Health Management

In September 2020, Gakken Group unveiled its "Declaration of Health Management," signaling a deepened commitment to advancing and sustaining the well-being of each employee and their families. The role of spearheading health management efforts has been entrusted to the Representative Director of Gakken Holdings, who bears the ultimate responsibility for championing these initiatives. This proactive approach to health management is tailored to address the requirements of the "100-year life era."

In March 2023, eight Gakken Group companies were recognized as 2023 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations.
　
Six companies, including Gakken Holdings, were certified as 2023 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations (Large Enterprise Category), and two companies were certified as 2023 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Category). Of these, Bunri received a "Bright 500" rating.

We have set up a health management promotion office, and the company and the health insurance association are working together to maintain and improve the health of our employees.

Through the implementation of health management, we aim to increase the number of employees who are physically and mentally healthy and who work vigorously and with a sense of fulfillment in their work. We also aim to realize a flexible work style that makes the most of each individual's personality and strengths, thereby creating a workplace environment where diverse values can be transformed into organizational strengths and creativity can be demonstrated. By doing so, we hope to realize "well-being" and  achieve "sustainable enhancement of corporate value".

We believe that health checkups are indispensable for maintaining employee health and preventing illness, and we proactively implement and promote various health checkups.
In addition to regular health checkups, the Gakken Health Insurance Union subsidizes the cost of health checkups for lifestyle-related diseases for those aged 35 and older, physical examinations, and women's health examinations.

We provide health guidance to employees whose blood pressure, diabetes, lipid levels, etc. exceed a certain level in the results of regular health checkups. In addition, we are also working to prevent serious illnesses among employees by recommending that they receive medical examinations and confirming that they continue to receive outpatient treatment.
In addition, we are actively cooperating with the health insurance association to increase the implementation rate of specific health guidance for those aged 40 and over, and are working to prevent metabolic syndrome and improve the lifestyle of our employees.

【Women's Health Examination】
We recommend the "Women's Health Examination (cost subsidized as part of the Gakken Health Insurance Program)," which is conducted for the early detection of cancers and diseases specific to women, and actively promote the examination as a system that can be taken during working hours. We are creating an environment that makes it easy for employees to undergo medical examinations.
 

【Seminar Implementation】
Aiming to create a workplace where female employees can stay healthy both mentally and physically, and an environment where those around them can understand this, we invited Dr. Mihyon Song of Marunouchi no Mori Ladies Clinic to hold a "Seminar to Improve Health Literacy for Working Women. The seminar was entitled "What Every Businessperson Needs to Know about Female Hormones and Menstruation! Female Hormone and Menstruation Tricks" and "Useful for Career Development! Tricks for Menopause for Men and Women" were the themes of the two seminars. A total of 400 people participated (including 40% men and 38% managers). The event provided an opportunity for participants to deepen their understanding of people in the workplace and to think about better ways of working.
 

Theme:
Businesspersons should know about female hormones and menstruation! Female Hormones and Menstruation Tricks" (June 25, 2021)
Useful for Career Development!　Tricks for Menopause" (September 16, 2021)

【Influenza】

On November 28, 2022, Gakken Group conducted a mass vaccination against influenza at Gakken building as a measure to prevent infectious diseases. A total of 608 employees in Gakken building were inoculated under the auspices of the Health Management Promotion Secretariat.

To prevent employees from passive smoking, Gakken implemented a complete smoking ban on the premises of Gakken building in 2018. Since then, we have been expanding the complete non-smoking policy within the building premises to all of our offices nationwide. (Cafeteria Plan), an employee benefit program introduced by some companies, includes cost subsidies for smoking cessation efforts, and the Gakken Health Insurance Association provides an online remote smoking cessation support program free of charge as part of its health services, with counselors providing one-on-one support while using an app and smoking cessation medication. The Gakken Health Insurance Association also offers a free online remote smoking cessation support program as part of its health care business, which provides one-on-one support from a counselor using an application and smoking cessation medication to help employees and their families quit smoking without difficulty.

Smoking rate: 17.8% in FY2019 13.1% in FY2022

(Data from 10 companies: Gakken Holdings, Gakken Juku Holdings, Gakken, Gakken Educational, Gakken Method, Gakken Products Support, Gakken Sta:Full, Arukikata, Gakken Logistics, and Gakken LEAP)

Physical health: Walking events.

Exercise habit ratio: 20.8% in FY2019, 23.8% in FY2022

(Data from 10 companies: Gakken Holdings, Gakken Juku Holdings, Gakken, Gakken Educational, Gakken Method, Gakken Products Support, Gakken Sta:Full, Arukikata, Gakken Logistics, and Gakken LEAP)

【Let's Eat Vegetables Campaign】

【Cancer Prevention Seminar】

In August 2022, a doctor specializing in endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of esophageal and gastric cancer gave an easy-to-understand lecture on how to protect oneself from "cancer" through a general discussion of "cancer. In August 2022, a doctor specializing in endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of esophageal and gastric cancer gave an easy-to-understand lecture on how to protect oneself from cancer through a general overview of cancer. In August 2023, we invited a doctor specializing in esophageal surgery to give a lecture on the importance of prevention and early detection of esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancer.
The materials and videos used in the seminars are available not only to Gakken Group employees, but also to their families. As a result, the seminar has led to a change in employees' awareness. The results of a post-seminar survey conducted in August 2022 showed that 89% of the employees changed their minds about undergoing cancer screening and 86% changed their minds about improving their lifestyle.

