Promoting Employee Health

Good physical and mental health provides the source for working in a lively and energetic manner and is essential for ensuring the happiness of our employees and their families. DENSO positions promoting the health of its employees as an important management task and is therefore moving forward with “health and productivity management.”*
DENSO announced its Health Declaration in September 2016. At the same time, to encourage activities that promote employee health and raise the level of health awareness in the workplace, DENSO is working to enhance its health-related initiatives from the perspective of both physical and mental.

* The term “health and productivity management” is a registered trademark of the Nonprofit Organaization Kenkokeiei.

The Healthcare Promotion Division (which includes specialized professions such as public health nurses and general nurses) and related divisions have established a “Health Care Committee” to advance health promotion measures at DENSO.
We assign a “health manager” (section chief) and “health promotion leader” in each division, formulate an annual plan for health promotion (Health Actions), further health promotion measures with colleagues, strive to improve personal health awareness (Health Literacy), and mobilize the organization.
In addition, we provide appropriate support to the Group companies in Japan and overseas, based on the hygiene situation and medical environment in each country and region, thereby promoting the mental and physical health of our associates.

〈Japan〉
We are stepping up measures for the prevention, early detection, and treatment of diseases across the Group while formulating medium-term health plans and establishing targets for initiatives that cater to the conditions at each company.
〈Overseas〉
In collaboration with each regional headquarters, we are implementing health promotion activities in accordance with the issues and conditions in each region and at each Group company, while sharing the results of past activities and annual Health Actions.

The Company views the ability of its employees to perform at their best in a sound mental and physical condition as a management issue that it must aim to resolve through health and productivity management. To this end, we are working to achieve the ultimate goal of reducing absences from work due to illness (absenteeism) and controlling any potential decline in employees’ ability to perform due to poor health (presenteeism).

From fiscal 2023, we will focus on mental health and lifestyle disease countermeasures as priority initiatives, and promote health and productivity management by setting indicators related to employee awareness and behavioral change, including our original “Employee Lifestyle Score,” the rate of metabolic syndrome improvement, and the rate of thorough health examinations taken and medical institution visits.

〈DENSO CORPORATION〉

〈DENSO Group〉

1. Superior Health & Productivity Companies ^*2 (41 companies)

We are implementing measures to encourage healthier behavior targeting each employee and workplace. For example, we have the executive officer in charge of health communicate messages to each health manager (section chief) based on the theme of “creating workplaces and promoting human resource development so that all employees can work in good health and with enthusiasm.” We also share health data for each department (Employee Lifestyle Score, DENSO’s proprietary indicator for health management, and status of receiving specific health guidance, mental health assessments, and other recommended examinations) and have rolled out 11 important Health Actions.

We are promoting a wide range of initiatives to promptly identify employees dealing with mental health issues and provide them with the care that they need.

We have in place a structure that allows employees to receive consultation from expert medical staff on a 24-hour basis. Through this structure, we provide mental health support that is closely connected to the workplace.

Since fiscal 2014, we have been implementing mental health checks, thereby establishing an environment where employees can check their stress levels in advance of the revisions to the Industrial Safety and Health Act. In addition to reporting the results of these checks to each individual employee, we relay the results of our workplace stress analysis to each company office in an effort to provide further support for the mental health of our employees. Additionally, we hold one-on-one meetings with employees who are under particularly high levels of stress in order to promptly provide them with care.

In 2020, we added questions to these mental health checks that help determine the sleeping patterns of employees in an effort to focus our attention on sleep, which is believed to have a great impact on mental or physical health.

Implementation Status of Sleeping Pattern Checks

To ensure that employees who have taken long leaves of absences due to physical or mental illness can make a smooth return to the workplace, we have established a support structure for returning to work under which occupational physicians and expert medical staff coordinate closely with the supervisors of such employees.

We hold training based on case studies for our managerial personnel, which is provided by occupational physicians. We have also incorporated a mental health-related curriculum in our training for new hires.

With the aim of preventing and promptly treating lifestyle-related diseases, we have been promoting various awareness-raising activities and enhancing relevant systems.

For individuals that qualify under guidelines determined by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, we have in place a system for receiving specific health guidance from in-house experts during work hours as a means to prevent lifestyle-related illnesses. In addition, we are stepping up measures to follow up with employees that qualify for but have not received specific health guidance.
Target: Ratio of employees qualifying for specific health guidance of 15% or lower

We are strengthening our efforts to provide health guidance to individuals that require special health examinations for risks of high blood pressure and high blood sugar and are thoroughly implementing measures to follow up with employees who require such examinations but have not received.

* Target: Ratio of employees receiving special health examinations of 95% or higher

By implementing nutrition education activities that make use of the employee cafeteria, we are creating opportunities for employees to raise their awareness toward health and balanced nutrition and improve their own dietary habits.

We are promoting education on healthy diets in a delicious and fun manner by offering healthy lunch sets that are well-balanced in terms of nutrients, devising ways to increase our employees’ intake of dietary fiber and vegetables, and preparing desserts that contain nutrients which women in particular tend to lack.

