My name is Yuya Fujisawa, and I joined the company in 2023. The reason I wanted to join Sakaeya is because I felt that Sakaeya is an environment where it is easy to grow. When I was job hunting, I participated in a four-day internship at Sakaeya. At that time, I was still a student and it was uncertain whether I would join the company, but I felt a comforting warmth from the staff, such as them writing me a postcard and talking to me in the employee cafeteria. However, I thought that they were doing that because I was a job-seeking student, and I thought that I wouldn't be fooled by that.

However, during that internship, one of the staff members pointed out things I hadn't noticed and areas where I could improve. In a way, it was tough criticism. I thought it was impossible, if not impossible, for a company to give such honest feedback to an intern, especially one who is being considered for employment, so I was very happy to realize that they were saying it with my best interests in mind.

Also, there are many things I don't notice about myself, so I thought that Sakaeya, where they would point those things out to me, would be a good place for me to grow. The postcards and the conversations I had with them in the employee cafeteria were genuine, and I wanted to become a part of it. Since actually joining Sakaeya, I've felt a lot of warmth from the people.

In my first year, I worked at the front desk, and in my second year, I was transferred to housekeeping. In housekeeping, there is a leader each day, and everyone works under the leader's instructions. Even though I was only in my second year with the company, I was asked if I would like to try being the housekeeping leader. At first, I wondered if I was good enough, and I had many anxieties, but I decided to do my best and took on the challenge.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of things to consider: what tasks needed to be done first, keeping track of what each staff member was doing, managing the time to prepare the rooms by the 3 PM check-in time, and ensuring that no one person's workload became disproportionately heavy. Perhaps because of this, when I first started as a leader, a senior colleague kindly summarized the day's tasks on loose-leaf paper so that I wouldn't be at a loss. This senior colleague had already finished their workday, yet they took the time to create such a detailed plan just for me. At that moment, I truly felt a desire to reciprocate their kindness and be of some help to everyone.

When I'm in a leadership position and I'm struggling, everyone helps me out by saying things like, "Shall we do this?", "How about we do this?", "Please tell me anything you can do," and "This is no problem at all." They also make sure to point out what I'm not doing well or what I've forgotten. They're not only kind, but they also make sure to communicate things properly so that I can grow, and I feel fortunate to be in such a warm environment.

I've become more aware of the support I receive from others since I started writing one postcard a day. I write about my gratitude for what people have done for me that day and my apologies for any inconvenience I may have caused. Even just five minutes each day to think about what people have done for me and how I've caused them help has allowed me to notice the small things I should be grateful for. I think I've become more observant of things like people arranging my shoes neatly, things that aren't assigned to me but are done by someone, and people quickly wiping up spills. Since becoming more aware of the support I receive from others, I've also wanted to do something small for others, and that has made me happy. I want to be the kind of person who never takes things for granted and continues to be grateful. Since becoming a leader, I've also had more opportunities to challenge myself and improve my own abilities. I was asked if I would like to give a company information session to junior high school students, and I decided to give it a try. The old me wouldn't have immediately said yes. The reason I was able to say "Please let me do it" was because I wanted to gain more experience in getting others to do things under my direction, and I wanted to develop my own skills so that everyone could work enthusiastically and comfortably. From now on, my goal is to create an environment where everyone can work easily and enjoyably. I want to create a place where anyone can voice their concerns about something in the building and help make improvements.

It's not something to be taken for granted; it's something to be grateful for, something that's rare.

Yuya Fujisawa

【profile】
Born in Nakano City, Nagano Prefecture
Joined the company in 2023
Motto: Laughter brings good fortune.
Hobbies: Watching dramas