Sustainability
With Employees
Work-Life Balance
NGK strives to promote a work-life balance and reduce long working hours.
We keep track of social changes, such as changing attitudes toward work as well as legislative amendments, and strive to respond to these changes flexibly and properly by improving systems and revising operations.
10 Rules for Promoting a Work-Life Balance
- No more than 70 hours of overtime work per month
- Overtime work exceeding 45 hours per month limited to six months each year
- The target for annual paid leave is 10 days, and employees are obligated to take at least six days a year
- No more than 300 hours of overtime work per six months
- In principle, there will be no overtime work on refresh days (Wednesdays and Fridays)
- If overtime is necessary, a prior permit application must be submitted
- In principle, work must not be performed for more than seven days straight
- If work in excess of seven days straight is necessary, a prior permit application must be submitted
- Written applications must be submitted when requesting employees to work on holidays or late at night
- There must be an interval period of at least 10 hours between shifts of late night work
Initiatives to Limit Overtime Work
If, for any reason, overtime work in excess of 45 hours per month appears likely, the reason for the increase in overtime work must be confirmed through prior labor-management consultations to level out the time periods and workloads or increase the number of employees.
Countermeasures for Mitigating Increased Overtime Working Hours
Each year, NGK discloses statistics on hours worked and paid leave utilization to its Labor Union for discussion and countermeasure deliberation purposes. When cases of long working hours are found, Labor Union meets with each workplace to devise countermeasures. When long working hours are found for employees who have been temporarily assigned overseas, they must submit in writing the reason for the long working hours and undergo a health check. These measures are taken to maintain their health, and the written report is used to identify the reasons for long working hours and to develop countermeasures.
Paid Leave: Number of Days Used, Utilization Rate (NGK Union Members; Excluding Outside Employees Temporarily Assigned to NGK)
Enhancing Systems for Supporting Work-Life Balance
NGK offers flexible systems to help employees maintain a balance between work and family life. To support childcare and
nursing care, we are enhancing financial support by providing a babysitter expense subsidy system, and a lump-sum payment system for nursing care support. And in consideration of the working environment, we offer support via a shortened working hour system.
Further, we continue to enhance the soft infrastructure NGK has in place to support these employees. For employees seeking to balance their career with childcare, we offer pre-maternity leave interviews, pre-reinstatement interviews during the childcare leave period, career consultations, and other consultation resources. For employees undertaking nursing care, we offer nursing care-related information sessions and distribute nursing care handbooks, as well as facilitate consultation services which make use of outside resources.
Enhancement of Work-Life Balance Systems
In 2010, NGK made a major revision to its human resource system, and we have since been continuously enhancing our support measures by identifying employees' needs.
In fiscal 2017, we established an early reinstatement lump-sum system for employees who return to work early from their
childcare leave (within 11 months of the start of their childcare leave). We also established a non-registered daycare subsidy system to help subsidize employees who put their children in non-registered daycares. These systems are part of the initiatives we undertake to support employees' careers after they have returned to work. Also, in addition to childcare and nursing care, we launched a system for flexible work arrangements to help employees who need to attend to a health condition of their own that requires repeated and ongoing treatment, thereby finding a balance between work and medical care.
In fiscal 2018, we investigated how to improve the efficiency and productivity of workplaces by offering employees greater flexibility in terms of work style and environment, so that they can work to their potential while maintaining a healthy work-life balance, regardless of when or where they work. It was in this context that we introduced a telecommuting system intended to help address the needs of employees with children or family members who require care, or who have a serious illness themselves.
In fiscal 2019, we made it possible for male employees to accumulate more vacation days to be used for post-maternity
support. They can also take childcare leave for shorter periods. This has resulted in a more-than-60% increase in male employees taking childcare leave.
System to Support Employees to Balance Work and Childcare at Each Stage
Systems to Support Early Return from Parental Leave
NGK has systems to encourage and support employees who have taken maternity and childcare leave so that they can return to their careers at an early stage.