To reduce the health-related risks from smoking and prevent secondhand smoke, we have been engaging in a Companywide project since fiscal 2012 that promotes efforts to discourage smoking. As part of our environmental efforts, we put in place a total indoor smoking ban (completed in fiscal 2019) and strictly enforce a no-smoking policy during work hours in an effort to reduce health risks. We also hold seminars on how to stop smoking and have introduced outpatient treatment for employees trying to quit. In these ways, we are implementing a variety of activities aimed at improving the rate of non-smokers.

Furthermore, in an effort to prevent secondhand smoke, we started gradually promoting a ban on cigarette smoking in fiscal 2021, and completed a Companywide ban on cigarette smoking in April 2021.

The sooner that cancer is detected and treated, the better the chances of recovery are for the patient. Accordingly, to ensure that employees are able to realize changes in their bodies at an early stage, we conduct various cancer examinations in-house. Going forward, we will promote efforts to help reduce the health risks caused by cancer.

With the aim of assessing the health level of each employee and at each workplace and providing employees with opportunities to make realizations about their health and improve their health behavior, the Company has established its original Employee Lifestyle Score,^*4 an indicator based on data from individual employee checkups, which corresponds to the health behavior and health data targets set in Healthy Japan 21,^*3 and has set the Companywide average value as a management target.

*3 Health Japan 21 is a policy formulated by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to promote the health of Japan’s population with the goal of preventing lifestyle-related diseases and extending healthy life expectancy.

*4 “Employee Lifestyle Score” calculation method
A total score of 100 points, consisting of 80 points for health behaviors and 20 points for health data. Calculations are based on the results of employees’ annual health checkups.

Furthermore, we make office health promotion leaders aware of the Lifestyle Scores for their respective workplace, thereby enabling them to formulate effective Health Actions.
Based on their Lifestyle Scores, we distribute written notifications to employees that contain advice on their strengths and weaknesses as well as information on how they compare to employees of the same age and what kinds of efforts they should make in the future. By raising the percentage of employees with healthy lifestyle habits, these activities aim to increase our Companywide average Lifestyle Score to 77.0 (up 10 points compared with fiscal 2018).
In addition, DENSO Kenko Station (DKS), developed in-house, is a health app that allows users to register not only Lifestyle Scores but also health checkup data, dietary data such as calories and salt content of food consumed at the company cafeteria, weight, step counts, blood pressure, and other data. Employees can utilize the app in their day-to-day health management.

We conduct a fact-finding survey to assess health issues facing women and the impact of poor health conditions on their work. We also offer online examinations (feedback provided by gynecologists), create opportunities for women to receive proper health knowledge, and provide online consultations and introductions to medical institutions.

(1) Online Health Seminars (Introduced in 2020)

To encourage healthier behavior among each employee, we hold various online seminars throughout the year (in collaboration with DENSO HEALTH INSURANCE SOCIETY) and disseminate health awareness-raising videos and materials on a Groupwide basis.

To encourage proper exercise habits and raise health awareness among employees during winter, when people are less active and have more opportunities to eat and drink, we hold a month-long session for promoting employee health.
We also hold events in which employees can participate online, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

As a collaborative effort with the DENSO WORKERS’ UNION, we hold a step race every year in June and November (6,734 participants in fiscal 2023) as a health-related event that provides opportunities for employees to give consideration to their health.

As an effort to prepare for an outbreak of a pandemic, relevant divisions of the Company have formulated a basic policy and response manual from the perspective of preventing infection. In the event that such a pandemic occurs, we will promote the necessary infection prevention measures.

When COVID-19 began to spread on a global scale, we rigorously implemented measures to encourage preventive behavior and control the spread of the virus internally. These efforts included the formulation of rules for employees infected with COVID-19 or suspected of being infected, the establishment of guidelines for meetings and business trips, and the implementation of measures to avoid overcrowding in employee cafeterias and other locations. In addition, we set up telephone hotlines via public health nurses and general nurses to promptly respond to inquiries from the workplace. In these ways, we established a system that enables our employees to work with greater peace of mind.

In addition, as a Company with many overseas bases, we recognize the importance of responding to global health issues, such as tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS —the world’s three major infectious diseases—and are proactively implementing response measures. For employees on overseas assignments and their families, we provide information on infectious diseases as well as vaccinations and local medical support.

We implement the following activities to contribute to health-related initiatives aimed at local communities and affiliated companies.

Since 1966, we have supported the blood donation activities of the Japanese Red Cross Society to contribute to the treatment of patients who need blood due to illness or injury. We also encourage our employees to volunteer to give blood at mobile blood donation stations.

For our suppliers, who represent important business partners, we offer health lectures and panel exhibits via our industrial physicians and introduce the health-related activities of various offices. We also provide opportunities for our suppliers to receive health-related measurements such as body composition measurements. In these ways, we strive to make our health-related efforts well known and help support the health of our suppliers.

With the aim of fostering a corporate climate where employees can continue to work in a healthy and energetic manner, the DENSO Group continues to support the creation of healthy lifestyles and is making strides in creating work environments that are safe, secure, and fulfilling.
Moving forward, we will share policies with Group companies in Japan and overseas and undertake initiatives with the aim of strengthening our Groupwide health management. At the same time, we will create a corporate culture based on health-related themes to promote optimal health policies and encourage healthy lifestyles.