Increased use of IT changing workplaces and jobs

According to reports on a survey conducted by Rengo-RIALS (Research Institute for Advancement of Living Standards), entitled "The influence of IT on work and workplaces," the more advanced a company is in terms of IT introduction, the more eager it is to reform its personnel system, such as by introducing merit-based systems and an annual salary structure based on performance. The report also revealed that these companies tended to be more aggressive in redesigning their business structures, such as by implementing mergers with other companies or integration with other companies' business departments, or spinning off parts of the company and/or closing unprofitable divisions.

The survey targeted about 2,025 white-collar workers (Rengo members) as well as managers of 2,000 corporations randomly selected from private-sector corporate databases, and was conducted in May 2002 in a questionnaire format. Responses were sent in from 1,543 people (effective response rate: 38.3%).

The survey investigated to what extent PCs have been adopted in the workplace and found that on average one employee now uses one networked PC.

Concerning the influence IT has on work, it was found that the more IT-advanced a company was, the greater the scope of work (area of duties) that its managerial staff (such as section chiefs and department directors) in particular had to cover. As a result, these people were required to do a greater volume of work and at greater speed.

As for the quality of work, many respondents cited an increase in work requiring creativity and ingenuity, as well as work that individual employees had to decide or to make business judgments by themselves.

At an interview with a certain automobile manufacturing company, one employee stressed the importance of the role played by the middle management, whose jobs were widely believed to be no longer needed with enhanced IT. He explained that, although the adoption of enhanced information technology causes changes in terms of volume, it has not induced any changes quality-wise, making it necessary to train and foster people who could make efficient use of information.