Society
Promotion of Health and Occupational Safety: Well-being
Declaration of a Healthy Company and Materiality
Sysmex Declaration of a Healthy Company
Sysmex has been promoting health management as one of its management issues to ensure that our employees, who are the foundation for the practice of the Group’s corporate philosophy, can lead fulfilling lives both physically and mentally. The Sysmex Declaration of a Healthy Company, drawn up in April 2020, specifies matters of critical importance regarding such aspects as occupational health and safety, as well as mental and physical health (i.e., materiality of health and productivity management). This has prompted Sysmex to make continuous efforts toward employee health enhancement, create working environments in which diversity is valued, and to have workplaces that make employees proud.
Our Efforts towards Health Enhancement
Efforts towards Employees’ Health Enhancement
Sysmex Corporation provides regular medical checkups for its employees, together with complete physical examinations and health screenings for female-specific cancers. It also encourages each employee who has received thorough examination results to undergo a secondary examination when necessary1. In fiscal 2023, the rate of undergoing medical examinations is increasing due to system reinforcement, such as increasing the number of in-house public health nurses and proactive health guidance by them.
If an employee requires long-term medical examinations and treatment, we make work-at-home arrangements for them, and we exert effort to help them continue to work. Moreover, in addition to mandatory semi-annual medical checkups, we provide our own biannual checkups that include tests for hepatitis B and C for employees engaging in work involving infectious substances. This is to ensure early detection and treatment of illnesses.
Sysmex is registered as a partner company in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s “Cancer Screening Corporate Action” and “Know about Hepatitis Project.” We have also signed the “Agreement to Promote an Increase in the Rate of Cancer Screening” with Hyogo Prefecture. These are some of our activities to educate employees about diseases and increase the rate of employees taking medical checkups. As a measure against passive smoking, Sysmex removed smoking areas at business offices retained by its Group companies in Japan. We also provide allowances to cover services for quitting tobacco use and attendance at smoking-cessation seminars2.
- 1 Rate of undergoing secondary medical examination: 53.2% in fiscal 2023 (actual)
- 2 Employees can apply for allowances that cover medical consultation or health-related seminars from the “Cafeteria Plan” welfare program.
Initiatives to Solve Female-Specific Health Issues
To solve female-specific health issues and social issues and increase its corporate value, Sysmex Corporation launched an inter-divisional FemTech working group. This working group works to improve employee well-being. By understanding the worries and concerns of different genders, we aim to promote mutual understanding and active participation of diverse human resources, as well as to revitalize long-term in-house innovation.
In fiscal 2023, we held a workshop to increase understanding of women’s wellness issues, and we created a wellness issue map regarding menstruation. We will hold lectures and carry out in-house surveys to increase interest in and attract attention to FemTech based on this issue map.
Efforts to Ensure Employees’ Mental Health
Sysmex Corporation performs “Kokoro no Health Checks” annually to confirm employees’ mental health and uncover any harassment-related situations. We track results over time and strive to make workplace improvements. We also provide channels for health consultation with industrial physicians and public health nurses, together with an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for mental health, to ensure that external professionals are available to our employees when they need help.
In fiscal 2023, we had industrial physicians conduct several seminars on themes of mental health, women’s health, male menopause, and the like to raise employee awareness of the need for self-care. We also provided management training for those in managerial positions to improve psychological safety in organizations. From fiscal 2023, we newly provided training on “Workplace Psychological Safety and Individual Psychological Flexibility,” utilizing external consulting services mainly for production divisions.
Sysmex CNA concluded a service agreement with an external specialized institution, effective from 2021, as part of its mental health care initiative. In fiscal 2023, it offered a counseling service for employees with poor mental health and a reinstitution support service for employees on temporary leave, provided training for young employees on self-care, training on harassment prevention, psychological safety, etc.
Efforts for Active and Healthy Employee Lives
Sysmex Corporation has facilities to encourage employees to stay healthy. These include sports grounds, tennis courts, and a gymnasium with fitness equipment on the premises of our Solution Center, which provides customer service and support. It also holds events and seminars to raise employee awareness of physical health maintenance, offers a “Cafeteria Plan” welfare program, including health promotion schemes such as sports facility use allowances, and provides healthy menu options at employee cafeterias. At some offices without cafeterias, healthy canteen services, at which dishes made with additive-free domestic ingredients are sold, have been launched with the aim of refreshing employees and improving their eating habits. Moreover, we have organized initiatives such as walking events and consultation services for specific forms of health guidance during working hours in collaboration with our corporate health insurance society.
Implementation of Engagement Survey
We conduct well-being research in our annual engagement survey. More than 80% of employees* have given positive answers to the questions about “a safe workplace” for three consecutive years.
