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Panel on the Declining Birthrate and Gender Equality” (October 2004–February 2007),
established under the auspices of the Cabinet Council for Gender Equality, showed the
importance of re-evaluating the way people work and supporting work-home balance as a
measure for countering the declining birthrate and furthering gender equality. Based on these
results, the “Expert Panel on Harmony between Work and Life (Work-Life Balance)” was
newly established in February 2007 and has been examining the meaning and importance of
work-life balance as well as the direction of efforts in this area. In December of the same
year, the “Work-Life Balance Charter” and “Action Guidelines for Promoting Work-Life
Balance” were formulated by the Cabinet Office as important policy measures for enhancing
work-life balance.
The Work-Life Balance Commission (June 2007–July 2008) conducted jointly by the
Kansai Employers’ Association and Japanese Trade Union Confederation Osaka, and in
which the author was involved, also carried out hearings of four Osaka-based companies—
Company A (manufacturer), Company B (manufacturer), Company C (manufacturer), and
Company D (information and telecommunications)—that have been proactively promoting
work-life balance. This paper summarizes case examples of the work-life balance efforts by
the four companies, based on the hearing surveys, and considers methods for realizing a
“Japanese work-life balanced society” as well as future directions and issues for such efforts.
First, Section 2 summarizes the results and main points from the hearings with the four
Osaka-based companies into four categories: (1) Definition and interpretation of the concept
of work-life; (2) Motivation for and processes leading to efforts to enhance work-life
balance; (3) Concrete efforts to promote work-life balance; and (4) Outcome of efforts.
Based on the results presented in Section 2, Sections 3 and 4 examine concrete measures for
realizing a “Japanese work-life balanced society” as well as the direction of the development
of individuals, businesses, and society in Japan.
2. Case Examples of Efforts to Promote Work-Life Balance and
Characteristics of these Efforts
This section presents the following four points summarizing the information obtained
from the hearing surveys with four Osaka-based companies:
(1) Each company’s definition and interpretation of the concept of work-life: For example,
are work-life balance efforts targeted at all employees, or do they focus on women?
How is the relationship between efforts to enhance work-life balance and improvements
in performance (earnings) viewed?