Sustainability
Health Management
Approach to Health Management
The NGK Group strives to promote employees’ health through the NGK Group Health Declaration: “Developing dynamic, people-friendly work environments and a health-conscious corporate culture.”
Health Declaration of the NGK Group
At NGK, we consider employee health and safety to be of fundamental importance to the company’s operation and are, therefore, proactive about developing dynamic, people-friendly work environments and a health-conscious corporate culturse, which contribute to better health for each and every employee.
- Provide a workspace that is both people-friendly and work-friendly
- Cultivate a health-conscious corporate culture for executives, employees, and their families
- Promote early detection and early intervention for health concerns
- Offer support for mental health and wellbeing

Reducing Long Work Hours
In July 2016, we lowered the maximum amount of overtime work to 70 hours per month (with an upper limit of 300 hours per half-year). To this end, employees are, as a rule, not allowed to work for more than seven days straight and are not allowed to do overtime on their twice-a-week refresh days. If either of these are necessary, they must get permission from their bosses beforehand. To prevent employees from working excessively long hours, there must be an interval period of at least 10 hours between shifts of late night work.
Overtime Work Hour Trends
Item | Scope | Category | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hours worked/ overtime work (Annual fixed working hours: 1,919 hours) |
NGK general employees | Annual actual working hours | 2,069 | 2,072 | 2,081 | 2,059 | 2,044 |
Average overtime work per month |
23.7 | 24.3 | 25.2 | 23.7 | 21.6 | ||
NGK including key personnel (managers) |
Annual actual working hours | 2,067 | 2,089 | 2,087 | 2,056 | 2,057 | |
Average overtime work per month |
22.9 | 23.4 | 25.2 | 23.6 | 22.0 | ||
NGK production divisions | Annual actual working hours | 2,102 | 2,129 | 2,129 | 2,067 | 2,061 | |
Average overtime work per month |
24.7 | 25.7 | 27.3 | 24.4 | 22.8 | ||
NGK non-production divisions | Annual actual working hours | 2,051 | 2,077 | 2,050 | 2,052 | 2,037 | |
Average overtime work per month |
22.3 | 22.4 | 24.0 | 23.2 | 21.1 |
Following Up on Employees Working Long Hours
NGK provides employees working long hours, including non-regular and part-time employees, with ongoing opportunities to meet with industrial physicians for health consultations and exams. The results are reported at monthly Safety and Health Committee meetings at each worksite to thoroughly promote the reduction of overtime work.
In fiscal 2019, because certain managers were often putting in long hours, Business Groups ordered this to be reduced.
Item | Scope | Category | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of employees having consultations | NGK | All | 108 | 85 | 243 | 78 | 41 |
Note: Numbers of people shown are cumulative totals.
Promotion of Activities Supporting Mental and Physical Health
Four Types of Care for Mental Health
We facilitate the widespread implementation of ongoing mental and physical health promotion activities, centering on the four types of care for mental health promoted by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW).
In fiscal 2020, we carried out stress checks for all employees and had test results analyzed by group. Based on the results of this analysis, we have a six-month program that involves training the managers of workplaces with comparatively high stress levels in improving interpersonal relations within the workplace and improving the work environment.
Four Types of Care

Percentage of Employees Taking Stress Checks
Unit: %
Item | Scope | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | Target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Percentage of employees taking stress checks | NGK | 91.4 | 93.4 | 94.9 | 95.9 | 94.1 | 100 |
Percentage with high stress levels | 9.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 10.7 | 9.9 | - |
Position-Based Mental Care Education
With an emphasis on self-care for new employees and young employees, we strive to deepen understanding of mental health by combining self-care and line care for new supervisors and managers.
We provide training for managers in areas with high occurrences of employee mental health problems with the goal of detecting and treating problems early on and putting these employees on the road to early recovery.
Position-Based Mental Care Education
Item | Scope | Category | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of employees taking position-based mental care education |
NGK | All | 1,009 | 402 | 567 | 614 | 585 |
New hires | 234 | 158 | 192 | 143 | 140 | ||
General employees | 325 | 181 | 306 | 339 | 362 | ||
Managers | 450 | 63 | 69 | 132 | 83 |
Anti-Harassment Training
Item | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sessions held | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
Number of participants | 326 | 350 | 464 | 419 | 417 |
Promoting Better Health and Wellbeing among Employees
In addition to annual health exams, NGK holds collaborative health promotion activities* with the health insurance association in efforts to promote better health and physical strength among employees. These activities include health lectures, health declaration challenges, the use of health apps for smartphones, physical strength measuring events, walking-age assessment events and related lectures, and recreational walks.
- An initiative in which health insurance associations work closely with companies and use their respective strengths to create a positive work environment by efficiently and effectively promoting the health and wellbeing of employees and their families.
Percentage of Employees Taking Health Exams
Item | Scope | Category | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | Target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Periodic health exam | NGK | Total employees | 4,035 | 4,266 | 4,683 | 4,936 | 4,967 | - |
Number taking health exam | 3,946 | 4,230 | 4,601 | 4,855 | 4,894 | |||
Number of exceptions* | 89 | 36 | 82 | 81 | 73 | |||
Health exam ratio (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Employees on maternity leave, temporary retirement, etc.
Percentage of Smokers
Item | Scope | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Smoking ratio (%) | NGK | 24.6 | 25.0 | 26.0 | 23.5 |
Percentage of Employees Taking Metabolic Syndrome Checkup
Unit: %
Item | Scope | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Percentage of employees taking metabolic syndrome checkups | NGK | 84.8 | 86.3 | 86.3 | 87.5 | Compilation results in about November 2021 |
Percentage with metabolic syndrome | NGK | 13.2 | 13.1 | 14.3 | 13.2 | |
Percentage under medical guidance | NGK | 59.1 | 58.6 | 56.7 | 64.6 |
Number of Participants in Health Promotion Initiatives
Unit: Persons
Item | Participants | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Health lectures | NGK managers | 200 | 270 | 300 | - |
Health declaration challenges | NGK employees | 1,306 | 1,590 | 1,199 | 1,560 |
Smartphone health apps | NGK employees and families | 522 | 742 | 1,127 | 1,134 |
Physical dynamism checkups | NGK employees | 192 | 191 | - | - |
Walking-age assessments and lectures | NGK employees | - | - | 64 | - |
Recreational walks | NGK employees and families | 223 | 163 | 223 | - |
- Note: Items marked with a “—” were not carried out in the year in question.
Response to Infectious Diseases and Other Global Health Problems
There are approximately 450 NGK employees and family members posted overseas, and our employees in Japan take more than 3,000 overseas business trips a year, thus creating substantial risk of contracting infectious diseases. To reduce this risk, those posted overseas and taking business trips, as well as their families, are provided with health management training by industrial physicians.
Participants learn the fundamentals of infectious diseases, are advised to take immunization shots, and are taught ways to avoid contracting things like HIV and malaria.
During the influenza season from autumn to winter, employees going on overseas business trips can get influenza shots at the in-company clinic.
Outstanding Health and Productivity Management Company
Since 2019, we have been included in the “White 500” list under the Health and Productivity Management Organization Recognition Program, run by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Nippon Kenko Kaigi.

Aichi Prefecture Advanced Health Management Company
NGK and the NGK Health Insurance Association have earned a designation as an Advanced Health Management Company by the Aichi prefectural government. The aim of this program is to recognize companies and organizations that aggressively pursue health management, in the process increasing the number of companies taking action towards a healthy workforce and increasing the healthy life expectancy of the prefecture’s citizens.
