In recent years, taking leave from work due to mental health issues has become a familiar challenge for many companies and working people. While systems to support employees returning to work have been increasingly developed, a gap still remains between being deemed "fit to return to work" and actually being in a condition that enables a person to continue working. Returning to work is not the goal, but a new beginning. There is renewed demand for support that looks beyond the return itself to include continued employment and the prevention of recurrence.

One organization addressing these challenges is mimococo Inc. mimococo, whose founder graduated from the 2025 Social Entrepreneurship School Initiative, in which NEC participates as an official partner, operates with the vision of "moving the body to expand the mind and the world." The company provides return-to-work support programs for people on leave due to depression and other conditions, using a combination of exercise therapy and community.

From May through July 2026, a team of four NEC employees provided pro bono support to mimococo, investing approximately 80 hours in total. The goal was to organize the value of mimococo's return-to-work support program and establish a foundation for communicating that value to a broader range of companies.

A good service is not enough to reach people

The challenge mimococo faced was not with the service itself, but with how to communicate its value.

The return-to-work support program offered by the company is a unique approach that combines commuting training, morning online fitness sessions, and psychotherapy. However, when proposing the program to companies, it was necessary to clearly explain why the program is needed and how it differs from existing return-to-work support services.

In particular, many corporate HR professionals struggle with the gap between a doctor's determination that an employee is "fit to return to work" and the employee actually being in a condition that enables them to continue working in the workplace. While there is a significant need for support that objectively assesses the condition of employees on leave and helps them return to work with confidence, the value of such support was not yet being communicated sufficiently.

Discovering the real value through voices from the field

As part of the pro bono project, the team worked not only on refining sales materials, but also on identifying target companies and articulating the program's points of differentiation. What made this effort distinctive was that, rather than simply improving the materials, the team worked with mimococo to explore what value the service was truly delivering.

The pro bono team included employees who had personal experience returning to work, as well as employees with knowledge and experience in occupational health. Drawing on these perspectives, they reconsidered the value of the service from the viewpoints of the employees on leave, HR professionals, doctors, and others involved.

Through repeated dialogue, one thing became clear: the program is about much more than simply providing exercise support.

Participation in online fitness sessions and records of activities provide objective information that makes it possible to visualize the stability of daily routines and continued engagement in activities. In addition, the program's "team competition" format, in which participants work together with others rather than alone, can help reduce the sense of isolation that people often experience while on leave from work.

By organizing these aspects of the program's value, mimococo was able to communicate its features and strengths more clearly as "a supportive program that accompanies people through a period of leave when they can easily become isolated." Furthermore, by clarifying how the program differs from existing return-to-work services, the team was able to more clearly articulate its strengths, including its ability to provide short-term, intensive support without a waiting period and its expert-guided, ongoing support. 

Results driven by dialogue and co-creation

The results of the project went beyond improving the sales materials. Using the refined sales materials, mimococo was able to connect with five companies. One of them expressed a strong interest in meeting with the company, leading to concrete progress toward securing companies for a trial of the program.

mimococo members shared the following feedback:

"Because the project involved multiple people, we were able to incorporate perspectives and opinions that we had not considered before."
"Looking at the issue from the perspectives of clients, employees, corporate HR professionals, doctors, and others led to a new business plan."

Through the project, the team not only clarified the features of the service, but also gained a clearer understanding of the value that mimococo's vision of "creating a system that supports people returning to work" can bring to society.

The NEC pro bono team members also shared comments such as:

"I gained a deeper understanding of how social challenges can be addressed."
"I was able to collaborate with members who have diverse areas of expertise."
"I was able to experience firsthand how my own experience and knowledge can be useful to others."

By engaging in dialogue across organizational and professional boundaries, mimococo and NEC employees not only refined the value of the service, but also created an opportunity for everyone involved to gain new insights and learnings. The power of co-creation in addressing social challenges took shape in the form of tangible results.

Supporting a society where people can continue working

In its Purpose, NEC states its commitment to "create the social values of safety, security, fairness, and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential."

This pro bono project was not only about improving the sales materials for a return-to-work support program. It was also an effort to address the challenge of creating an environment where people can take on a new challenge with confidence. Being able to return to work is not the end goal. What matters is being able to continue working beyond the return. Expanding the systems and support available in society to make this possible can help broaden the possibilities for each individual.

Going forward, the NEC Group will continue working to create a society where everyone can work and live in their own way, while connecting the expertise and experience of each employee to the creation of social value.

Related Links

Launched in 2002 through a collaboration between NPO ETIC. and NEC, the program develops and supports young social entrepreneurs working to address social challenges.

In 2010, NEC became the first company in Japan to launch a pro bono program. 
A decade later, in 2020, employee volunteers from the NEC Group established the NEC Pro Bono Club, a pro bono community helping to address challenges faced by local communities, NGOs, NPOs, educational institutions, and others. Today, the NEC Pro Bono Club comprises approximately 900 employees.