Announcing the results of the "What does it mean to work?" submission contest held by Panasonic and note!

For about a month starting December 14, 2020, we held the "What does it mean to work?" submission contest where people shared their own thoughts on "working." During the period (12/14-1/22), we received 13,662 entries! Thank you for submitting such wonderful works that captured the essence of "working" from various perspectives.

For a list of entries on note, please see here.

At the judging session, the winners were decided as follows based on the selection by the three judges, Hirayama-san・Ryokachi-san・Saku-chan-san, and the Panasonic note team.

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Grand Prix

■Even if I go off-manual, I want to work to improve someone's life

"To 'work' is to be involved in someone else's life. There are human beings on the other side of the work we do. Human beings who receive the fruits of our labor." This work by Yomu Honda, which chronicles an episode from when she worked at a call center, was chosen as the Grand Prix winner. It received high praise: "It's a theme that resonates with many people, and the message is clear (Ryokachi-san)," "Although it's a small scene, it captures the universal meaning of working," "The inevitable reason for intentionally not following the manual is depicted properly (Hirayama-san)," and "I deeply felt that even small jobs can enrich someone's life (Panasonic note team)." The customer's words in the story, "I can die in peace now," were also very impressive, and the fact that the work leaves the reader with a positive feeling was also a key factor in its selection.

Judge's Special Award (Saku-chan-san)

■The story of how I became a strategic part-time housewife

Darako-san says that until now, she couldn't keep a job for long, and even when her abilities were recognized and she was offered a full-time position, she would ask to be demoted. What were the points that led her to decide that the way of working as a part-time housewife, which she named the "Yo Oizumi Method," was right for her? This is a work that expresses her own thoughts in an easy-to-understand, relaxed way about "working," a topic that tends to be viewed only in terms of growth and career.

I chose this submission because it teaches us that there are various purposes for "working" other than growth and career. In addition to the theme and message being clear, I found the content about choosing a way of working that is comfortable and pleasant for oneself to be very wonderful. It shows an attitude of honestly searching for an original way of working that is unique to each individual, and I felt that this is what freedom is all about. (Saku-chan-san)

Judge's Special Award (Ryokachi-san)

■"Working" is a lifelong asset

The new hobby my father found after retirement is "selfies." And in them, his experience working as a director for a documentary program was fully utilized. The depiction from the warm perspective of his son, Takuya Watanabe, who says he started talking to his father more often after his retirement, is impressive.

I thought it was wonderful that what you gain from "working" is depicted as a life asset that allows you to "spend your time happily even after retirement." The description of his father's wonderful qualities was also overflowing with love and respect, and I read it with a smile on my face. This was a work that made me think that being able to see the activities created by "working" from various perspectives is the true wonder of the note contest. (Ryokachi-san)

Judge's Special Award (Hirayama-san)

■What remains after the bitterness

Kae-san was transferred to a factory in Hokkaido at the age of 27. She looks back on the episode where she lost her balance due to the changes in her new environment and her efforts to fit in, calling it her "greatest setback." Along with a realistic depiction of the hardships of work, it is a work with a refreshing aftertaste.

This was a work that carefully spelled out the nuances of the answer to "What does it mean to work?" that might have slipped away if I had tried to put them into clear words. "Working" is not just about glorious things; it also includes bitterness, and that bitterness can become a deep, flavorful memory. I chose Kae-san's work for the Judge's Special Award because she expressed such important things in such an important way. (Hirayama-san)

Corporate Award

■The day I ran away from an interview

Senri Ideta wrote with a frank, personal touch about her state of mind when she was struggling with a job hunt that wasn't going well, and the conflicts and growth she experienced at the job she eventually landed. It is a work that allows you to feel hope for the future, as it depicts how even "running away" has become a source of strength for her today.

The word "running away" might have a negative impression at first glance. On the other hand, the job hunting process that makes one want to run away might be imposing a sense of rigidity on society, such as "you must do this" or "you should be like this." As a social norm, interviews are something you "should not run away from," but in reality, many people may have felt a "moment they wanted to run away." In the first place, according to social norms, expressing such feelings might even be considered wrong. Including various hesitations and conflicts, this work conveyed the creator's feelings straight to the reader, and at the same time, it was a work that made me think as a corporate employee. While being candid about the complexes behind it, the author affirms their actions, affirms their choices, and maintains an attitude of moving forward. We empathized with that stance and decided to award it a corporate prize. (Panasonic note representative)

■Making me think, "Work was love"

miyo.a, who felt she "wanted to make what she loves her job," shared an episode about how, through a chance encounter, she came to feel that she "wants to work for this person." Her writing, which is full of passion and yet careful and easy to read, is impressive.

This was a work that expressed personal experience in a fast-paced, engaging style. While empathizing with the emotional ups and downs, there were "realizations" that could be applied to work as well, making it a dense piece. It is one answer to "What does it mean to work?" gained from meeting a wonderful person. Depending on how you look at it, working can be difficult or something that shouldn't be emotional. Perhaps there are such aspects, but in this work itself, which conveys that the answer was "love," I felt love for "working." We empathized with the consistency with this theme and the positive, warm approach to the question "What does it mean to work?" and decided to award it a corporate prize. (Panasonic note representative)

Award Winners

General comments from each judge

■ Hirayama-san
Honestly, writing the sample piece was quite difficult. This is because my own life of "working" included not only good and fun things, but also many bad and painful things. And it was the same for all of your more than 13,000 submissions. There were many works that re-examined life as a whole, including the good and the bad, from the broad perspective of "working," and I felt the potential for this contest to be a catalyst for positive change for many people. Personally, I am very glad I was able to participate.

■ Ryokachi-san
This is my second time as a judge for a note contest, following "Cheers to that Summer," but I was surprised that the content of the entries was completely different depending on the theme. It was impressive to see everyone struggling and searching for the answer to "What is working?" And because there is no answer, I thought this contest, where you can encounter the serious writing of so many different people, is very valuable. Thank you for letting me encounter your various thoughts.

■ Saku-chan-san
I felt that many people wrote very vividly. It was also impressive that there were many entries saying that although working is often difficult, they were glad they did it anyway. There are many ways to work other than joining a company and being an employee; you can not only grow but also expand and contract freely, and you can decide for yourself as you like. I hope that this contest will be an opportunity for even one more person to think that way.

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The submission period has ended, but I hope this will be an opportunity for you to think about your own "working."

Please take a look at other submitted works via the URL below.

Looking back on the contest

Below are comments from the Panasonic note representative.

When student life ends, we spend a lot of our time in life "working." That is precisely why I thought that by thinking about "What does it mean to work?" together, it might provide hints to update our own "working." That is how we started the contest. It was our first attempt, so we started with some nervousness, but when we opened the lid, we received a truly large number of submissions. Thank you very much! I am full of gratitude for being able to encounter truly wonderful works, such as those that draw you into the story, those full of empathy, and those that give you insights that make you say "I see." I hope that the question "What does it mean to work?" will lead to hope for the future.