Theme:
Cancer: How to Protect Yourself from Cancer ～(August 26, 2022)
Dr. Toshiaki Hirasawa (Cancer Institute Hospital)

【Sleep Problem Solving E-Learning】

Beginning in 2021, the New Occupational Stress Brief Questionnaire (shortened 80-item version) will be administered with included content to provide a more detailed look at environmental factors in the workplace.
The New Occupational Stress Questionnaire has increased the number of scales related to work burden and added items on (1) work resources (meaning of work, clarity of role, opportunities for growth, etc.), (2) departmental resources (work rewards, supervisor leadership, etc.), and (3) workplace resources (trust with management, fairness in personnel evaluation, respect for individuals, etc.), allowing analysis of three major aspects The new system also allows for analysis from three major perspectives.
In addition, the survey can also measure Iki-Iki Outcome (work engagement, sense of unity in the workplace), harassment in the workplace, and satisfaction, and will be used to improve the workplace environment based on a more multifaceted analysis.
Starting in 2022, debriefing sessions will be held for management and human resource directors of each company to promote understanding of the results, as well as workshops to come up with specific action plans.
Number of participating companies: 20 (40 offices); number of participants: 2,062; inspection rate: 87.1%.

From the end of February to the beginning of March 2021, Gakken Group conducted an engagement survey of approximately 17,000 employees, and was able to obtain answers from more than 11,000 employees. (Response rate: 66.5%)
The purpose of the survey was fourfold: (1) creating a relationship of trust through dialogue with employees; (2) understanding the current status of employee awareness and identifying issues; (3) gaining a quantitative understanding based on numerical values rather than feelings; and (4) using appropriately for external communication.
As a result, we identified relationship with supervisors, one’s own work, and work environment where opinions are heard as the most important things that positively impact engagement. We see these as issues that must be addressed to improve interactive and two-way communication.

A support program from leave of absence to reinstatement to work was formulated in consultation with industrial physicians. By establishing rules for the return to work process, it became possible to provide prompt and accurate support for the employee's return to work. By creating an environment that allows employees to smoothly return to work and continue their duties, they can now focus on their recuperation with peace of mind.

In March 2022, Gakken Holdings and 16 other companies introduced the "OBIC7 Work Information System" for the purpose of improving the efficiency of attendance management operations and monitoring employee working hours. (Gakken Cocofump Group has already introduced the system.) The system has enabled the companies to respond flexibly to various working styles and complex work arrangements. In addition, the system has led to the control and prevention of long working hours by thoroughly enforcing overtime work measures, such as the establishment of no-overtime days and the prohibition of overtime work after 20:00 as a general rule, in addition to the awareness of the harmful effects of long working hours in the industrial physician's newsletter.
 

◆Average total monthly working hours: 161 hours in 2022
◆Number of employees working over 45 hours per month in 2022: 232
(Data from 10 companies: Gakken Holdings, Gakken Juku Holdings, Gakken, Gakken Educational, Gakken Method, Gakken Products Support, Gakken Sta:Full, Arukikata, Gakken Logistics, and Gakken LEAP)

According to the revision of the Labor Standards Law, starting in April 2019, employers are required to allow workers (including managers and supervisors) who are granted 10 or more days of annual paid leave per year to take 5 days per year out of the number of annual paid leave days by designating the time of year.
In addition to the mandatory use of five days of paid leave from April to October, some Gakkan Group companies have introduced planned annual leave to make it easier to adjust schedules through paid leave.
In addition, some Group companies have established "Birthday Leave" as a measure to promote the use of paid leave. This program encourages employees to take time off not only on their own birthdays, but also on the birthdays of family members, partners, and loved ones to spend time together. The leave can be taken within the month of the birthday, but not on the day of the birthday. Although it is treated as annual paid vacation, we propose to create an incentive for employees to take a vacation and to harmonize their work-life balance by providing birthday leave.
 

◆Paid vacation leave rate 2022: 59.6
(Data from 10 companies: Gakken Holdings, Gakken Juku Holdings, Gakken, Gakken Educational, Gakken Method, Gakken Products Support, Gakken Sta:Full, Arukikata, Gakken Logistics, and Gakken LEAP)

E-learning on the themes of "Health Management," "lifestyle-related diseases," and "self-health obligations" was conducted for all Group employees. The training provided an opportunity for employees to reflect on their own health by learning what health management is. It also helped employees to reaffirm the importance of the company's obligation to take safety into consideration and employees' obligation to take care of their own health in order to ensure safety and health in the workplace, and to raise their awareness of their own health management.

Participation rate in FY2022: 100% Target: Group employees

Line care training for managers has been conducted since 2021 with the goal of creating workplaces that do not produce employees with mental disorders as an organization. In 2022, the second year of the program, we selected "listening" as a key theme based on advice from industrial physicians. The target audience was broadened to include managers throughout the Gakken Group, and outside experts were invited as lecturers. 370 participants from 34 companies took part in the training under the theme of "Mental Health Management and Listening Training". We will continue to develop line care training as an ongoing issue.

We have implemented "Core Skill Enhancement Training," an online, interactive training program to enable employees to learn portable skills necessary to cope with changes in the environment, such as VUCA and diversification of work styles. In the future, in addition to the conventional training by job level, we will implement full-scale training to enable employees to learn common generic skills regardless of job level. In addition, while establishing "recommended learning areas," we are planning service curriculam that allow employees to select learning content according to their individual characteristics, positions, and career visions. GRC training and DX training programs are part of this effort. In addition, we have started a program to provide financial assistance to those who wish to pursue MOT and MBA degrees.