Sustainability
Respect of Humanity and Assurance of Comfortable Working Environment
Basic Approach
NGK makes an effort to promote a work-life balance and to reduce long working hours.
Seven 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.
- At least six days of paid leave must be taken each 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 work on holidays or late at night.
Systems to Support employees to balance work and childcare at each stage
Initiatives
More details and related data are available from the NGK Report 2017 (PDF).
Enhancing the System Supporting Work-Life Balance
We have a flexible system that promotes employees' work-life balance.
Initiatives on Overtime Work
If overtime work in excess of 45 hours per month appears likely, measures are taken to even out time periods and workloads or to increase the number of employees.
Enhancing Work-Life Balance System
We have been continuously enhancing our support measures by identifying employees' needs.
Systems to Support Early Return from Parental Leave
We have 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.
Systems for Nursing Care Support
We have systems for working hours, time off, leave of absence and financial support.
Establishment of a Support Site for Diverse Work Styles on the Company Intranet
We have launched a support site for diverse work styles on the company intranet to widely announce our measures to support the balance between work and family life.
Pick Up Topics
A user of the childcare leave system for fathers
I decided to take childcare leave with my first child, as I didn't want to miss the special moments in my child's development and I wanted to support my wife. I'm glad I used the system because I was able to stay close and watch my child grow day by day. In order to use this system, it was essential to have the understanding and support of the people around me. For this reason, I consulted my supervisor in advance to arrange the work. Since I believe men should also play an active role in childrearing, I hope to see further understanding and cooperation both within the company and across the entire society so that more men can use this system.
Production Technologies Department, Manufacturing Division,
Ceramic Products Business Group
Daniel Kitaguchi
For more details,
please refer to