JSR Health Promotion (Initiatives in Health and Productivity Management)
1. Philosophy and Code of Conduct
JSR Group feels that a healthy mind and body are extremely important for employees and their families to live happy lives. We also feel that they are imperative in the creation of a productive and vibrant workplace. Because of this, we have adopted various measures to help our employees work in good health, both mentally and physically.
JSR and some locations make a Health Declaration, which describes the policy on active initiatives to create health. The Mie National Health Insurance Organization, which is part of the National Federation of Health Insurance Societies, has designated JSR and these locations as business establishments that promote health.
Codes of Conduct
We shall strive to maintain and improve safety and hygiene levels for all relevant parties, based on our belief that “safety is of utmost importance to everyone working in manufacturing and the bedrock of business activities.” Additionally, we shall pay sufficient attention to the maintenance of the mental and physical health of ourselves and those we work with.
2. Health and Productivity Management and Advancement Structure
JSR is advancing "JSR Health Promotion" as an activity to promote health and fitness among our employees, who are the foundation of organizational activity, and thereby increase engagement and improve work productivity.
The ultimate vision and goal of this initiative is to become an organization where all employees can think about their own health and take action. We aim to provide measures to maintain and improve the health of each employee in ways that suit them and that can be performed autonomously.
As part of the system for advancing JSR Health Promotion, the Health Promotion Committee, which is overseen by the officer in charge of human resources, meets regularly, and industrial nurses and health management promotion departments at each business site play a central role in conducting cross-functional monitoring and implementing various measures. In addition to communicating the significance of improving one’s health through messages from top management, management receives regular reports from the Health Promotion Committee and supervises its activities.
3. Health and Productivity Management Initiatives
Specific measures of JSR Health Promotion include formulation of a strategy map to improve the health and labor productivity of organizations and individuals (presenteeism measures), hosting of sleep seminars and improvement programs, and encouragement of regular exercise and mindfulness.
As one example of this initiative, we implement a sleep improvement program using smartwatches for employees who have trouble sleeping.
In FY2023, 96 employees participated in the program. According to a survey of seminar participants, the percentage of "not very satisfied" or "not at all satisfied" with their sleep decreased by 27.1 points (from 65.6% to 38.5%). In addition, the occupational impairment caused by health problems was measured using WFun*, along with changes in sleep satisfaction. The percentage of "moderate" or higher impairment decreased by 12.2 points (from 32.3% to 24.0%) before and after the program.
In addition, we formulated 12 JSR Sleep Guidelines for day workers and shift workers as recommendations to ensure good quality sleep. We also use these in our sleep awareness activities for employees.
*WFun: A survey developed by the University of Occupational and Environmental Health for the purpose of measuring the degree of occupational impairment caused by health problems. A score of "moderate" or higher is likely to require some form of intervention.
| No. | For daytime workers | For shift workers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Set aside enough time for sleep | Get as many hours of sleep as possible |
| 2 | Wake up at a regular time | Sleep at the right time according to work schedule |
| 3 | Get bright natural light as soon as waking up | Nap strategically |
| 4 | Eat breakfast | Try to relax and unwind before sleeping |
| 5 | Get adequate exercise during the daytime and avoid strenuous exercise at night | Get adequate exercise regularly |
| 6 | Avoid caffeine less than four hours before going to sleep | Avoid caffeine less than four hours before going to sleep |
| 7 | Do not eat late night snacks (eat before sleep) | Do not eat a heavy meal immediately before sleeping |
| 8 | Do not drink alcohol before sleeping | Do not drink alcohol before sleeping |
| 9 | Do not smoke before sleeping | Do not smoke before sleeping |
| 10 | Go to bed soon after feeling sleepy | Go to bed soon after feeling sleepy |
| 11 | Avoid blue light (smartphone, computer, television, etc.) exposure one hour prior to sleeping | Avoid blue light (smartphone, computer, television, etc.) exposure one hour prior to sleeping |
| 12 | Create a good bedroom environment conducive to restful sleep (linens, lighting, etc.) | Create a good bedroom environment conducive to restful sleep (light-blocking curtains, eye mask, ear plugs, linens, lighting, etc.) |
4. Physical Health Assistance
In addition to general physical screening and special examinations as required by law, and lifestyle disease checkups, JSR supports employee’s physical health by providing subsidies to employees who receive complete medical screenings, brain scans, and special exams for women (breast cancer screening and gynecologic cancer examinations). As an infection control measure, JSR also provides a partial subsidy for flu vaccinations. In FY2023, the number of employees who were absent due to influenza was 32, and the days of absences due to influenza was 85.
In FY2023, the percentage of people with abnormalities in their physical examinations was 28.5%, which is lower than the national average. This signifies that our employees are maintaining good health.
