In this paper, we examined the effects of perceptions of high-performance work systems on affective and continuance commitment. In addition, we considered the concept of consistent HRM messages to examine their direct effects on organizational commitment and the interaction effects between perceptions of high-performance work systems and perceived consistent HRM messages. The analysis results confirmed that perceptions of high-performance work systems had a significant positive impact on both affective and continuance commitment and that perceived consistent HRM messages had a significant positive impact on affective commitment. On the other hand, the results showed that perceived consistent HRM messages had no significant effect on continuance commitment. Furthermore, when perceived consistent HRM messages were high, the effects of perceptions of high-performance work systems on affective and continuance commitment were not confirmed. However, contrary to the hypothesis, when perceived consistent HRM messages were low, perceptions of high-performance work systems increased continuance commitment.

In this study, we used the “promotion ratio” as a relative indicator of equality in the promotion of men and women to management positions, and conducted an analysis focusing on the actions of companies related to the promotion of womenʼs activities.

For the analysis, we used our own data matching the action plan for promotion of Womenʼs Activities and the panel data for 2016, 2019, and 2021 company data from the Database of Companies that Promote Womenʼs Advancement (MHLW). The companies included in the data used in the analysis (n=164) were typified by hierarchical cluster analysis based on promotion ratio in 2016, and the characteristics of each cluster group were identified.

As a result, four groups were selected, and in each group, the promotion ratio increased over time. On the other hand, the cohesiveness of the groups as of 2016 has not been maintained, and even within the same group, the internal and external environments may have different impacts on the firm concerned.

An analysis of the relationship with corporate actions related to the promotion of womenʼs activities confirmed that many companies in the group considered to be promoting women to managerial positions are promoting early career development and expanding the range of duties and positions.

On the other hand, we also recognized a group in which women are being promoted to section chiefs but not to managerial positions. A follow-up survey is needed to determine if there are problems in promoting management positions or if they are in a transitional period in which they are forming a pool of candidates for management positions.

It also needs to be assessed separately whether the approach and speed at which women are promoted to managerial positions is bringing about the desired state of affairs for the women themselves and for the company.

This research aims to clarify the factors that contribute to the positive evaluation and utilization of WLB policies by employees without causing hesitation or difficulty in using such policies, based on the facts that despite active implementations of WLB support policies by many companies, the actual utilization is often not so promoted or even not a few employees feel hesitated to use them.

This paper intends to clarify what prevents or discourages employees from using WLB policies by analyzing previous research that focus on that point. To clarify this, the authors focus on bias and inequity in organizational management as a factor that hesitates or inhibits the use of WLB policies. This paper also aims to elucidate the effect of perceived fairness in various procedures and distributions in organizations, so called “Organizational Justice” on the ease of use and evaluation of WLB policies by employees. The statistical analysis was conducted based on a survey data (94 samples for companies and 1,010 samples for individuals). The analysis revealed that the implementation of WLB support policies itself does not always lead to employeesʼ positive evaluation of the WLB policies or ease of use, but the more employees have a perception of organizational justice, the higher the evaluation of such companiesʼ WLB policies. As a theoretical contribution derived from the analysis and discussion in this paper, it was shown that organizational justice, which has not been considered in connection with WLB in most of previous research, is considered as an important concept for the effective functioning of WLB policies in relation with organizational management.

In recent years, employeesʼ side jobs have been attracting attention. According to the Japanese Panel Study of Employment Dynamics 2021 (Recruit Works Institute), 12.1% of employees have side jobs, and 34.2% of employees said they would like to have side jobs in the future. In addition, according to the 2nd quantitative survey on the side jobs (Persol Research and Consulting Co., Ltd., 2021), 23.7% of companies fully approve of side jobs and 31.3% approve of them with conditions, with the total approval rate exceeding 50%. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) established the “Guidelines for promoting side jobs/part-time jobs” in 2018 (revised in 2022), which recognizes the significance of side jobs/part-time jobs as an effective means of open innovation and entrepreneurship for society as a whole, as well as contributing to regional development from the perspective of utilizing human resources in urban areas. In this paper, I attempt to examine the impact of side jobs and hybrid entrepreneurship. As a result of examining the impact of side jobs on entrepreneurship using the Japanese Panel Study of Employment Dynamics from 2017 to 2021 (Recruit Works Institute), it demonstrated that hybrid entrepreneurs encourage to transfer to fulltime entrepreneurs. However, side jobs other than self-employment had no statistical effect on the encouragement of entrepreneurship.