In order to achieve diversity management, it is necessary to have work style innovation, a way of working that takes advantage of diversity. From this perspective, we support the work-life balance of our employees in various ways. Currently, we are working on improving the environment to comply with the action plan formulated and submitted in accordance with the Act to Advance Measures to Support Next-Generation Child-Rearing.
We have established various systems to support employees’ various life events, such as pregnancy, childcare, and caregiving.
Various systems and initiatives to reform work styles
＊1 Fertility treatment can be selected as a reason for taking saved annual leave.
＊2 From October 2020, the system will be expanded to include employees who have company-issued mobile devices (PCs, iPads, etc.)
We provide support for the care of sick children for employees who are raising children up to the third grade. In November 2013, we signed a corporate contract with Florence, a certified NPO, to provide care for sick children and began using the service on January 1, 2014. Florence’s care for sick children service is now available at a discounted rate thanks to company subsidies. This will support the employment of employees raising children by eliminating the need for them to take time off work or cancel meetings if the child has a sudden fever or illness.
Prior to maternity leave, the person in charge provides individual explanations about maternity leave, childcare leave, and various support systems including the Florence system.
In September 2013, we started lending PCs to employees on maternity or childcare leave, providing them with the same access to internal information as before maternity leave or childcare leave. This helps to eliminate information gaps and enables employees to return to work smoothly after maternity or childcare leave.
For employees with elementary school-aged children, we introduced a system in January 2014 to support part of the enrollment fee for school childcare. By doing so, we are creating an environment where employees who face the so-called “first grade barrier” problem, where they have to quit when their children enter elementary school, can work longer.
Because the work of station attendants and crew members is physically demanding and involves late-night hours, pregnant female station attendants and crew members were assigned to auxiliary work in different workplaces. However, with the increase in the number of pregnant female station attendants and crew members, the issue of limited range of activities for auxiliary work became apparent, and in August 2014, measures were implemented to assign pregnant female station attendants and crew members to the head office. Although working at the head office is a new experience for station attendants and train crews, it has the advantage of less physical strain and more flexible working hours. In addition, since there are many people who can play an active role at the head office, it is popular among both pregnant female station attendants and crew members and the head office staff.
As part of our effort to create a company where everyone wants to continue working, we are aiming to increase the percentage of male employees taking childcare leave to 100% by the end of FY 2023, with the aim of broadening their perspectives through participation in childcare, promoting understanding among those around them, and improving performance from a medium- to long-term perspective by deepening ties with their families. Specific initiatives include the provision of maternity leave for spouses (paid/up to three days), partially paid childcare leave, and the publication of a special feature on male childcare leave in the company newsletter. Of these, the partially paid childcare leave system was introduced in December 2014 to provide up to 53 days of wages during childcare leave, regardless of gender, by using paid leave. This system has led to a lowering of the psychological hurdle to taking childcare leave, especially for men, and the number of employees taking more than one week of childcare leave has increased.
Nowadays, male managers are also taking childcare leave, and it is becoming commonplace for male employees to take childcare leave, with an 80.0% take rate and an average of 18.8 days taken in FY 2020.
We have introduced a system that allows employees to apply directly to human resources for information on the need for employment support or consideration in the event of childcare, caregiving, or illness. We support employees in balancing life and work in a wide range of work areas.
Since April 2015, we have been providing childcare services for employees of our company and group companies who work on holidays and national holidays. We will continue to create an environment where women and male employees who are raising children can continue to work while balancing work and childcare.
＊Number of member companies: 4 (as of July 2021)
In April 2017, we opened an onsite childcare center for employees and local residents in a station of Tokyu line’s area. In April 2019, we opened a second onsite childcare center for employees and local residents in company housing adjacent to a station of Tokyu line’s area. In order to accommodate the diverse working styles of employees raising children, we have enhanced overnight childcare and early morning childcare and extended childcare to support employees to be active in the workplace while raising children.
Against the backdrop of an increase in the number of employees through career hiring, and as part of our effort to create an environment in which diverse employees can play an even more active role, we reviewed the conditions for dormitory stays in April 2020 and, in principle, removed the upper age limit.
Here, we introduce the voices of employees who are using various systems to balance work and childcare.
＊The affiliation and contents are as of the time of the interview.
Many of our employees in various departments work shorter days and shorter hours.
Despite the time constraints, they are able to perform as well as regular employees by using satellite offices and consolidating meetings to improve efficiency.
＊The affiliation and contents are as of the time of the interview.
I am in charge of Minami-machida Grandberry Park, which opened in the fall of 2019, making use of my experience in the Public Relations Department and commercial facility management before my maternity leave. Since I work short hours, I am particularly conscious of how I use my time and how I proceed with my work, such as using satellite offices and checking my email during travel time. I also use my own perspective as a mother in my work to make the facility more enjoyable for customers with small children.
Before the birth of my third child, I worked shorter hours for four months, mainly using satellite offices, in order to take care of my first and second children. In the beginning, I had some difficulties in communicating with my team members, but through a combination of using IT tools such as business chat, reducing commuting and travel time, and consolidating and minimizing meetings, and most importantly, with the support of those around me, I was able to achieve a good balance between home and work. By dealing with the constraints of time and place, I realized the wastefulness of my previous work style and realized that I could improve efficiency with some ingenuity.
In our company, many male employees have taken childcare leave.
Click on the link below to see interviews with three Ikumen who actually took the leave and their bosses (IkuBoss), as well as a roundtable discussion with four Ikumen. We asked them to talk about their reasons for taking childcare leave, how they spent their time during the leave, and how they changed before and after taking the leave.
Ikumen interviews and roundtable discussions (Only available in Japanese)
”The company’s subsidies are readily available. The rescue workers (babysitters) also provide very thorough childcare, so I can leave my child in their care and go to work with peace of mind. When I return home, they give me a full report on the progress of my child, and the rescue worker in charge the next day takes over the situation properly, which gives me peace of mind.”
＊Number of registered members: 39 (as of July 2021)
”There are a lot of trustworthy staff members. My child is able to interact with friends of different ages and learn to socialize with other ages. Also, the English education is excellent, and the children naturally acquire English capabilities. And since the school is conveniently located on the first floor of the company housing complex where I live, picking up and dropping off the children is no trouble for me.”