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Work Style Reforms

Updated in October 2023

Work Style Reforms

FY2022 initiatives
Implementation of investments to improve the workplace environment

In accordance with the company-wide policy for work style reforms issued in July 2020, we established a new capital expenditure budget from FY2021 with the aim of creating a more comfortable working environment at each business office, motivating employees and improving productivity. We decided to invest approximately ¥1.3 billion of the FY2022 capital expenditure budget in the improvement of the workplace environment, and made investments of approximately ¥1.6 billion.

Implementation of investments to improve the workplace environment

Conducting stress checks and holding results debriefing sessions
Stress check results debriefing sessions were held at all business offices, and afterwards, workplace improvement training was conducted by a third party at those sites that requested it.
Implementation of collaborative measures with health insurance association
  1. Strengthening anti-smoking measures (subsidies for smoking cessation clinics and aids)
  2. Considerations for dental examinations
  3. Conducting measurement sessions for fall prevention (muscle mass measurement sessions and walking guidance)
An Employee Awareness Survey

In April 2020, we conducted an employee awareness survey targeting the entire workforce. Following the previous survey conducted in fiscal 2017, we strove to improve our workplace environment for employees by reflecting findings from that survey in the reform of various personnel systems. We will similarly strive to carry out systematic measures aimed at creating an environment that empowers employees to achieve success by leveraging the results of the latest survey, including the effect of initiatives undertaken based on findings from the previous survey, to assess the current status of the Company and issues to be addressed going forward.

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Follow-Up on Our Employee Awareness Survey
  • Based on the feedback from the Employee Awareness Survey conducted in 2020, discussions were held within respective departments. Key topics discussed included areas Denka should focus on, areas respective departments should focus on and the role that each and every employee can play. Two years later in June 2022, we conducted interviews to ascertain the progress of measures and improvements that were made to address these issues.

Issues Identified via the Employee Awareness Survey
Comparison of Survey Results (fiscal 2020 / fiscal 2017)

Compared with the previous survey, employees’ overall ratings of the Company’s initiatives have been improving thanks to the thorough revision of the personnel system and the launch of various measures.

  • Note: The standard line is based on standards determined by a third-party survey agency.

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Category Employee feedback on representative questions
Positive feedback Requests for improvement
Workplace safety Current status of workplace safety and hygiene and the Company’s policies  
Compliance management High awareness of compliance at workplaces  
Workplace communication Human relationships at workplaces Cross-departmental collaboration
Stakeholder engagement (customer focus) Relationships of trust with business partners and shared commitment toward social contributions  
Operational styles Efficiency and productivity Seasonal fluctuations in workload and supervisors’ understanding of diverse work styles
Motivation Awareness of targets Opportunities for tangible personal growth
Workplace management Leadership, support, equal opportunities and fair evaluation  
Liveliness of workplaces An atmosphere allowing the frank exchange of opinions and enhancing the unifying power of the organization Creation of an open-minded workplace that rewards those who take on challenges / A culture of tolerance toward new endeavors that defy conventional norms or past experience
Management structure Dialogue with top management, its understanding of the status of frontline employees and feedback from them and encouragement for those who take on challenges Delegation of authority and speed of decision making
Personnel systems, evaluation and wages Persuasiveness of wages and promotion Fairness of evaluation, human resource development and wages in comparison with industry peers
Issues Revealed via the Survey and Measures to Be Undertaken

Results of the fiscal 2020 survey revealed overall improvement in employee ratings of the Company’s initiatives from results of the fiscal 2017 survey.
Primary items indicating significant improvement included “workplace safety,” “stakeholder engagement” (customer focus) and “operational styles.” We consider these results to be indicative of the positive effect of communicating strong messages from top management to help employees raise their safety awareness as well as business execution conscious of addressing ESG issues and SDGs. On the other hand, employee ratings for the “liveliness of workplaces,” “management structure,” and “personnel systems, evaluation and wages” were near the standard line. These three items were also identified as matters requiring improvement in the course of the fiscal 2017 survey, and human resource strategies were formulated to address relevant issues. (See page 29 and the right side of page 30.) Going forward, we will promote various initiatives to provide fundamental solutions to these issues while considering the formulation of numerical targets (KPIs) to enhance the effectiveness of such initiatives. In addition, we intend to periodically carry out employee awareness surveys.

Examples of Support System Expansion for Balancing Childcare, Nursing Care, Etc.
1. Systems Related to Childcare
  1. Shorter working hour system: Employees raising a child up to the end of the sixth grade of elementary school may shorten their working hours to six hours a day or by up to one hour in 15-minute increments
  2. Nursing care leave (short-term): Employees raising a child up to the end of the sixth grade of elementary school may take up to five days of paid leave per year (Leave may be taken in hourly increments)
  3. Extended career support system: 50% of the childcare fees for each child are subsidized by the company (up to 10,000 yen).
2. Systems Related to Nursing Care
  1. Nursing care leave (long-term): Up to 365 days in total per family member in need of nursing care, and may be taken in installments up to three times during the period
  2. Nursing care leave (short-term): Employees who care for a family member in need of nursing care may take up to five days of paid leave per year (Leave may be taken in hourly increments)
  3. Shorter working hour system: Employees who care for a family member in need of nursing care may shorten their working hours to six hours a day or by up to one hour in 15-minute increments
3. Systems Related to Life Events and Other Matters
  1. Remote work system: Scope expanded to cover all employees at the head office, branches, sales offices, and innovation centers; eligibility requirements eliminated
  2. Staggered working hours: Adjustable work start time between 7:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M. in 30-minute increments
DFF Inc., デンカ株式会社, デンカ株式会社 IR室, 星和ビジネスリンク
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