I still haven't gotten bored after 20 years, so I think I'm suited to the job of web director. Interview with Vice President Tomoko Nagai (Part 2)

Hello. This is Sugimoto from the Monosasu website office.
I live in Kyoto and work as a writer.

This time, I crossed the Seto Inland Sea to visit the satellite office in Suo-Oshima to meet Vice President Nagai-san. I was able to have a long-awaited interview!

In the first part , we talked about how Nagai started Monosus, and in this second part, we talked in detail about the circumstances of his move to Suo-Oshima, and his current view of Monosus and work. This is an interview that gradually reveals Nagai's coolness...!

When I moved, I was thinking about becoming a convenience store clerk.

- I heard a rumor that you were a glamorous Shiroganese when you were in Tokyo. Why did you move to Suo-Oshima?

Nagai : My parents' hometown is in the village where the office is located. This office was created by renovating my mother's family home. When I came to my father's memorial service with my husband, whom I married in 2015, he said, "Actually, I wanted to do farming." So we calculated how we could make a living by farming here.

I might have to quit my job. So, how should I earn cash until I can get by on farming while surviving on his retirement benefits? I could earn about 130,000 yen a month if I worked at a convenience store. My husband has various qualifications, so we calculated that "I could earn 250,000 yen a month if I worked as a forklift driver in the warehouse district of Yanai." "Combined, our household income would be 380,000 yen, so we could manage," and we decided to move.

The view from the top of a mountain on Suo-Oshima Island

- Huh? Why didn't you think about continuing your web work remotely?

Nagai: In 2015, the role of web director was to go to the client's place to hold meetings, and it was a job that could not be done remotely. In the end, I was able to move without quitting my job after consulting with my company, so before COVID-19, I was traveling to Tokyo at least once a week for regular meetings with the board of directors and clients.

- I see. Was the fact that there was a satellite office in Kamiyama also an influence in your decision to move to Suo-Oshima and work there?

Nagai :If I had never heard of Kamiyama, I might never have had the idea that "maybe we could do this in the countryside."

- The company came to a compromise by saying, "Rather than having him resign, we should set up a satellite office and have him commute back and forth to Tokyo."

Nagai: I feel like I was able to come to terms with that. After all, I really put a burden on Hayashi-san and Sakuyama-san, and because I didn't take over properly, I caused a lot of friction with the manager of the creative department (at the time) and everyone else. There are a lot of people who I've caused trouble and a burden to, so I'm sorry.

The satellite office in Suo-Oshima was renovated from Nagai's mother's family home. Here's what it looked like right after completion.

I want to think that helping and being helped is a normal thing

- Did saying "I'm sorry" change your feelings towards Monosas?

Nagai: I'm not trying to justify what I did, but I think it would be more meaningful for people to use the company to get closer to the work life they want to have. I want people to think, "I'm always burdened," but rather, "I'll do what I want to do, even if it means I'm a burden to everyone."

As someone who caused a lot of trouble, I want Monosus to be a company that creates an environment where members can do what they want and supports them in what they want to do. I want them to receive the benefits that only Monosus has, not just "a high-paying company" or "a glamorous job."

- Did you decide to move to Suo-Oshima because you had the feeling that Monosus was a company that supported what its members wanted to do? Or, did you feel that it was good that you came, even though it was a burden on everyone, and that made you want the company to be one where "members can do what they want to do"?

Nagai: It's neither. At that time, I had decided to come here on my own, and the truth is that I hadn't thought about it. Then, later on, I realized that I had put a burden on this person and that person, and I honestly felt like, "I'm sorry for doing it without thinking about it." As a result, I think I started to feel like I wanted to warmly support people who are trying to do what they want to do.

- When you started to think like that, did you feel grateful for all the warm support you received? Or was it because you felt sorry?

Nagai: Well, I'm grateful, but I wonder if it's a sign of gratitude. Hmm... Let me talk about why I don't want to say "gratitude" from a slightly different angle...

When I said "thank you" to an old lady in this village after she gave me a cucumber or something, she replied, "You don't need to say thank you, it's just watercress." Apparently, my grandmother had been very kind to this old lady when she was in elementary school, and she was being kind to me as a way of returning the favor.

So maybe I want to think that it's normal to help and be helped. When someone does something, I'll help them if I can, and I'd like them to come up with things they want to do without feeling bad about it.

At the Nagai family farm behind the office

For better or worse, there is no job that I want to do.

- I was surprised when you said that before you moved, you thought about working part-time at a convenience store for 850 yen an hour. I feel that you view web design and convenience store work equally.

Nagai : Ah, I think it's the same. If I were to work part-time at a convenience store, I would want to aim for the average customer spending to increase by about 200 yen only when Nagai is on shift. It's a POS (Point Of Sales) register, so that kind of data would come out.

