Health and Productivity

(May 7, 2012)

To stay true to the “Joy and Fun” motto, the HORIBA Group promotes its employees' physical and mental health in order to help them live fulfilling lives with a sense of purpose in both life and work as well as to realize comfortable and lively workplaces.

Chairman, President & CEO, HORIBA, Ltd.
Atsushi Horiba

(May 7, 2012)

In order to put into practice the Physical and Mental Health Promotion Declaration, the HORIBA Group works to promote three types of prevention and implement four healthcare measures based on the Code of Ethics, the Health and Safety Regulations, the Healthcare Regulations, and so forth.

Promotion of Three Types of Prevention

Primary prevention: Promote physical and mental health; prevent illnesses and injuries. The HORIBA Group promotes efforts to create vibrant workplaces by enlivening communication among employees through unique initiatives and events.

Secondary prevention: Take measures for early detection and treatment of illnesses/injuries; prevent development of serious symptoms. The Group works with the health insurance union and external partner organizations to provide education and establish a system that allows employees to seek healthcare advice with a sense of security.

Tertiary prevention: If unfortunately an employee becomes sick or injured, the healthcare staff members in the employee's workplace and outside the company will keep the sickness or injury confidential and strive with all their might to ensure the person does not become sick or injured again after returning to work, thereby minimizing the negative impact on the employee and his or her workplace.

PDCA: HORIBA's health promotion divisions collaborate with the HORIBA Group's Safety and Health Committee to set medium-term targets, and develop action plans for the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and indicators to measure the effectiveness of the plans. The divisions evaluate the achievement of the indicators and reflect evaluation results in new action plans.

Enhancement of Four Healthcare Measures

Self-care: Each employee pays attention to his/her level of health and stress, quickly and appropriately dealing with any unwelcome health conditions.

Line care: Managers focus on establishing free, open, reasonable, and consistent work environments without waste and paying attention to the work-life balance and health of their subordinates and other concerned parties on a daily basis to facilitate early detection of those in poor condition.

Care by internal health management staff: Internal health management staff members provide necessary information and advice to promote self-care and line care as well as help each employee to safeguard their health.

Care by outside experts: The HORIBA Group works with outside expert organizations such as EAP services to operate a system that allows employees to easily seek necessary information and advice to solve problems in their lives and safeguard their health; inquiries are kept confidential.

Work-life balance: Physical and mental health is not only the foundation of the workplace but also of the family and community. The HORIBA Group is stepping up its efforts to implement four healthcare measures while simultaneously striving to help each employee achieve work-life balance and, together with the employee and his or her family, safeguard health.

Chairman of the Group Safety and Health Committee
Managing Director, HORIBA, Ltd.
Fumitoshi Sato

We are making constant efforts to enhance the convenience of employee medical checkups by, for example, providing gynecological exams for free as part of the general health checkup at the Head Office area and arranging a mammography van for health checkups at each office. We are also increasing health promotion support for employees in Japan, including those who are working at sites other than the Head Office, by providing unified financial support to cover the cost of a complehensive medical examination in lieu of general health checkups, increasing the number of designated health checkup venues, and implementing health guidance based on the checkup results by in-house occupational health specialists.

We offer a variety of support programs for employees’ mental health, including customizable mental health training for managers and new recruits, periodic stress check tests for employees (which began in 2013 before it was legally required), counseling services by internal counselors (clinical psychotherapists and certified psychologists), and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

To remind employees of the importance of their lifestyles, we have implemented the Health Up Challenge program since 2011. For three to five months every year, each employee chooses activities to work on, such as getting daily exercise, quitting smoking, or competing for higher ranking with their peers in the number of steps they have taken during the period. These fun events lead employees to voluntarily join the program. In order to prompt employees to work harder, various encouraging approaches are offered, such as participation by all management members.

As part of the initiatives to improve employees' eating habits, a person in charge of employee welfare, a food service company (which includes registered dietitians), and the Healthcare Management Office joined hands in 2008 to launch the Lunch-meal Committee, which is responsible for the management and promotion of employees' health through eating. They develop calorie-conscious menus for office cafeterias, analyze the health information of the people eating there in collaboration with local universities, and provide nutritional and dietary guidance for employees. To encourage employees to eat more vegetables, they use large quantities of vegetables grown locally for consumption at our sites in Kyoto and Shiga.

In 2012, we opened our HORIBA Blueberry Farm "Joy & Fun" in Takashima City, Shiga. On 2.1 hectares of land, we cultivate blueberries, seasonal vegetables, organic cotton, and others. Vegetables and fruits harvested here are used at office cafeterias and training centers as well as processed into jam and juice, which serve as our original souvenirs for visitors. A variety of seasonal events are organized throughout the year by inviting employees and their families to seedling plantings and harvest festivals, providing an opportunity for children to refine their five senses by playing in the soil as well as for adults to freshen up their body and mind and facilitate communication.