Allowing employees and teams to freely choose when and how often (and even if) they work in the office
On July 1, 2020, Mercari, Inc. and Merpay, Inc. began a trial* of “Mercari’s New Normal Work Style”, a new work style aiming to quickly adapt to the changing times impacted by the spread of COVID-19, maximize productivity, and lead to growth. During the trial period, the Mercari Group will not ask employees to adhere to a uniform work style, but instead test a new work style to match the diversity of its organization and employees. This includes allowing employees and teams to freely choose when and how often they work in the office, including the option to work entirely remotely.
*Trial period: 7/1/2020–9/30/2020 (may be changed or extended)
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads throughout the world, Mercari and Merpay have already taken actions such as recommending employees to work from home and moving all internal and external meetings online starting February 19 in order to prioritize the safety of employees and to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.*
*Mercari’s Response to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) （Japanese)
https://about.mercari.com/press/news/article/20200218_coronavirus/
*A Message from Mercari’s Group CEO
https://about.mercari.com/en/press/news/articles/20200408_message_from_ceo/
Following the lifting of the state of emergency declaration on May 25, as society is called upon to adopt new lifestyle habits and maintain the balance between economic activity and preventing the spread of infection, Mercari and Merpay have recognized the need to establish a new work style to adapt to this age of “new normal”, and decided to launch this trial. An internal survey carried out during the work from home period showed that working remotely from home has had positive effects, such as short-term increases in productivity at both the team level and the individual level, but the long-term impact on productivity is not yet known. Furthermore, the effects of COVID-19 are still unknown, and consideration needs to be given to individuals such as those with underlying medical conditions.
Therefore, while complying with the instructions and requests of the national government and local governments in areas where its offices are located, the Mercari Group has decided to reopen its offices starting July 1. However, during this period, the Mercari Group will allow employees to freely choose when and how often they work in the office, including the option to work entirely remotely, and find the best work style for each team and division to maximize both individual and organizational productivity.
During the trial period, the Mercari Group will explore the effects of this trial on company culture, individual evaluation (including skill improvement), team achievements, and more while following the “Mercari’s New Normal Work Style Trial Guidelines” below, and aim to establish a new work style.
*Details: Mercari’s New Normal Work Style Trial Guidelines
Additionally, Merpay has started “Merpay Work Lab”*, a project to explore new work styles, and will launch pilot programs to investigate various work styles with the goal of being able to work at any time, from any location.
Going forward, the Mercari Group will continue to promote initiatives for new work styles, and actively share the knowledge and experience gained from these trials with the world.