Promoting Healthy Management

Strategy Map

We will continue to accelerate health and productivity management by pursuing the following long-term priority targets and medium-term priority targets.

【Long-term priority targets】

(1) Strengthening occupational health framework
Based on a belief that health and safety both deserve utmost priority, we strive to enhance our occupational health and safety framework, which provides a foundation for securing appropriate compliance with laws and regulations associated with occupational health and safety. Furthermore, we will develop a more robust organizational structure capable of promoting health and productivity management on a Companywide basis.

(2) Cultivating culture of health
We consider the health of employees and their families a source of well-being for each as well as the Company’s ongoing corporate vitality and growth. With the shared awareness of the importance of health, we will foster a health-oriented corporate culture that encourages every employee to spontaneously strive to improve their health while caring about one another. To this end, top management members will take the lead in spreading this culture throughout the entire Sumitomo Rubber Group.

【Medium-term priority targets】
(1) Preventing serious symptoms
(2) Improving lifestyle habits
(3) Tackling mental health-related issues
(4) Improving labor productivity
(5) Medical treatment and work-balance support
(6) Support for balancing medical treatment and work
(7) Countermeasures to prevent infectious diseases, including COVID-19

Health-related Indicators

We have established “Health Management Regulations” and clearly defined risk categories based on results of medical checkups, while strengthening follow-up measures. Depending on the risk category, we arrange interviews (including online interviews) with occupational health specialists (occupational physicians/nurses), recommend medical consultations, and provide health guidance. With the follow-up measures, we aim to increase the percentage of people who undergo secondary checkups and the percentage of people who have their conditions under control (especially in the case of hypertension and diabetes).
In collaboration with the SRI Health Insurance Association, we also provide cancer screenings (including for Gynecologic Cancers), specific health checkups and specific health guidance. We also promote early detection and treatment of cancer and measures against metabolic syndrome to prevent the progression of serious conditions.
As for measures to improve lifestyle habits, we focus on: (i) prevention of passive smoking and promotion of smoking cessation, (ii) measures to address habitual alcohol consumption, (iii) measures to improve sleeping habits, (iv) measures to improve dietary habits, and (v) promotion of regular exercise.
With regards to the measures to prevent passive smoking and promote smoking cessation, the high smoking rate is a Group-wide issue. To protect smokers from health problems and non-smokers from passive smoking, we are pursuing initiatives on a Group-wide basis. In addition to regular messages from the President, each site head issued a Smoking Cessation Declaration in 2023. The actions are being taken across the Group.
Starting in January 2024, the whole Company has introduced a complete ban on smoking on site and during working hours. In line with this, we added the rules related to the smoking ban to internal regulations such as employment regulations. Meanwhile, in addition to existing subsidies for outpatient smoking cessation treatment, we now also provide subsidies for the purchases of smoking cessation aids (e.g. nicotine patches). Furthermore, initiatives by smoking cessation promotion committees (both at center and each site) and individual support from occupational health professionals have created an environment supportive of those striving to quit smoking. The entire company is working in unison to prevent passive smoking and promote smoking cessation.
For the measures to improve lifestyle habits in sleep, diet, and alcohol consumption, we have teams of occupational health specialists operating across different sites. In addition, we have exercise events, such as walking rallies, organized by the Health Insurance Association.
As improving the health literacy and awareness of our employees is essential in cultivating culture of health, we provide health-related information and education as necessary. This includes publishing “HEALTH NEWS” on the intranet and distributing seminar videos.

2023 Declaration of Smoking Cessation Announced by Business Base Heads

Issues of employees’ mental health significantly impact labor productivity and organizational vitality.
With the primary aim of helping employees recognize their own stress and preventing mental health problems (primary prevention), we conduct stress checks for all employees, including those at sites with fewer than 50 people. To follow up on stress checks, we offer high-stress individuals with interviews with physicians and health consultations with occupational health professionals (occupational physicians/nurses). We also give feedback based on results of group analysis to workplaces and conduct oral fact-finding at high-stress workplaces to improve work environments.
In 2023, we held self-care seminars online, aiming to enhance abilities of employees to take care of themselves. For the Line Management Mental Health Care Seminar (Line Care Seminar), we conducted in-person group training session (with optional online participation) for the first time in three years. With group work focused on personal support for subordinates and workplace improvement, the objective was to improve the knowledge and skills of managerial personnel on mental health.
When employees return to work after sickness absence, whether due to mental health issues or for other reasons, we arrange a consultation for them with an occupational physician and hold a meeting of our return-to-work assessment committee to ensure a smooth transition, which can include support such as allowing them to work shorter hours than previously.
While workloads are increasing due to business expansion and other factors, we are improving operational efficiency and hiring additional staff to curb increases in working hours.

To tackle long working hours, we notify employees who have worked 80 hours or more of overtime in a month (as gauged from login records or using other methods) of their overtime status and arrange an interview for them with an occupational physician so that they can receive guidance. For employees experiencing heavy workloads due to frequent overtime or weekend work, managers hold one-on-one meetings with them to develop improvement plans, and the personnel department monitors progress with implementation of the plan. In this way, we are endeavoring to prevent long working hours.