- Scope: Sysmex Corporation
Recognition as a Company that Excels in Health and Productivity Management
Sysmex Corporation undertakes a variety of initiatives for health and productivity management, and we have an established a framework for our activities that encompasses Group companies in Japan. These efforts have received positive responses, and in March 2024, we were recognized for the eighth time by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as a “company that excels in health and productivity management.”
| Company | Initiatives |
|---|---|
| Sysmex America |
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| Sysmex Brazil |
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| Sysmex Europe |
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| Sysmex Shanghai |
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| Sysmex Asia Pacific |
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Framework and Promotion of Occupational Health and Safety
Framework for Promoting Occupational Health and Safety
Sysmex promotes occupational health and safety management in accordance with its Regulations on Safety and Health, which were formulated under the responsibility of members of the Management Board, a senior executive officer, and a senior managing director. A Central Health and Safety Committee* was established for Group companies in Japan. The committee formulates policies and targets to reinforce and enhance Group companies’ occupational health and safety systems. In addition, we keep watch over the safety management status of each office and consider any measures for improvement. We will further enhance the roles of industrial physicians and nurses and work in locations close to employees to proactively carry out health promotion, disease prevention, and health education activities. We have also set targets for lost-time injury frequency rates and lost workday rates as sustainability targets. We report on the status of these initiatives to the Managing Board semiannually.
- The Central Health and Safety Committee consists of members, including the HR & General Affairs divisions, chairpersons of the Health and Safety Committees of various business offices, persons recommended by the Sysmex Union, and industrial physicians and health nurses.
Initiatives for Occupational Health and Safety
Health and Safety Committee meetings are held regularly at each Sysmex business office, and preemptive measures are implemented from both short- and long-term perspectives based on a risk management concept, which includes eliminating risks identified through walk-around checks. In addition, the Central Health and Safety Committee, which monitors Sysmex Group companies in Japan, introduces measures and targets for health and safety and health management of domestic Group companies, monitors their progress, and deliberates on a variety of items ranging from measures against workplace risks and overwork to ensuring the safe handling of chemicals used in research. In the event of an industrial accident, the Health and Safety Committee of the relevant business office will deliberate on the causes of, and countermeasures against, the accident and report on such matters to the Central Health and Safety Committee. This body will share the reported contents within the entire Group with the objective of preventing a recurrence of the accident.
In addition, employees are given safety training on emergency and evacuation measures to be taken in the event of an accident or an employee suddenly falling ill, on handling potentially dangerous machinery and raw materials, and on safe driving. We hold comprehensive fire drills based on hypothetical large-scale disaster scenarios and conduct training on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). We also offer courses to train citizen emergency medical technicians on a regular basis. We hold initial-response drills in the event of a disaster, such as quickly confirming and ensuring employee safety and sharing information on the damage status at business offices. Sysmex also conducts labor compliance training, seminars by industrial physicians on the importance of taking secondary medical checkups and the aftereffects of COVID-19 infections, and seminars by external experts on women’s health.
Group companies also promote occupational health and safety management by carrying out workplace patrols and surveys, risk assessments, and training for emergency situations in accordance with the laws and regulations of specific regions and the characteristics of each facility. Sysmex Brazil has acquired ISO 45001 certification, the international standard for Occupational Health and Safety management systems.
Preventing Overwork
To prevent overwork, we focus on reducing long working hours, which can impair physical and mental health. As for managing working hours, we log employees’ hours with an IC card that they use to enter and leave the office and when they start and shut down their computers. In addition to complying with relevant laws and regulations, we have established internal standards that are more rigorous than the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. When an employee exceeds the specified limits set in accordance with internal standards, we communicate this fact to their superior and ask the employee to submit a self-check form so that improvements can be made to their work situation. Employees are also offered opportunities to see industrial physicians when necessary. Time management training by external lecturers for executives and e-learning programs for employees are continuously conducted to enhance understanding of the need for improvement regarding overwork.
The average total annual working hours per person for fiscal 2023 was 2,010 hours1, a decrease of 10 hours from the previous fiscal year. Proactive recruiting activities have allowed progress in solving the shortage of personnel against a backdrop of increased initiatives for technological innovation and business structure transformation. The introduction of a value-added labor productivity index2 prompted a change to a more efficient way of working and has caused a reduction in actual work hours. The number of paid leave days taken has also increased.
Sysmex will continue to proceed with appropriate personnel allocation through the strengthening of recruiting activities, proactively educating employees, and carrying out awareness-raising activities in alliance with the Sysmex Union, with the aim of reducing working hours.
- 1 Full-time employees in Group companies in Japan
- 2 (Operating profit + labor cost + depreciation)/working hours