ISF Net Discloses Current Status of Short-Term Regular Employee System

ISF Net Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Yukiyoshi Watanabe, hereinafter ISF Net) announces the current status of its "Short-Term Regular Employee System (*)" introduced to support diverse working styles for employees, such as balancing childcare and nursing care. Furthermore, as a new framework encompassing employee support initiatives, including this system, we will promote the creation of an even more comfortable working environment with "Life Support" as a keyword.

* Short-Term Regular Employee System: A system that allows employees to work while maintaining regular employee status but with shortened working hours (up to 2 hours per day), aiming to realize the active participation of diverse human resources and work-life balance. It prevents attrition due to life stage changes such as childcare and nursing care, enabling sustainable career development tailored to individual circumstances.

In recent years, with the gradual enforcement of the revised Child Care and Nursing Care Leave Act from 2025, companies are increasingly required to support work-life balance for childcare and nursing care. ISF Net is engaged in "Diverse-in Employment (*)," which supports the employment of individuals with various circumstances, and from this fiscal year, we are reviewing the working environment for our employees with "Life Support" as a new keyword. As part of this, we are promoting the Short-Term Regular Employee System, which allows engineers with time constraints to work long-term.

* Diverse-in Employment: An initiative to create and provide a safe and secure working environment for individuals who find it difficult to work for various reasons. "Diverse-in" is a coined word combining "diversity" and "inclusion," aiming to provide everyone with the "joy of working" and "sense of purpose" through diverse employment.

◆ Current Status and Strengths of Short-Term Regular Employees at ISF Net

At ISF Net, engineers continue their careers by utilizing the Short-Term Regular Employee System in response to changes in various life stages, such as childcare and nursing care.

As actual results, we achieved a return-to-work rate of "100% for both men and women" among those who took childcare leave in 2025.

Currently, 49 people are utilizing the Short-Term Regular Employee System, and 10 of them returned from childcare leave in May 2026 and resumed employment as short-term regular employees. Recently, male engineers have also started using the Short-Term Regular Employee System, establishing a culture where employees of all genders can smoothly return to work by utilizing this system.

In a survey conducted in May 2025 targeting system users, approximately 85% of respondents rated the system's satisfaction at "4 or higher out of 5," and approximately 92% rated the understanding of those around them at "4 or higher out of 5." High standards were recorded for both the system itself and the work environment.

Furthermore, contrary to the general perception in the IT industry that reduced working hours are difficult for client-site dispatched work, 23 engineers at ISF Net are utilizing this system for dispatched projects. In terms of work arrangements, 45.5% are working remotely or in a hybrid model.

Analyzing the trends of short-term regular employees actually working on-site, we see examples of them demonstrating the following strengths even with time constraints:

High Productivity and Time Management To achieve results within limited time, they excel at time management and error prevention through systems (work efficiency improvement). External research also indicates that short-term workers demonstrate productivity equal to or higher than full-time workers through reviewing and improving their work execution methods.

"Verbalization" and "Standardization" of Communication They possess excellent skills in thoroughly creating manuals and procedures to prevent work from becoming dependent on individuals, in preparation for their absence.

Higher Motivation for Growth and Career Aspirations They have a high desire to learn, as evidenced by obtaining numerous IT certifications before and after maternity/childcare leave and their return to work. They have long-term career aspirations, such as building a solid foundation in infrastructure and aiming to become cloud engineers (AWS/Azure, etc.) who can work flexibly in the future.

◆ "Structural Walls" and Challenges in Career Development That Have Come to Light

On the other hand, precisely because short-term regular employees have a strong desire for growth, there are indeed "structural walls" that we, as a company, must confront.

Transition Barrier from "Operation/Maintenance" to "Design/Construction" In the IT infrastructure industry as a whole, there is a tendency for individuals with time constraints to be assigned to projects such as operation/maintenance and help desk, which are easier to manage time-wise, as sudden responses are difficult. Consequently, opportunities to challenge new technologies and transition to more advanced "design/construction" phases are often limited.

Team Backup System and Management Difficulties To accommodate the inability to work overtime and sudden absences, establishing a backup system within the team is crucial, and management efforts are needed to prevent the workload from concentrating on specific members.

Structural Challenges in Evaluation and Unit Prices In customer contracts that are proportional to working hours (such as dispatched business), which are characteristic of the industry, there is a business dilemma where, even with high skills and productivity, the unit price per hour is difficult to increase, making it hard to reflect this in compensation.

◆ Future Outlook Towards "Japan's No. 1 Freedom of Working Styles"

Based on this data, ISF Net will establish a system aiming for an environment where all engineers are evaluated fairly. Specifically, we will review evaluation and work assignments that have traditionally been based on full-time employment and support career advancement to upstream processes commensurate with motivation and ability, even for short-term regular employees. Simultaneously, we will promote the creation of a culture and system where the team as a whole can cover work and support each other, so that the burden does not fall on specific individuals.

ISF Net will continue to aim for the creation of an environment where all employees can demonstrate their maximum potential and work with peace of mind for a long time, regardless of working style constraints, under the philosophy of "Diverse-in Employment."

◇ Recruitment Related (General Applications & Recruitment Details Here)

Recruitment Information Page: https://www.career.isfnet.co.jp/recruitinfo/jobsearch/

◆ About ISF Net Inc.

ISF Net is an IT infrastructure company that provides solutions in the cloud, network, and security domains. We contribute to improving business value by supporting the offering strategies of major clients who lead societal IT issue resolution and by providing optimal solutions that package our technical capabilities. With approximately 2,300 engineers, we have bases in 14 locations nationwide and in three Asian countries (China, South Korea, and Singapore). Under the corporate brand of "Human Resource Development Company," we support our clients' business transformation through the development of highly skilled IT infrastructure engineers.

ISF Net HP: https://www.isfnet.co.jp/

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