[New Jobs] "Go do side gigs at competitors!"... Japan's Experiment

Many Japanese Companies Focus on Training by Practice
Difficult to Develop Employees with Diverse Perspectives
Attempting Transformation Through Radical 'Mutual Side Jobs' Experiment

Editor's NoteWith super-aging and ultra-low birth rates, coupled with the advent of the artificial intelligence (AI) era, new changes are occurring in the world of jobs. We introduce the world of new jobs that open paths for new challenges in working life or a second act in life.

It is unimaginable for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to allow side jobs among their employees. Rather, they would fiercely protect their skilled engineers who possess advanced in-house technology and know-how.

Office workers in a busy district of Japan. [Image source=Pixabay]

However, recently, Japanese technology companies have attracted attention by unusually conducting experiments allowing 'side jobs' at competing companies. The jobs permitted for side work are in prime advanced industrial fields such as electrical electronics and semiconductors, which any company would want to keep secret.

Japan’s Leading Tech Companies Allow Mutual 'Part-Time Jobs'

Recently, the Japanese media outlet Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Sony Group and Hitachi Ltd. will allow some employees from both companies to engage in 'mutual side jobs' starting this year. The employees eligible for side jobs are engineers working in advanced industries and new technologies such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI). The side jobs involve employees from both companies temporarily switching workplaces for a set number of hours per week to work part-time.

Sony and Hitachi are representative technology companies of Japan. Sony was once a world leader in electronics, optics, and semiconductors and still holds significant influence in related industries. Hitachi is also a globally powerful corporate group in electrical, heavy industry, and semiconductor fields. In Korean terms, it is as if chaebol companies voluntarily started exchanging high-level personnel.

Determined Not to Make Their Employees 'Frogs in a Well'... Japan’s New Experiment

Japan's leading advanced technology company Sony.
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

So why did Sony and Hitachi make this decision? It is said to be a measure to quickly acquire technology that each company lacks. Sony has advanced technology but lacks employees with abundant engineering experience like Hitachi.

On the other hand, Hitachi tends to lag behind in research and development (R&D) know-how like Sony. In the current situation where new technologies such as AI are expected to shake the entire industrial landscape, this is a strategy to adapt more agilely to the environment.

Also, Japan’s unique talent training method is said to be a cause of this change. Japanese corporate groups have traditionally trained employees through training activities and on-the-job training (OJT).

Thanks to this, it is an environment suitable for cultivating engineers who become proficient by performing similar tasks over a long period, but it has been criticized for lacking talent with broad perspectives gained from experiencing various industries. Inter-company personnel exchanges are also a remedy for this weakness.

In fact, mutual side jobs among corporate groups are gradually becoming more active in Japan. Similarly, Kirin Holdings and Meiji Holdings, both world-renowned Japanese food conglomerates, have opened their doors to side jobs for each other. Japan Tobacco also decided to gradually propose mutual side jobs to employees starting from January.