Promoting a Healthy Work-Life Balance

• Basic approach
• Promotion system
• attempt

Basic approach

In order to strongly promote the growth of artience group, it is essential to create an environment in which each and every employee can demonstrate their abilities and continue to work with enthusiasm. In addition to aiming to create a workplace where employees can work with enthusiasm and motivation, we are promoting work style reforms that lead to improved productivity, innovation, and work-life balance while respecting the diverse values and career aspirations of employees.

Promotion system

artience Co., Ltd. Human Resources Department takes the lead in promoting work-life balance, including appropriate labor management throughout the group, support for balancing work with childcare and nursing care, and promotion of diverse work styles. Overseas, we are proceeding with initiatives that align with the laws, regulations and practices of each country.

attempt

Main Measures to Promote Work-Life Balance

Based on the basic philosophy of welfare programs, "Supporting each and every employee so that they can work with peace of mind and live fulfilling lives," in 2021 we established four pillars of welfare programs to support the life stages required by each generation in order to respond to rapid changes in the world and to meet the diversification of lifestyles and individual preferences.

Examples of initiatives in line with the four pillars of welfare programs include (1) measures to promote diverse work styles in the cafeteria plan, and (2) the development of a system to support a balance between work and private life.
In addition to subsidizing nursing care beds and childcare, the cafeteria plan also subsidizes the purchase of desks and chairs purchased for telecommuting, PC-related equipment, and health equipment purchased for health promotion. In addition, we hold seminars on health and nursing care (such as fitness seminars that can be viewed and participated in on the web) and provide information, and we are focusing on supporting people to balance nursing care and work and maintain their health.
As a system to support the balance between work and private life, we have established a system that takes into account employees involved in childcare and nursing care. Since 2021, as part of our work style reforms, we have introduced a remote work system to improve labor productivity, create innovation, and improve work-life balance, and we are promoting new work styles and operational reforms that utilize telecommuting and flextime and staggered working hours.

childcare support

Kurumin mark

In August 2023, artience Co., Ltd. acquired the "Platinum Kurumin Certification," and in November, the core operating companies TOYOCOLOR Co., Ltd., TOYOCHEM Co., Ltd., and TOYO INK Co., Ltd. acquired the "Kurumin Certification." As part of our efforts to support the development of the next generation, we have introduced a "Childcare Leave Hearing Sheet" that includes questions such as handover of work and consideration of physical condition, and use it as a communication tool between supervisors and employees who have taken childcare leave, leading to a smooth start and return to work.
In October 2022, in accordance with the revision of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act, we renewed the existing guidebook and hearing sheet. In addition, we are working to encourage male employees to take childcare leave throughout the Group, and in principle, we limit the number of days taken to 10 days or more. In addition to establishing a culture in which it is normal for a spouse to take childcare leave for a certain period of time after giving birth, we will use this opportunity as an opportunity to review daily work and create a workplace that supports each other, leading to the realization of diverse work styles throughout the company.

* artience original employee

VOICE
Voices of male childcare leave system users

Employee at Toyochem Co., Ltd.

I took childcare leave for about five months from the first month after the birth of my first child. After taking childcare leave, I began to work with a sense of urgency in order to enrich both my family and work. In particular, I think I have become much more conscious of planning than I was before childcare leave.
Not only was it possible to see my child grow up close in the first few months after taking childcare leave, but I also felt firsthand how difficult it is to raise children, which gave me more care at home and deepened my family bonds.

Comments from spouses
By working together through trial and error, we were able to match our sense of warmth toward childcare, and it was good that we were able to share our worries and joys each time.

action plan

artience and its core operating companies (TOYOCOLOR, TOYOCHEM, TOYO INK) have formulated action plans and are implementing initiatives based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation and the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace.

For specific initiatives, please refer to the following materials and websites.

Nursing care support

Due to changes in the social environment such as the declining birthrate, aging population, and nuclear families, the number of employees facing nursing care is increasing. Our group (domestic) is actively promoting the creation of a workplace environment that allows employees to balance work and nursing care. Using the welfare cafeteria plan, we subsidize the purchase and rental costs of nursing care supplies and the costs of nursing care support services.

For specific initiatives, please refer to the work-life balance support forum.

Promotion of Appropriate Labor Management

The Group is working to improve the working environment so that employees can produce work results while emphasizing work-life balance. In addition, we strive to appropriately manage working hours by promoting the reduction of overtime work (overtime hours) by operating an employment management system approved by supervisors on a daily basis, verifying the entry and exit status of employees using an introductory certificate to eliminate service overtime, and conducting consultations with labor unions in accordance with the Labor Standards Act.
In fiscal 2023, there were zero violations of labor standards due to overwork. In order to prevent health hazards caused by overwork, we encourage the departments to which the employees belong to improve their operations and conduct interviews with industrial physicians as necessary. We will continue to work on improvements in the future.

• Improving operational efficiency through DX promotion
• Revitalization of employee communication

TOPICS
Improving operational efficiency through the introduction of automated guided vehicles

Transporting in an automated guided EV vehicle

In August 2023, TOYO INK Saitama Works launched the "Automated Guided EV Vehicle Introduction Project" to transport vehicles within the site using unmanned EV vehicles. This project aims to improve the productivity of logistics operations by transforming the on-site transportation process from manufacturing to shipment through the introduction of IoT technology, and by automating repetitive tasks by transporting raw materials and products more quickly and efficiently than conventional manual work, and by automating repetitive tasks. From October 2023, we have started actual operation of transporting products back and forth between Areas A and B.