Kimitoshi Sano (Meisei University Graduate School of Humanities, Department of Psychology, 2nd year master's course) is researching a psychotherapy called ACT to help treat obsessive-compulsive disorder. I participated in the Career Discovery Forum (sponsored by Leave a Nest)* held in June 2020 and visited the booth of Aoxin Tech Co., Ltd., a manufacturing company in Tochigi Prefecture. After the event, I saw the work of the company president with my own eyes as an internship student. A psychology major goes to a manufacturing company. What did you discover by jumping into a company with a seemingly different specialty?

工場のヒューマンエラーを防げるか？

「カウンセリング以外で活用の場が少ない」。佐野さんは、自らが学んだ心理学を社会で役立てる方法を模索していた。そんな中、工場などのヒューマンエラーを心理学の知見で解決できるのではというアイデアを思いつき、キャリアディスカバリーフォーラムにて、株式会社アオキシンテックのブースを訪れた。すると、佐野さんのアイデアをきっかけに、社長の青木圭太さんと話が盛り上がった。後日工場見学に参加する約束を取り付け、実際に訪問した。現場の人に工場のことや実際に働いている状況などを教えてもらい、ヒューマンエラーが起きやすい状況を理解し、考えを深めるきっかけとなった。

ビジネスをするのは機械でなく、人間だから

What excited Ms. Sano more than the factory tour this time was seeing the president's work up close as an intern. I accompanied Aoki on three occasions when he visited people outside the company. What impressed me the most was how Mr. Aoki talked to his business partners about new job ideas as if they were talking to a friend. It was a far cry from the stereotypes that Mr. Sano had about business sites, in other words, the image of being bound by rigid rules. Work can also be born from playful chats and hobbies. I realized that for creative activities and smooth communication, it is necessary to get close to the other person's humanity and grasp the movement of their heart. Mr. Sano is convinced that there are many situations in which psychology can be useful, as long as business is done by humans, not by machines.

専門性を生かすために専門以外の世界も知る

From this experience, Ms. Sano began to think that psychologists should know the world outside their specialties in order to make the most of psychology. In the future, he will aim to solve social problems with psychological knowledge, and will be active with a view to starting a business. We still need the understanding of society and discussion with the field before we can come up with solutions. It can be said that it is a case where you can feel that the discovery of issues in the world outside your specialty can give you hints on how to make use of unexpected research.

*キャリアディスカバリーフォーラムとは：「研究者の新しい生き方（新たな活躍の場）を発見する」をテーマに、研究者のチカラに期待を寄せる企業が集まる、日本で唯一のイベント。ブースやセッションで企業社員と参加者両者が「これからの研究テーマや課題」「社会に貢献したいこと」を自由に語り合う仕掛けを用意している。

*December 5, 2020 has also been decided. Click here for details

（レポート：リバネス）