Is There Any Point in Dentsu Inc. Doing That? (Part 2)

Hello, everyone. I'm Okumura Masahiro, Break Time Designer at Office Project. Continuing from last time, I'll keep talking about why Dentsu Inc. even bothers with something like Office Project.

Last time, I wrote about "creating motivation for health programs within the office" and "accumulating insights within the office enables the creation of even more new value."

This time, I'll add to that by discussing the significance of Dentsu Inc.'s involvement with Office Project.

Even world-ranked athletes face endless challenges in minor sports

What's indispensable to Officepo isn't major sports like baseball, soccer, or basketball, but minor sports. For example, the photo above shows Misuzu Okamoto, who holds the world's third-best all-time record in free diving. Also, Tsuyoshi Seo, whom I introduced earlier in this series, is the world champion in sport stacking.

Are you familiar with these superstars? I myself only came into contact with these athletes after starting my activities with Officepo.

According to Mr. Iwata of Sports Gain, who manages these athletes, even world-ranked competitors who could be Olympic candidates often rely on part-time jobs to make ends meet.

He mentioned that many sports struggle to attract sponsors, and it's not uncommon for athletes to reach the world stage through sheer personal effort.

Must minor sports remain minor sports?

Regardless of the sport, athletes undoubtedly prioritize winning their next match above all else and train relentlessly for that goal.

And based on my own sports experience, I believe that is the most correct path.

If that's the case, I believe the key to getting more people to know about minor sports lies not only in the athletes' own achievements but also in building a larger community of people who support and promote them.

And that means more than just seeing them featured in some news report. It's about witnessing their play up close, somewhere relatively close to where you live. I believe that's what creates the strongest fan loyalty.

Take Kikusaiseizu, for example, who helped out at our office. Women's Muay Thai might still be considered a minor sport in the public eye. But those who actually met world champion Miyauchi and received instruction from her at the office definitely became deeply invested in the outcome of her next match and strongly wished for her victory.

It might seem small. But it can change people's hearts. A new way to support athletes.

Yes, that is another significance of Office Pro. Precisely because Dentsu Inc. is involved in sports business, we can offer even modest support to athletes who compete on the world stage and represent Japan, even if their sport isn't yet mainstream.

Introducing world-class athletes' know-how and methods into office break-time workouts.

This not only relieves office stress and achieves relaxation and refreshment for mind, body, and spirit, but also fosters engagement between participating employees and the athletes, amplifying the passion for support.

It may be a very small initiative.
But taking even one step forward is better than doing nothing. It helps increase the number of people who develop an interest in the sport, even if just a little. Seeing that happen right before my eyes makes it impossible to stop.

We received valuable comments from Okamoto, the freediver introduced earlier.

"Free diving is about taking a single breath of oxygen and using that precious air to dive deep into the ocean. At -92m, the third-deepest female dive ever recorded, the round trip takes about 3 minutes. In the realm of pure breath-hold diving, that means exceeding 6 minutes.

Nature provides infinite oxygen (air), and daily breathing happens so naturally we take it for granted. Yet, each and every breath is the very foundation of human life. It's not widely known that with just a little effort and adjustment, this practice positively impacts not only the body but also the mind (spirit).

While freediving is practiced in oceans and pools, imagine the incredible value if freedivers—true masters of breathing—could contribute within corporate offices.

It could also be an opportunity to introduce people to this minor sport, which currently has only about 200 participants in Japan. If the breathing techniques learned through the sport can contribute to everyone's work, I believe it could open a new path for freediving."

Simply put, we're aiming for the development of second careers for athletes. While we've discussed minor sports so far, I don't think that's all it is. For example, if we could get baseball players or soccer players involved, I think that would be absolutely fantastic.

Could a screensaver inspire behavioral change?

This kind of occasional office program with athletes isn't something we can run very often.

And OfficeP itself is also a challenge: how can we consistently incorporate exercise breaks into office work?

In other words, the major challenges are creating Officepo as an extension of daily routines and motivating as many people as possible to think, "Oh, maybe I'll give it a try." That's where we focused on the screensaver.

Office screensavers are primarily a security feature to block others from seeing your information when you step away. However, the reality is that company policies often restrict users from setting their preferred photos as screensavers.

But think about it: the screen saver is something you inevitably encounter when you return to your desk and sit down after stepping away. That means there's always that moment when you sit down and take a deep breath.

So, why not turn that into a mini-break?
That's what I thought.

A one-minute exercise you can do at your desk, displayed on the screensaver. If we could present that, wouldn't some people think, "Maybe I could try a little relaxing exercise"?

That's how Office Screen Saver was born. With guidance from various top-tier trainers, we created one-minute exercises you can do right at your desk.

 

We're currently preparing content with the following individuals:

・Mori Minori (NIKE NRC COACH / Personal Trainer) - Desk Stretches
・Chair Zazen by Mr. Kosei Nishikawa (Terakoya Buddha Zazen Instructor)
・Desktop Yoga by Noriko Sagara (sagara yoga)
・Desktop Yoga by Priya Ayako Taki (Certified JIVAMUKTI YOGA Instructor)

We plan to expand our content further by collaborating with many more athletes and instructors.

Transforming the Office Through Movement

Over these two installments, we've discussed why Dentsu Inc. is promoting Office-Po. This project itself is still in its early stages. Moving forward, we aim to build it into a significant movement with the support of many people.

We expect to see a growing number of concrete activities under the umbrella of "health management" that companies provide for their employees. We want to develop various programs so that " Office-po," which transforms the office through exercise, becomes one of the chosen solutions.