Previously, I met a relocating person here who said that he liked life on Suo-Oshima but couldn't find a job he wanted. When I told him, "If you like living here, why don't you get a part-time job at a convenience store?", he didn't seem to agree and ended up going home, but in that sense I don't think I'm comparing jobs to one another. Of course, I can't do physically demanding work anymore, but the convenience store has air conditioning.

- I feel that Mr. Nagai values whether or not you can do something as "my job" rather than the type of job. So I don't think he ranks jobs as better or worse than others.

Nagai : That's right. For better or worse, I don't think there's anything I want to do. People often say things like, "Your calling is where your strengths, what you want to do, and what people want from you overlap." In my case, I don't really have anything I want to do, so I think I focus on my work as something that "makes the most of my abilities, that people want, and that makes money."

- As a web director, what aspects of your work make you think, "This is what will happen if I do this job"?

Nagai: I don't have a high level of web literacy, but I like the work of people who are very proud of their work and want to communicate what they want to say. After all, for me, it's all about manufacturing and the web. People say that the manufacturing industry is losing momentum, but I still feel that Japanese manufacturing is amazing. Also, I have a base of having observed the manufacturing industry for five years since I graduated, so I may be able to understand what people in the manufacturing industry want to say and what they want to communicate.

I guess I like being in a position where I can convey the thoughts of people in the manufacturing industry using my web knowledge and the skills of Monosus and our partners who we work with.

"The current state of Monosus" - Thoughts on the fifth year since moving

- Now that you're in your fifth year since moving to Suo-Oshima, has working on the island taken on a new meaning for you personally?

Nagai: Compared to when I was at the Yoyogi office, I'm spending less time as a vice president and more time back on the front lines. I think the fact that I haven't gotten bored of doing it for 20 years means that I'm suited to the job of web director, and I guess I just like it. It was good for my work that I realized that after coming here.

Also, I really think that the temperament of the people here suits me better than in Tokyo. People around here have the feeling that "you won't understand unless you say it out loud." They don't keep their feelings bottled up without saying anything, but they put it on the table first. They may nag you, but I think it's easier when both of you are open about what you're thinking. In Tokyo, many people are kind and considerate, but you have to be considerate as well. I guess I'm not very good at communicating in Tokyo.

- Although it has become easier to work remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic, there are fewer opportunities to go to Tokyo. Has that meant less interaction with team members?

The members who work on a single project are based in Yoyogi and Bangkok, Thailand. Despite the physical distance, we share the same goal.

Nagai: No, that's not the case. However, in a relationship between superior and subordinate, the only way to communicate was to go out for drinks, but working on a project together is a very deep and strong connection. Rather, I feel that I am communicating properly with more members than I did at one time. I think the number of people I'm involved with has increased in all directions.

- Has there been any change in your relationship with Monosus or your outlook on work?

Nagai: Without fear of being misunderstood, I've come to think that a company like Monosus can no longer have a large number of people gather in the same place, aiming for the same thing, and doing the same thing. Monosus has had a unit system since two years ago, but from now on, I think it would be good if each of us could think about what we are aiming for in smaller units. We are now in a transitional period, and we are at the stage where we are thinking about why we are still one organization called Monosus.

- By the way, Mr. Nagai, do you feel that Monosus is a company that you founded and that it is your company?

Nagai: I don't think there is any such feeling. I think I'm just doing it as "the person who happened to start a company." Isn't that the case for everyone? I think that my role as "the person in charge of being the vice president" is the same as, for example, Takita-san being "the person in charge of being the designer."

Apparently you can see a starry sky like this from the beach, which is just a one-minute walk from the office.

As I wrote this article, I was thinking a lot about living the life I choose and about the relationships I have with people that come with work.

The most memorable thing about talking to Nagai this time was the episode where he said, "If I were to quit Monosus and move to Suo-Oshima, I was thinking of working part-time at a convenience store." Moreover, Nagai said happily, "I want to do something like that, where the average customer spending goes up when I'm there." If it were me, I don't think I could imagine moving to a place where I can't work as a writer and doing a different job. Well, if I found a place where I really wanted to live, I might change my mind.

At the same time, Nagai-san also said about the job of web director, "I've been doing it for 20 years and I never get bored, so maybe it suits me," and "I just like it." I, too, have been a writer for about 14 years now (I don't remember exactly), and I feel like, "I never get bored, so it suits me." Rather than thinking about what I want to do and trying to decide, I sometimes think it's more natural to find your own job in this way, thinking, "Oh, maybe this is good."

I encourage all Monosus members to visit the Suo-Oshima satellite office. I hope you'll have a nice chat with Mr. Nagai. You can enjoy the quiet island life and heartfelt hospitality from Mr. Nagai and the other members of the Suo-Oshima community.