We are promoting work style reforms from three angles: flexible work styles, operational reforms, and the use of IT and AI. By offering a variety of work styles, we intend to create a work environment in which each employee can achieve results while feeling pride and job satisfaction.
Promoting a Good Work-life Balance
Based on the concept of “work hard, rest well,” we will promote an ideal work-life balance through flexible work styles. In addition to weekly no-overtime days, we support more flexible work styles with systems such as refreshment leave and memorial leave, an hourly paid leave system, and a super flextime system with no core hours. We also operate a flexible leave system that allows employees to take a leave of absence for personal reasons once during their employment for a maximum of two years at their own will. Four employees made use of this system in FY2023.
Systems to promote good work-life balance
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| System | Content |
|---|---|
| Telecommuting System | Telecommuting system for full-time employees (temporary and contract employees may apply at the discretion of their department head), with no restrictions on reasons for use or number of days (starting in FY2019) |
| Annual Paid Leave Accumulation System (Expired Paid Leave Accumulation System) |
The number of days of accumulation is 5 days/year (maximum 40 days). Leave can be taken in full-day, half-day, and hourly increments (starting in FY2018) |
| Super Flextime System | A flextime system with no core hours that allows for voluntary and planned allocation of working hours. (From FY2015) |
| Hourly Paid Leave System | A system for taking leave in one-hour increments |
| Flexible Leave System | A system that allows employees to take a leave of absence for personal reasons for up to two years, regardless of the reason (starting in FY2019) |
| Childcare Support System | Childcare leave can be taken until the child turns one year old (up to three years for certain reasons. For both male and female employees, paid leave of 28 days is provided beginning at the start of childcare leave). Support includes childcare leave for both male and female employees, reduced work hours for childcare, shortened work hours, staggered work hours, and subsidies for babysitting and sick child care expenses. |
| System for balancing work and nursing care | A total of 365 days of nursing care leave can be taken (the statutory number is 93 days), and workdays can be shortened by up to two hours per day to provide nursing care (as per law) (from FY2016) |
| Internal Multiple Role System | A system that allows employees to voluntarily take on themes they wish to work on in parallel with their existing work (starting in FY2021) |
Multiple Role System
In February 2022, as a measure to enhance employee job satisfaction and motivation, we began operating the Internal Multiple Work System allowing employees to voluntarily take on themes they wish to work on in parallel with their existing work.
Items at present (number of employees as of March 31, 2024)
- Development of odor sensors (7 people)*
- Peptide agriculture (2 people)
- As development of the odor sensor has made progress, the sensor has been deployed at our Business Planning Division.
Improving Employee Engagement
In order to create environments in which employees are motivated and proud of their work and voluntarily demonstrate their abilities while maintaining a high level of willingness to contribute to the company, we believe it is important to have a thorough dialogue with the executives and other people in various positions within the organization, and we provide many opportunities for such dialogue.
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| Dialogue with executives | The executives act as “Dojo” forum owners and invite employees as trainees to join a dialogue once a month for a period of six months to one year. Each Dojos has 6 to 8 participants as trainees, and the theme of the dialogue (what they want to convey to their employees) is left up to the Dojo owner. There were 12 Dojos conducted in FY2024, and more will be conducted in the future. In addition, the company continues to hold monthly "morning meetings for all employees," in which executives give a talk to all employees. |
|---|---|
| Training Camp OJT | This system sees business divisions or departments (10 to 30 people) spend one or two days discussing the organization's visions, challenges, etc. |
| Salon | The system sees managers and executives become salon leaders and engage in dialogue with several employees on R&D, management, etc. |
| Internal social exchange fees | Subsidies are provided for the holding of social gatherings within the company |
Business Innovation
- Introduction of a virtual desktop service that allows intranet access from outside the company
- Utilization of RPA (Robotic Process Automation) for automating and streamlining routine work
- Introduction of a Business Intelligence (BI) system for more efficient use of internal information
- Introduction of an e-POST system that allows employees to make proposals directly to the president and executives through the intranet
External Evaluation
First Best Practice Company in Kyoto Prefecture
In 2016, our company was recognized by the Kyoto Labor Bureau as the first Best Practice Company in Kyoto Prefecture for its proactive efforts to "reform the way we work."
Certified with 3.5 stars in the 7th Nikkei Smart Work Management Survey
We were certified with 3.5 stars in the 7th Nikkei Smart Work Management Survey, which selects leading companies that take on the challenge of productivity innovation through work-style reforms. This survey has been conducted by Nikkei Inc. since 2017, targeting listed companies and leading unlisted companies across the country. It defines “smart work management” as efforts to maximize organizational performance through three elements: realization of diverse and flexible work styles, a system for creating new businesses, and market development capability. Companies are evaluated on a five-star scale. We received an A++ rating for innovation capability, an S rating for market development capability, and an A++ rating for human resource utilization.
