COVID-19: Default to Action

Covid - 19 - Back To Work by BCCJ

The dislocation and disruption caused by COVID is immense. For many businesses, the first priority is survival, and that is challenge enough. But an eye on the longer term is also necessary - when will recovery come, what will it look like, and how will the business world have changed? While it is still early in the process, the BCCJ Responsible Business leaders will discuss how COVID is changing the conversation around major business issues - what are customers, governments and public sector, employees, shareholders, suppliers and the entire business ecosystem demanding of businesses and how should business respond? What about existing issues of Responsible Business - climate, sustainability and people?

What will the impact of COVID-19 be on the Japanese and global economy? In partial or complete lockdown in many countries, things look bleak. We cannot predict when recovery will come, or what shape it will take; in the meantime, equity, bond, currency and commodity markets are nervous places, to say nothing of global boardrooms, central banks and finance ministries. Our event on April 20 will help us think about what may happen and what things may look like. Looking at Japan and the wider world, and with the caveat that COVID-19 is the biggest economic and market disrupter in 75 years, we invite you to join us to think about how things may develop.

Leadership and executive coach Jennifer Shinkai has shared tips on coping with the COVID-19 crisis—both personally and professionally—in the second webinar hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ). In a lively Q&A format chaired by Graham Davis, BCCJ senior adviser, the expert on change management and communications discussed the need for individuals and organisations to adopt flexibility, resilience and action in the face of the current global pandemic.

Jeremy Sampson, managing director of Robert Walters Japan; Jonathan Spraggs, vice president and intercontinental head of tech at GlaxoSmithKline KK (GSK)and Heather McLeish, director at EY Japan share their respective organisation’s approach to communication, staff welfare, productivity and security.