Creating New Work Environments
Combining Workplace Comfort and Resource Circulation to Envision the Future of Work
PLUS Group has adopted “Efforts and recommendations to create better work styles and more comfortable environments” as one of its material priorities. In line with this aspiration, the Furniture Company has developed the IGOCOCHI Making (creating comfort) concept, which is based around the creation of stress‑free office spaces that boost employee engagement. In this section, two of our marketing staff discuss the PLUS Group's vision for the ideal office.
Profiles
Yusuke Okamoto
Manager, Marketing Department, Marketing Division, Furniture Company
Yusuke Okamoto joined PLUS Corporation in 2007. He initially worked in the Product Development Department, where he was responsible for developing various types of products, including desks and storage solutions. He later moved into marketing and became involved in a broad range of related activities, from product planning to branding and promotion. Since 2023, he has also served as the head of the CREATORE Promotion Office, which is responsible for showroom management.
Toko Watarai
Marketing Department, Marketing Division, Furniture Company
Toko Watarai joined PLUS Corporation in 2022 after starting her career with a stationery manufacturer. She was placed in charge of the planning and promotion for the MOKURAL Project, which promotes the use of Japanese‑grown timber. In addition to the development of strategic narratives and concepts for new products, she is also responsible for the planning and execution of various promotional initiatives. Her other activities include the planning and direction of PLUS Group exhibits at the ORGATEC Tokyo furniture trade fair.
1. Recognizing the Challenge Combining physical elements and ideas to create new workstyles
We really began to think about this concept in earnest from around 2016. As office needs diversified, we started to focus not only on making and selling furniture, but also on workstyle design, as well as the proposal of new concepts and solutions.
At around the same time, the concept of IGOCOCHI Making emerged from our experience of renovating our own offices. The COVID‑19 pandemic led to some people to predict that corporate offices would become redundant. However, we avoided undue pessimism and instead continued to rethink new workstyles and the true purpose of the office in the post‑COVID future.
I joined PLUS at the height of the COVID‑19 pandemic. To be honest, I had my concerns about the future of the office industry at that time, but that's precisely why I saw the discovery of ways to bring people together and create connections as an interesting challenge.
What most attracted me to PLUS was its focus on design, including workstyles and human interactions. Since the concept of IGOCOCHI (comfort) was already widely used within the PLUS Group, IGOCOCHI Making (creating comfort) also seemed to fit. The informal and approachable vibe of the word when expressed in Japan's katakana script seemed to match the PLUS approach.
2. Trial and Error Post‑COVID changes in office‑related value systems
How did the office industry evolve in the wake of the COVID‑19 pandemic?
As people returned to physical office attendance, both workstyles and the types of comfort expected became more diverse. Office furniture has meanwhile evolved from uniformly positioned pieces of equipment to items designed to provide comfort for corporate organizations and individuals.
The IGOCOCHI Making concept has spread throughout the PLUS Group as part of this trend and is now the core driver of our commitment to offering solutions to address each customer's specific needs. This approach is encapsulated in the PLUS Group's brand message— “Furnishing Uniqueness, adding value to each individual's way of working.” As a company with roots in the distribution sector, PLUS has a culture that emphasizes the need to think carefully about what is optimal for the customer. I believe that this culture is also manifested in the IGOCOCHI Making concept.
We emphasize decision‑making based on our own real‑world experiences. We explore minor sources of disharmony and discomfort in everyday life and use them as inspiration for the discovery of solutions to our customers' concerns.
One of the discoveries to emerge from this process was the fact that the middle desk in a row of six tended to be left unused. By analyzing usage data and observing office environments, we identified why workers disliked the middle desk. We were then able to improve comfort and increase utilization rates through both hardware and software measures.
Our own experiences are the source of ideas that we continually share with customers. I see that process as the key to our ability to offer proposals based on the unique strengths of the PLUS Group. When we exhibit at trade shows, we always create booths in which visitors can see for themselves the factors that create a comfortable and stress‑free office environment.
3. Our Answer The PLUS Group approach to creating comfortable, stress‑free office environments
Can you give us examples of the IGOCOCHI Making concept?
We recognize that casual conversations play a vital role in the formation of human relationships in office environments. The 5 TSUBO CAFÉ concept envisions a communication space specifically designed to encourage spontaneous conversation. They employ digital signage to attract people to drop in and chat with coworkers.
Our Comfort Visualization System provides visual outputs of various factors, such as activity levels and CO2 concentrations, which can be used to improve office environments. Using this numerical data, we work alongside customers and offer solutions to enhance their office spaces.
My current activities include the MOKURAL project, through which we are rolling out office furniture products manufactured from timber grown in Japan. The aim of this project is to improve forest health and achieve carbon neutrality while also incorporating the IGOCOCHI Making concept. There are also indications that our customers are becoming increasingly focused on sustainability.
One of the ways in which we work to ensure sustainability is by recycling the materials used in our exhibition booths. We have been able to make effective use of resources through our own office furniture recycling method, the Material Reverse System (MRS). We have also shared the trial‑and‑error approach used to achieve this result by publishing a report.
The 5 TSUBO CAFÉ: This is a space for casual conversation, which can be created in an area measuring around 5 tsubo (approximately 16.5 square meters) inside an office. We can offer various enhancements, such as digital signage, to encourage communication.
The Comfort Visualization Solution: This system uses sensors to measure various factors, such as CO2 concentrations and noise, in order to analyze activity and comfort levels within an office. This information can be used to improve office environments.
4. Our Path Forward Optimizing comfort through practice and verification
What are your future plans and goals?
We aspire to be a manufacturer capable of offering unparalleled research capabilities and expertise, as well as unique perspectives, in relation to office comfort. Going forward, we will continue to use development processes backed by first‑hand experience and verification. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that creating an office with PLUS products will naturally result in a space characterized by meticulous attention to detail.
Offices are spaces that are constantly evolving in response to current trends, changing work styles, and the number of people working in them. We will continue to work alongside our customers to meet changing needs in relation to environmental comfort. In addition, we intend to expand proposal activities based on the MOKURAL concept. Research has shown that natural wood has a positive effect on comfort levels. We will continue to verify these benefits through our own research so that we can offer our customers products with genuine added value.
When did you first start to focus on the IGOCOCHI concept?