval from the Mission Committee.

Importance of Well-being for Both Society
and Companies
Kojima: You mentioned younger generations coming into powera little bit ago, Mr. Ishikawa. One change I have noticed is that, inthe past two years, we have had three employees join who cited

We were also concerned that the restrictions
imposed in response to the COVID-19
pandemic would diminish employees’ passion
for work, but the result was the exact opposite.
Reiko Kojima
Executive Officer
Company Physician
General Manager, Wellbeing Promotion Department
MARUI GROUP CO., LTD.

Aoi: I definitely agree that the way people spend their time andtalk about the weekly well-being surveys conducted in themoney is changing. This is probably mostly due to the change inUnited Kingdom. Every week, the United Kingdom polls 2,000

how time is used, which is giving rise to new ways of using

randomly selected individuals on their levels of happiness andmoney.

satisfaction. The results of recent surveys have been incredibly

Ishikawa: Some people talk about how they allocate their money

interesting. Happiness and satisfaction have been falling for thebased on how they use their time.

past decade, but for some reason they jumped up following the

Aoi: Like how people who spend a lot of time at home also

lockdowns. I am sure that there are some people who are suffer-spend a lot of money on their home.

ing under these conditions, but, on the whole, the people are

Ishikawa: Exactly. It was suggested that, if you spend one-tenthhappier and more satisfied. The reason is still unclear, but I thinkof your time awake in transit, you should spend one-tenth of yourit might have something to do with the fact that capitalism has

money on transportation. This idea clicked with me. Whether

long brainwashed us into believing that money would buy ustime or money is well spent may depend on the values of themore free time. However, with their living spaces greatly restricted,

spender, but I think that this approach toward spending is in line

when it came to doing something, the people of the United

with the times.

Kingdom were forced to reevaluate what was truly important

Kojima: You mean they should spend their money on well-being.

to them.

Ishikawa: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed people’s values.

Kojima: We were also concerned that the restrictions imposed in

People are now focusing on how best to spend their money

response to the COVID-19 pandemic would diminish employees’in their more limited life spaces. In this regard, I would like topassion for work, but the result was the exact opposite. Scores
related to work engagement and stress have improved over lastyear in the stress checks that are taken by almost all employees.

their reason for joining as a desire to participate in the Wellbeing

Ishikawa: This is just a theory, but I think the restrictions have

Promotion Project Team.
Ishikawa: That is amazing. A little while ago there was a com-

Ishikawa: One way I can think of is cost reductions, as suchpany in which employees were forced to telework for a period.

efforts would have a large impact by lowering recruitment andWhen deciding the approach to be taken going forward, abranding costs. Moreover, chronically “low happiness” can cause

younger employee suggested, to the president no less, that they

political and social unrest after enough years. The fall of the

only go to the office if there was a reason warranting a visit. This

Soviet Union is one example of this, as is the United Kingdom’s

statement was founded on the belief that it should be thedecision to leave the European Union. For this reason, well-being

employee, not the company, that chooses the work style best for

could be seen as an indicator that hints at the possibility ofthem. This story made me realize that we are entering into an era

future social unrest. Such unrest does not result in decreased

where people have more power than companies.

happiness. It is the decreases in happiness that leads to thisKojima: The members of the 2020 Wellbeing Promotion Projectunrest. The same can be said of companies. If we look at indi-

Team helped plan an online school festival at a high school

vidual departments in a company, a department where well-located near our head office in place of the regular school festi-

being and happiness continue to decrease is incredibly likely to

val that they were unable to hold because of the COVID-19

have some issue down the line. Well-being is therefore of utmost

pandemic. Rooted in this project was the belief that happiness

importance to ensuring medium-to-long-term stability incomes from bringing joy to someone else, whether they be frommanagement.

within or outside of the Company. In other words, what these
employees craved was not some expensive car, for example; it
was to bring joy to as many people as possible. Regardless,

Changing Use of Time and Money Stemmingfrom the COVID-19 Pandemic

when I talk about MARUI GROUP’s wellness and well-being

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management practices at times such as when giving lectures at

Ishikawa: An important element of well-being is how people

other companies, I still have people ask me how these efforts

spend their time and money. When comparing different decades,

improve profits.

we will see a clear change in how money is used.

made it easier for people to focus on the moment. Up until now,
it was easy to be preoccupied with the future, always seeking
more. This “more is better” mentality may have been replacedwith “less is more.”
Aoi: If we look at that idea in a slightly more abstract way, it
could be seen as a form of harmony. The prior preoccupation
with more, after all, did not allow for harmony.
Ishikawa: Happiness is an incredibly abstract notion. However,I think it boils down to how much joy you can find in your daily
routine. For example, I used to hate washing dishes. My hands
got chapped and it was boring. Realizing this was a problem,
I put a portable speaker in the kitchen. When I first tried washingdishes while listening to music, I could not help but wonder why

This belief, which is antithetical to the priorapproach of shareholder capitalism, hasbeen spreading rapidly in recent years.
This trend serves as the backdrop for the
recent focus on well-being.
Hiroshi Aoi
President and Representative Director
Representative Executive Officer, CEOMARUI GROUP CO., LTD.

I did not think of listening to music in the kitchen much earlier.
Kojima: It is often said if you change your mind, your behavior
will change; if you change your behavior, your habits will change;
if you change your habits, your personality will change; and if
you change your personality, your life will change. The current
era might be the timing at which people decide to undertakesuch changes.

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