STORIES2021/03/30
A workplace that makes a greedy person like me be satisfied
UT Connect
Masaki Agawa
PROFILE
Masaki joined Support System(now UT Connect) in her mid-40s. For about 10 years since then, she has been supporting field employees at a gas alarm manufacturer. She has a wide range of hobbies including mountain climbing, shopping, baking, handcrafts, and games. She is interested in various things and does not seem to have enough time for everything.
Introduction
Having experience as a dispatch worker in several workplaces, Masaki wanted to see industries she didn't know about, and wanted to brush up on what she had learned in the past. What has she seen and felt in the last decade or so since she joined UT Connect in her mid-40s?
Looking for a workplace that fulfills my two desires
After I kind of finished raising two children, I had worked as dispatched worker at places such as a medical facility and a bank. The impetus that led me to enter Support System(now UT Connect) was the move from Kobe to Amagasaki. I wanted to work in a manufacturing industry I had never been involved in. I also wanted to enhance the knowledge of information processing that I dabbled in in high school. I found a job offer from Support System(now UT Connect) that would meet such desires of mine and decided to register with it.
I was then assigned to a manufacturer of large-scale gas alarm devices for buildings and factories. My assignment was broad-based, from the management of shipment and inventory of finished products to general affairs including the attendance management of a manufacturing team of 20 members.
I felt a different atmosphere in this manufacturing industry than in the previous workplaces. We improve the quality of work by completing small tasks one by one. We keep the workers safety by repeating verbal guiding and checking every day: “I have to be strong and steady.” This is a workplace which makes me feel like straightened up.
Gas alarm devices we make have various specifications, unlike home-use general purpose devices. What products would be made from the parts that were in the warehouse and by what process? For a curious person like me, just to get to know that much up close was a fresh experience.
I go get work and support people in the work front.
Ten years have passed since I came to the current workplace. I have to work using a PC to create and input and output data. Whenever a new device or new software is introduced, I get so thrilled to take up the challenge to learn about it. I am also pleased that I can increase my knowledge of information processing. I am always so grateful to work here.
My essential assignment is to support 20 employees. Their work time starts 30 minutes earlier than mine, so every morning when I come to my desk, it is already full of work for the day. Initially I was overwhelmed with the work, but now I can organize it by priority, build my own work plan, and get a complete picture. I try to process the work with care and accuracy in mind. I always check the data and files that I have made. Until now, I did only what I was asked to do. Now I go get a job by moving one step ahead and asking people “would you like me to do this, too?”
This means, my work will increase more and more, but I feel that I am being needed. I don’t know how to describe it, but I get invigorated when the air in my workplace is not stale but always keeps flowing.
“Mom, don’t work too hard!”
My kids sometimes scold me, but I am not an eager beaver , just a greedy one. Being inspired by the seniors in the workplace, I want to learn more things both at work and in private life.
