By:
David Rincón, Managing Director Daabon
Japan
With a population of 126 million people, the number of deaths
caused by COVID-19 in Japan is marginal, standing at 6,000, in
contrast with
the 55,000 people that have died in Colombia, which has a population
of nearly
50 million.
However, Japan has not escaped the social, cultural or economic impacts of the pandemic, and its government has been criticized for its slow response, though the vast majority of individuals and corporations follow government guidelines with military discipline. Getting tested for COVID-19 in Tokyo can be complicated and expensive, perhaps being one of the reasons the recorded numbers are so low. However, human behavior has undoubtedly played a factor in reducing the spread. There is no hand shaking, no kissing, no hugging, no touching, no talking on the train, in elevators or indeed very little talking or raising of voices in any form. Silence and harmony are the norm in Japan. Even riding packed trains in the middle of rush hour can make you feel distant from others. Masks have been used in Japan for decades, before Covid-19, against the flu, hay fever and for many other reasons. Japan has social distancing in its DNA.
Prime
Minister Abe declared the first state of emergency back in April 2020
for some
prefectures where the virus was spreading at alarming rates. One of the
government recommendations was for companies to have their staff work
from
home, which was extremely unusual given that Japan is a society of
permanent
presence at the work place. In fact, back in the 1990s the term “face
work” was
common, referring to people who spent an unjustifiable number of hours
in the
office simply doing nothing.
On 7th
January 2021, Prime Minister Suga declared a second state of emergency,
which
was extended until 7th March 2021. This time the advice to the corporate
world
was to keep at least 70% of the work force at home, which was possible
for
large companies but quite challenging for small and medium sized
companies that
rely on day-to-day presential work to survive. In fact, many of these
large
Japanese conglomerates have implemented a “work from home” scheme since
April
2020.
Apart
from the damage caused to its economy, including the postponement and
eventual
cancellation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics & Paralympics, I foresee
that many
workers will simply not come back to their offices, factories or
facilities now
that they have had a dose of ‘freedom’ and detachment from the
workplace. I
also foresee that this will trigger other sensitive social problems and
worsen
unemployment. However, I believe this period will result in greater
efficiency
in the workplace, implementation of management by objectives, more
mobility,
more labor rotation, less unnecessary business trips, less night
drinking, less
karaoke and more united families, increased digitalization, a reduction
in the
use of paper and more efficient processes, as well as the abandonment of
many
obsolete practices.