NYK has recently held a “family day” at its headquarters in Tokyo which saw employees bring their children to the office.
This is the latest initiative is the Japanese shipowner’s OLIVE workstyle reform initiative which was launched in July 2015.
OLIVE stands for Outdate Long-standing work practice and Increase Vitality of Employees and is part of a wider effort by Japan to change long-held outdated working practices.
The family day saw children of NYK employees engage in activities at the head office and then “escort their parents’ home promptly at 5 pm”.
This was the third consecutive year that the event was held and NYK said it allows each child to gain a better understanding of their parent’s workplace.
“Furthermore, the visit encouraged parents to shorten their work hours and spend more time in communication with loved ones,” it said.
After receiving a presentation on NYK’s activities and seafarers’ onboard duties, the children participated in two classes — one involved navigation skills while checking the meanings of symbols for possible obstructions, while another saw the children gain a better understanding of the structure of a containership.
During the final event of the day, the children participated in that most traditional of Japanese business etiquette – exchanging business cards.
NYK director and senior managing corporate officer Yoshiyuki Yoshida and managing corporate officer Tomoyuki Koyama were on hand to offer their expertise.
“Many children said that they enjoyed taking part in the event, and one employee commented, ‘After getting home, we talked about my job, so the day helped to foster communication’,” NYK said.
NYK said it will continue to make efforts to strengthen its human resources by "recognizing the importance" of work-life integration.
It also said it aims to review workstyles to make efficient use of time, as it "strives to help employees find a suitable balance between work and personal life".
