Work Style Reform

Building a comfortable work environment

"Smart Work Project" for Reforming Work Styles

At NHK Spring, we believe that creating a rewarding and comfortable workplace with top priority given to the health and physical and mental wellbeing of our employees, and enabling each member of our diverse workforce to fully exhibit their abilities is essential for the sustainable development of the Company.
For that reason, in FY2018, we started the "Smart Work Project" geared to reforming work styles, with  the goals of being a "safe and secure company" and "a company that is rewarding and comfortable to work in”.

Main Initiatives of the Smart Work Project

1. Diverse and flexible work styles

  • Introduction of the telecommuting system and coreless flextime

  • Introduction of the in-house recruitment system and regional employee system

2. Improvement of work-life balance

  • Reduction of total working hours based on setting rules concerning days for leaving the Company on time and times for completely vacating the Company

  • Management of working hours and implementation of in-company training and e-learning on labor compliance

  • Setting of the target number of days for utilization of annual paid leave

3. Improvement of operational efficiency

  • Utilization of technology for using software to automate some items of routine work (RPA)

  • Utilization of the online conference system and review of conference bodies

  • Sharing of know-how on improving operational efficiency and examples of work style reform initiatives

4. Implementation of employee engagement diagnosis

  • Disclosure of survey findings to managers in each division, and building a system for grasping issues and implementing improvement actions in each workplace

Supporting Work-Life Balance

At NHK Spring, based on the belief that improving work and private life is key to creating an attractive workplace where employees can achieve self-realization, we have established systems and take various measures to help balance work and private life.

Expansion of the leave, vacations, and short working hours system for childcare and nursing care

At NHK Spring, in addition to establishing systems for balancing work and private life, we are also devoting efforts to building an environment and cultivating awareness (through training and public information through the Company newsletter, etc.) so that it is easy to utilize systems.
The childcare leave utilization rate is generally 100% among female employees, and the rate is also increase among male employees.  
Moreover, concerning measures for supporting development of the next generation, NHK Spring in 2021 acquired "Kurumin" certification from the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare as a "Company that Supports Child Rearing".

Encouragement to take annual paid leave

Employees are encouraged to take annual paid leave based on targets that are set between labor and management.

Fiscal year

FY2020

FY2021

FY2022

FY2023
Annual average number of annual paid leave days taken

16.3 days

19.5 days

19.8 days

19.6 days
Annual paid leave utilization target achievement rate

99%

99%

99%

100%

Rehiring system

Targeting persons who have retired from NHK Spring due to marriage, childbirth, childcare, spouse's transfer, nursing care, infertility treatment or other circumstances but want to display their abilities in the Company once again, this system is for rehiring such persons under certain conditions.

Regional employee system

NHK Spring introduced the regional employee system, which allows employees to work without being transferred, in FY2022. As well as catering to changing values regarding work, this system contributes to the balancing of work with private life and realization of diverse career formation. 

Special leave system for infertility treatment

We introduced a leave system specifically intended for employees seeking  infertility treatment in FY2019. This enables employees to take up to five days of leave per year (leave can be taken in half-day units). This system can be used by female and male employees and is intended to prevent employees from retiring from work due to  infertility treatment.

Labor-Management Relations

Resolution of issues based on labor-management cooperation

NHK Spring has established numerous opportunities for dialog with NHK Spring Labor Union in an effort to foster mutual understanding. At monthly meetings of the Central Labor-Management Council held at Head Office, labor-management dialog is deepened while the parties check conditions regarding working hours, utilization of annual paid leave, etc. and exchange opinions aimed at creating a better workplace. Also, individual business sites hold monthly meetings of Branch Labor-Management Councils with the NHK Spring Labor Union branches to resolve day-to-day issues.  
Through conducting repeated dialog between labor and management, we strive to deepen mutual understanding and trust and realize business operations  based on a unified stance between labor and management that enables us to immediately respond to business expansion and sudden changes in the business environment. 

In addition, the Company and the labor union have concluded a comprehensive labor agreement covering all working conditions and overall labor-management relations with the aim of establishing fair and stable labor-management relations and promoting the Company's development and improving the livelihoods of union members. The collective labor agreement is publicly disclosed through printed materials distributed and posted on the Company's intranet so that all employees can view the latest working conditions whenever they want.