As Japanese society grays at an unprecedented pace, the issue of securing a future workforce has become a major worry for companies. During the year beginning in April, when the public nursing care insurance system takes effect, some estimates say roughly 2.7 million people age 65 and over -- one in every eight senior citizens -- will require nursing care. That figure is expected to balloon to 3.9 million by 2010, and the introduction of more flexible working systems is becoming increasingly vital for firms to be able to secure a high-quality workforce and maintain vitality as a corporate entity, observers say. IBM Japan Ltd.'s recent announcement of a new system that would allow employees to work from home full-time for up to 12 years appears to be one solution to the situation. Beginning in April, the Japanese subsidiary of IBM Corp. will introduce a system in which employees would not need to come into the office thanks to the development of information technology. Thus, in theory, workers will be able to work from home to help care for elderly family members, or until their children finish elementary school. IBM Japan is not alone in creating such flexible systems. Since 1998, Hitachi Ltd. has operated a system under which career-track employees ranked immediately below the managerial level secure more flexibility in their working hours and are not obliged to report to the office. This framework will be expanded this April to all career-track workers if they want to use the time to raise children or care for elderly family members. While Hitachi's system only allows its employees to make use of this system until a child reaches school age, there is no limit for those nursing elderly family members. IBM Japan's idea of allowing employees to work from home was born from its Woman's Council, an intracompany group that was looking into ways in which the potential of female workers could be better tapped. In June, IBM Japan first introduced its home office system so employees could rear children younger than school age and nurse elderly family members. But because some at the company questioned whether employees would actually work, those using the system were ordered to come to the office at some point each day. Nineteen employees -- four men and 15 women -- made use of the system to take care of their children while three others -- two men and a woman -- nursed family members. However, these employees pointed to shortcomings in the existing system, and it was decided that it would be revised so that employees could work from anywhere they wanted as long as they got the job done. The IBM system, which guarantees full pay and other conditions, is different from child-rearing leave, which is granted without pay. Because there would be no loss of income, some observers say many employees might chose to use the new system immediately after they have a child. IBM Japan Chairman Kakutaro Kitashiro spearheaded moves to introduce the home office. While IBM operates in 164 countries and basically does not discriminate based on nationality, gender or age, women make up for only 14 percent of its workforce in Japan -- the lowest figure of all IBM subsidiaries in Asia. Kitashiro said he had long harbored the feeling that a variety of ideas would not be spawned from meetings where only one or two out of every 10 people attending were women. Under existing legislation, employers are obliged to grant workers shortened or flexible working hours if they have children younger than 1 year old. But this is not obligatory for older children. Officials at the Japan Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) welcome the moves by the two firms, saying it will help create an environment where working women will not have to put their careers on hold. But while many experts laud such actions as landmark, they also note that caring for elderly people -- especially if they are senile -- can be a 24-hour task, and it may be impossible under such circumstances for people to simultaneously be productive workers. Such experts say authorities and companies should first place priority on allowing nursing care leave and shortening working hours. Fukiko Akiba, an instructor at Japan Women's University and a freelance writer on women's labor issues, predicts that a new lifestyle accommodating both work and other matters, such as child-rearing and hobbies, is possible through such innovative moves by corporations. "If working hours are flexible, people will be able to make time for work. However, assessment of work will becoming increasingly result-oriented," she observed. "It will become harder to be a productive worker unless people can manage their lives as a professional."