These systems are aimed at developing workplaces that support female employees in particular, with the expectation of promoting their active participation.
Systems to Support Early Return from Parental Leave
- A lump-sum payment for early return
- Licensed daycare center expense subsidy
- Childcare Concierge
Overview of Childrearing Support Measures and Users
Systems That Exceed Legal Requirements
| Item | Details | Category | FY2015 | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of childcare leave takers | Until the last day of the month when the child turns 1 year old. When there are certain
circumstances, such as not being able to find a daycare center, leave is available until the last day of the month in which the child turns 18 months old or the end of March after the child turns one, whichever is longer. (Legal requirement: until the child turns 18 months old) |
Total | 60 | 51 | 53 | 54 | 94 |
| Men | 11 | 7 | 17 | 27 | 37 | ||
| Women | 49 | 44 | 36 | 27 | 57 | ||
| Shortened working hours during childrearing | 6 or 7 hours per day for employees until the fiscal year when their children start 4th grade in elementary school (Legal requirement: For children under the age of 3) | Number of leave takers |
53 | 57 | 51 | 63 | 64 |
Systems Operated Independently by NGK
Unit: Persons
| System name | Details | FY2015 | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lump-sum payment made 6 months after returning to work | Lump-sum payment is paid 6 months after returning to work | 16 | 26 | 19 | 31 | 25 |
| System for taking annual paid leave in hourly increments for employees working shortened hours | Paid leave (day's worth) can be taken in hourly increments by employees working shortened hours | 35 | 36 | 36 | 59 | 62 |
| Childcare leave for fathers using accumulated vacation days | Unused annual paid holidays can be used for childcare leave | 11 | 7 | 17 | 19 | 31 |
| Pre-maternity leave interview | Interview is attended by employee, HR, and supervisor to provide the employee with peace of mind while on maternity leave and ensures both sides have proper understanding of procedures related to systems supporting childcare and work | 22 | 20 | 27 | 30 | 26 |
| Interview before returning to work | Supports smooth transition back to work through consultation on work details and work style | 27 | 18 | 30 | 29 | 27 |
| System for accompanying a spouse's overseas assignment* | Enables employees to take a leave of up to 2 years and 6 months while accompanying a spouse (including a non-NGK employee) posted overseas for work, and allows employees to continue their career path, which was difficult to do prior to the establishment of this system | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
| Maternity gift | ¥50,000 gift when a child is born | 175 | 208 | 225 | 241 | 218 |
| Babysitter expense subsidy | Provides up to ¥100,000 per year for employees who must pay for a babysitter or daycare due to working hours | 16 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 11 |
| Childcare Concierge | Support to facilitate the process of putting a child in daycare and returning to work | Unintroduced | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Priority parking spaces to support childcare | Priority parking spaces available at a commuter parking lot | 17 | 19 | 29 | 32 | 40 |
| Non-registered daycare subsidy system | Unintroduced | Unintroduced | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lump-sum payment for early return | Unintroduced | Unintroduced | 3 | 7 | 5 |
The definition of the system for accompanying a spouse’s overseas assignment has been revised and the data for past years has been revised.
Systems to Support Nursing Care
| Working hours | Time off | Financial support |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| Leave of absence | ||
|
Nursing Care Leave Usage (NGK)
| Category | FY2015 | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Men | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Women | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Note: Includes contract employees.
Revision of the Care Leave System
In line with revisions made in January 2017 to the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act, we made revisions to our own
system, such as enabling employees to divide their one-year nursing care leave into three blocks.
Moreover, we have signed a corporate contract with SeaCare, an NPO that supports care-giving, to further enhance services helpful to caregivers. This service makes care-giving consultations available free of charge, regardless of whether Certification of Needed Long-Term Care has been obtained, and enables employees to receive support in care-giving when they are unable to do so.
Company Intranet
We have launched a site on diverse work styles on the company intranet to widely announce our measures to support a work-life balance. The new site is a redesigned and more user-friendly version of the previous Work and Family Life Support Site. Its new features include, for example, an online handbook on childcare and nursing care.