Registered users approximately 10,000, 80% female — Community for those who learn, utilize, and spread "listening," 'Kiku Shigoto Lab' (Listening Work Lab), launched by Lively Inc.

"People can regain their energy just by being listened to"—based on this realization, Lively Inc. (Headquarters: Kanagawa Prefecture, Representative Director CEO: Eri Oka), which has operated the online active listening service "LivelyTalk" for three and a half years, launched "Kiku Shigoto Lab" (Listening Work Lab) on February 1, 2026.

Kiku Shigoto Lab is a community that explores the depth and social value of "listening" through learning, practice, and work, and aims to spread it throughout society. As Lively Inc. operated LivelyTalk and interacted with many people, it restructured its design to accommodate diverse aspirations such as "I want to learn how to listen," "I want to utilize it in my work," and "I want to spread it in society" within a single community.

Approximately 10,000 people registered on the LINE official account in three years and seven months. Approximately 80% of registrants are women, and about 60% are in their 30s and 40s—indicating that the need to make "listening" a profession or to spread it in society is quietly growing across generations and genders.

What is "Kiku Shigoto Lab"? — A place to learn, utilize, and spread "listening"

Kiku Shigoto Lab is a community that explores the depth and social value of "listening" through learning, practice, and work, and aims to spread it throughout society.

"Listening" may seem like a simple act, but it is by no means easy to make it a habit to listen without judgment, without denial, and until the very end. That is why we want more people to learn, utilize, and spread it as a practical field equipped with techniques that can be applied in daily life and rich value. Kiku Shigoto Lab is a co-creation space where all people with this will gather.

Three functions as a lab:

- Inquire: Continuously question what "listening" is and its profound depth. - Content provision, study sessions, event organization, etc. - Practice: Learn and refine "listening," utilize it in work, and engage in work. - Active Listening courses, LivelyTalk, corporate projects, etc. - Spread: Deliver the value of "listening" to society. - Active Listening Talks (ALT), SNS/media outreach, corporate training, etc.

Why was it renewed from "Lively Host Recruitment" to "Kiku Shigoto Lab"?

Since its establishment, Lively has faced many individuals involved in "listening," including hosts, users, and corporate clients, through the operation of its online active listening service LivelyTalk. Over these three and a half years, we gained several important insights.

"Listening" work is actually diverse.

What we learned from the people we met over three and a half years was that even though it's generally called "listening," the suitable work varies completely depending on personality, skills, and mindset.

For example:

- People who find joy in listening for 5-6 hours → Host type for listening services - People who want to ask questions after listening and support goal achievement → Coaching type - People who want to organize the other person's career or life choices after listening → Career consultant type - People who want to generate ideas and propose solutions after listening → Consultant type - People who find joy in solving the other person's problems and achieving results after listening → Customer service/sales type - People who actually want to convey what they have done, rather than just listening → Teaching type, etc.

LivelyTalk hosts represent only a fraction of "listening work." Even those who visited, thinking "I'm good at listening," when we listened carefully to their stories, some found true satisfaction in making others happy or providing value after listening.

We realized the importance of matching "what kind of work suits me by utilizing listening" rather than "what is good or bad" for demonstrating abilities. Furthermore, developing diverse jobs that utilize "listening" is one of the objectives of Kiku Shigoto Lab.

Practice "listening" in daily life and spread "listening" to society.

One-on-one at work, customer service, conversations with children, dialogues with partners, trust relationships with colleagues—"listening" plays a very necessary role in all aspects of life.

However, opportunities to learn about listening skills and communication do not exist unless one actively seeks them out. We naturally hear sounds, so we tend to unconsciously think, "I'm listening pretty well." However, the reality we observed through our operations was that surprisingly few people make it a habit to listen without judgment, without denial, and until the very end.

We want to deliver the value of improving listening skills to more people. Even if the goal is not to work as a counselor or professional coach, honing listening skills enriches life by improving human relationships, but there is no place to learn usable techniques in daily life. Therefore, through "Kiku Shigoto Lab," we aim to deepen learning through courses and events, and to create a place where like-minded individuals can meet and gather with empathy.