In Kaizen, employees have a chance to think creatively about how their workplace can be improved. The traditional us and them thinking between management and workforce is broken down. Managers are encouraged to delegate as much responsibility as possible to employees for planning and control of their own work area. The role of managers becomes one of support and motivation. Employees get a chance to put their own ideas into practice instead of just doing their normal job.
Teamwork also contributes to a good working environment and boosts morale.
Communication between workforce and management becomes more frequent and effective, fostering better co-operation. Employees get the chance to develop new skills. Managers who work in a Kaizen way value the development of a good working environment. They see that better performance comes from a culture where everyone is working for a common goal. A growing number of European plants have discussion corners where teams can discuss how to use Kaizen to tackle their current production problems.