In addition to a high-risk approach (individual measures being taken when illnesses occur), the idea of a population approach (overall risk reduction/prevention) was incorporated with regard to health management of employees. We make active approaches to ensuring the health of our employees, by preventing lifestyle-related diseases, ensuring that employees undergo physical examinations and providing follow-up, and preventing passive smoking.
| Category | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage who underwent physical examinations | 99.8% | 98.7% | 98.9% | 98.9% | 99.9% |
| Percentage with abnormalities in physical examinations | — | 26.4% | 24.3% | 24.1% | 28.5% |
| Percentage who maintained normal weight * BMI: 18.5 up to 25.0 |
67.1% | 65.9% | 66.3% | 68.8% | 67.6% |
| Percentage who sleep soundly * Percentage of people who get sufficient rest from sleep |
65.6% | 68.6% | 69.2% | 63.2% | 62.1% |
| Percentage who smoke | 22.4% | 17.9% | 16.2% | 10.7% | 10.1% |
| Percentage who underwent a stress check | 92.1% | 92.2% | 91.4% | 84.8% | 82.0% |
| Percentage who scored as highly stressed on the stress check | 8.3% | 8.2% | 8.9% | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| Organizational vitality index * 2019 = 100 |
100 | 126 | 101 | 146 | 124 |
| Number of people using company training facilities | 8,009 | 1,472 | 1,794 | 1,601 | 2,423 |
Training Facility Establishment
In addition to providing its own sports facilities for employees, employees can also take advantage of memberships in sports clubs through welfare service contracts. Each JSR business site also hosts sporting events, such as softball games and bowling tournaments, to improve health through physical activity and facilitate communication among employees. These programs have also received positive feedback from employees who do not normally have the opportunity to participate in physical activities.
Since FY2020, as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19, we have placed restrictions on the hours of usage and the number of people, resulting in a decrease in the number of people using company training facilities.
5. Mental Health Assistance
JSR Group is strengthening the support structure because we think it is even more important to support the mental health aspects of moving to telecommuting and other new workstyles in order to prevent each employee from feeling lonely and isolated.
To be more specific, we are taking a four-point approach in implementing measures to improve employee mental health: "Check," "Organizational Analysis," "Consultation," and "Training."
Checks and organizational analysis include an employee mental health survey conducted by JSR since FY1998. Starting in FY2015, stress checks have been implemented annually in accordance with the amendment of the Industrial Health and Safety Act in Japan, and the results of such checks are analyzed in units of departments.
Consultation includes a program to provide counseling for employees at a location of their choosing. Counseling is conducted through a third-party professional, Human Frontier Counseling. This program is now entrenched at JSR and our domestic Group companies as a part of our mental-health counseling support efforts. After stress checks are administered, an organizational analysis report is distributed to managerial staff, and support is provided in usage seminars to communicate how to view the report and what actions to take. We are working to enhance the response by occupational health professionals at all of JSR’s offices and plants.
Training includes a variety of mental health care programs, such as self-care and line-care that properly reflects each level of JSR's organizational hierarchy.
As a result of these efforts, 7.5% of people who took the stress check were identified as experiencing high stress. This is lower than the nationwide average.
6. Measures to Combat COVID-19
To combat COVID-19, JSR is implementing appropriate prevention measures at the workplace as well as daily health management in alignment with the state of each business site, based on social conditions.
In addition to providing alcohol-based hand sanitizers and installing contactless thermometers in business sites, we are distributing masks to employees, and working to prevent infections. We are also distributing one set of antigen test kits (containing 20 tests) per employee in each office to enable early detection if an infection occurs.
We provided occupational vaccines at the Yokkaichi Plant and the Shiodome Headquarters in FY2021 and FY2022. A total of 3,539 people were vaccinated, including people from Group companies, contractors, and employees’ family members.
JSR had been offering health exercises by a health fitness programmer from the JSR Health Insurance Society, for health and strength development of employees. With the spread of COVID-19, however, we began providing a health exercise program online from FY2020. With a total of 2,565 users in FY2023, this program helps to solve the issue of lack of exercise caused by working from home or other reasons.
Total Participants (JSR employees only)
- FY2020: 2,959 (online only)
- FY2021: 6,627 (online only)
- FY2022: 2,176 (online only)
- FY2023: 2,565 (online only)
7. Results of Initiatives
These initiatives were recognized and six companies in JSR Group were selected as Excellent Health Management Corporation in 2024.
The Certified Health and Productivity Management Organization Recognition Program in 2024 (Large Enterprise Category)
- JSR Corporation
The Certified Health and Productivity Management Organization Recognition Program in 2024 (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Category)
- Emulsion Technology Co., Ltd.
- JSR Micro Kyushu Co., Ltd.
- JSR Health Insurance Society
- JSR Logistics & Customer Center Co., Ltd.
- Japan Coloring Co., Ltd.
- Medical & Biological Laboratories Co., Ltd.
JSR considers balancing employee health and productivity to be an important management issue, and we are promoting initiatives with the goal of obtaining White 500 certification by around FY2025.
We will continue to plan and implement various initiatives to maintain and improve the health of our employees. In addition, by evaluating and improving the results of these initiatives and implementing the PDCA cycle, we will develop more effective health maintenance and improvement measures and support the health of our employees.
If you would like to receive information on specific implementation methods of our health and productivity management initiatives, please contact us at the following email address.
Email: jsr_jinjiroumu@jsr.co.jp