Sustainability
Health Management
Basic Approach
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 culture, 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
President
Health Management Promotion Framework
Medical professionals, such as chief industrial physicians and industrial health nurses under the Health Management & Promotion Office, and the Health Management Secretariat collaborate with the labor union and the health insurance association to promote health management at NGK. This is overseen by the director responsible for the Human Resources Department.
Health Management Promotion Framework Chart
Health Management Strategy Map
1 Line care: Managers and supervisors improve the workplace environment and provide counseling related to the mental health of their subordinates
Self-care: Understanding your own stress and mental health, and preventing, reducing, or dealing with your own stress
2 Measurement results for subjective view of health: Self-assessed health status
3 Indicators related to health habits: Percentage of people who exercise regularly, smoke, drink responsibly, and get a satisfactory amount of sleep
Initiatives to Shorten Total Hours Worked
Reducing Long Work Hours
In July 2016, NGK 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.
In FY2024, there were 30 cases of overtime work exceeding our upper limit, but no cases which violated legal regulations (Full year results excluding seconded employees).
- Exceeded 70 hours: 3 cases (including 1 general employee) *Statutory limits not exceeded
- Exceeded 300 hours: 27 cases (including 15 general employees) *Statutory limits not exceeded
Response to Increase in Overtime Work
Every year, NGK discloses actual working hours and leave taken to the labor union. We then exchange ideas and discuss what measures to take.
If it appears that the amount of overtime worked is going to exceed 45 hours, we will first hold a labor-management meeting to determine the reason for the increase in overtime, then implement measures such as evening out work periods and workloads or adding additional workers.
Whenever it is determined that employees are actually working long hours, we discuss countermeasures for each worksite with the labor union.
For employees temporarily stationed overseas, as soon as it is discovered that they are working long hours, they are required to submit a written reason and undergo a health examination. This not only serves to maintain the health of employees temporarily stationed overseas, but allows us to determine the cause of the long working hours from the written report, and implement countermeasures to correct the situation.
Hours / Overtime Hours Worked
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.
Number of Employees Having Consultation about Long Work Hours
Note: Based on the check, the number of employees having consultations about long work hours in FY2020 was revised to 67
Promoting Activities Supporting Mental and Physical Health
4 Types of Care for Mental Health
NGK facilitates 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, Labour and Welfare (MHLW).
In FY2024, we carried out stress checks.
Actual test results were sent to each department as a Group analysis report. Based on the results of this analysis, we conducted training through e-learning about self-care and line care, and workshops related to mental health for each manager for improving the work environment in their own workplace.
4 Types of Care
- 1
Self-care
- 2
Line care
(care by supervisors)
* We have focused our efforts on this in recent years. - 3
Care by industrial health staff within business sites
- 4
Care by resources outside business sites
Percentage of Employees Taking Stress Checks
Percentage of Employees with High Stress
Position-Based Mental Healthcare Education
We strive to deepen understanding of mental health through education that emphasizes self-care for new and young employees, and education that combines self-care and line care for new supervisors and key personnel.
We provide training for key personnel 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.
Number of Participants in Position-Based Mental Care Education
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 declaration challenges, the use of smartphone health app for individuals (kencom), recreational walks, online seminars, distribution of online videos (about fitness, lifestyle improvement, etc.), and a campaign to quit smoking.
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
Rate of Employees Taking Regular Health Exams
Rate of Employees taking Specific Health Checkups
Rate of Employees Eligible for Specific Health Guidance
Rate of Employees Who Completed Specific Health Guidance
Number of Participants in Health Promotion Initiatives
Smoking Rate
Health Management when Stationed Overseas and Response to Infectious Diseases
There are approximately 470 NGK employees and family members posted overseas, and a total of 500 employees go abroad on business trips each year. We support the health and safety of these members so that they are able to conduct their lives and business. We support the health of travelers by providing them with health management training by physicians with expertise in travel medicine that teaches precautions for diet and lifestyle, the fundamentals of infectious diseases, recommendations for immunization shots, and ways to avoid contracting Infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.
Moreover, we have engaged external medical consultants for business travelers and those posted overseas. They provide medical consultations while overseas and interpreting at local medical facilities, and even handle emergency medical transport. This creates an environment in which employees can live abroad worry-free.
In addition, we send periodic emails with health information to travelers, and make it possible for them to have direct medical consultations, including for mental health.
We also promote health management for those posted overseas by setting the same upper limit of 70 overtime hours per month as we set for employees in Japan. This is regardless of whether the employees are key personnel or S/M/J employees. If an employee surpasses this limit, we have them complete a questionnaire and — depending on their response — attend an interview with one of our industrial physicians.
Through this kind of health management framework, NGK supports safe and secure work and lifestyles for employees abroad.
KENKO Investment for Health
Since 2019, NGK has been continuously included in the large enterprise category of the Certified KENKO Investment for Health Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program jointly promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Nippon Kenko Kaigi (Japan Health Council).
In addition, the NGK Health Insurance Association has also been continuously included in the SME category of the Certified KENKO Investment for Health Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program. In 2025, it was also included as a Next Bright 1000 company.
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.
