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Sustainability Material Issue 6 Improving Employee Health
Objective
Support mental and physical healthcare for employees to reinforce Group human resources and achieve sustainable corporate growth.
| Indicators (2030) |
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| Progress (2023 results) |
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| Globally Common Measures to 2030 |
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The LION Professional Fulfillment Reforms, introduced in 2019 to promote health management, are firmly based in employee health. When employees act on their own initiative with a high level of health awareness to acquire sound health habits, it not only serves to maintain and improve their health, but helps them achieve personal growth and professional and personal fulfillment. This, in turn, serves to enhance corporate productivity and creativity and expand opportunities for Lion to contribute to society through sustainable growth.
Lion believes that the health of employees is the management foundation underlying sound corporate growth. In line with this belief and in pursuit of its management vision, “Becoming an advanced daily healthcare company,” the Company works in close coordination with employees and the Lion Health Insurance Society to support the formation of healthy habits in such areas as improving lifestyles, oral heath, mental health, cancer prevention and anti-smoking, based on the Guidelines for Health, with the goal of realizing healthy minds and bodies for all.
Based on the current status as of 2020, Lion has set the increase of professional fulfillment, the decrease of absenteeism*1 and the decrease of presenteeism*2 as target indicators for management issues it hopes to solve by 2030 through health management. In addition, the following performance targets have been set: work engagement*3 from 2.7 to 3.0, absenteeism from 0.8% to less than 0.7%, and performance level from presenteeism reduction from 74.5% to 85.0% or higher.
*1 Absenteeism: Absence from work due to illness or sickness. Absenteeism rate = number of days lost from work/total number of days worked
*2 Presenteeism: A situation in which an employee of their own volition chooses to engage in their work duties while suffering from some disease or symptom, leading to a decline in work performance and labor productivity as measured by the SPQ (University of Tokyo, 1-item version).
*3 Work engagement: Measured using the Stress Check (average score of 2 questions on a 4-point scale)
* Generally, health investments correspond one-to-one to the indicators related to health investment measures and initiatives. However, some health investments correspond to multiple indicators related to health investment measures and initiatives. These health investments are deemed “health investments associated with various effects.”
Lion aims to promote health and vitality throughout the Company. To this end, the officer responsible for Company-wide health and productivity management (the director of the Human Resources Development Center) oversees general health management, while the Health Support Office, the Lion Health Insurance Society, coordinate to promote organizational health management together as the Health Maintenance Promotion Committee. In addition, health management managers, industrial health promoters, and industrial health staff (industrial physicians, public health nurses, etc.) at each business location work together to systematically promote employee health management.
Health support offices have been set up at each of Lion’s 11 domestic operating sites. At these offices, industrial health staff carries out health and productivity management operations. Each health support office coordinates with the Health Support Office at Lion’s headquarters to manage such operations and implement measures aimed at improving health.
The Headquarters Health Support Office formulates Company-wide health management policy, basic plans and annual plans, and coordinates the implementation of plans and gathering of related data.
We are implementing Lion-style health support, “GENKI” Action, to promote the formation of healthy habits. We support our employees’ autonomous efforts to cultivate their strengths regarding their health, thereby empowering them to increase their sense of professional fulfillment and demonstrate their diverse abilities as they strive toward becoming human resources that embody Lion's Purpose: make a difference in everyday lives by redesigning habits: ReDesign. Through four core key measures, we are promoting the strengthening of the foundation of health management by deepening health management, transforming health behaviors into habits and improving health literacy. The total investment for the four core key measures was 17.5 million yen in fiscal 2023.
We developed GENKI Navi, a new health management system, based on the concepts of making data (such as that about health status, countermeasures and future risk) easy to see and understand, enabling self-management (self-checks) and making health improvement efforts more fun. The system can be accessed using a computer or smartphone. Through the system, we aim to foster the development of healthy habits and improve employees’ health literacy. In addition, from April 18, 2022, we added a function that uses employees’ health checkup data to clearly present future health risks. The purpose of this function is to utilize risk prevention results in health guidance to motivate employees to reflect on their living habits and change their behavior.
As an advanced daily healthcare company, Lion is focusing on initiatives to foster preventive dentistry habits among employees.
* An approach focused on prevention, rather than receiving treatment after cavities or other problems arise. This approach entails both receiving professional care at a dental clinic and practicing daily self-care on an ongoing basis.
Since the 1970s, Lion has implemented in-house dental checkups, brushing guidance, scaling and cleaning, education via lectures regarding preventive dentistry measures.
In 2002, in cooperation with the Lion Health Insurance Society and the Lion Foundation for Dental Health, Lion launched All Lion Oral Health Activity (ALOHA), aimed at increasing employees’ health management abilities. ALOHA is based on practicing oral health management primarily though the provision of regular oral checkups to all employees and primary prevention as well as support to enhance employees’ self-directed health management abilities. In accordance with three-year plans, we have been implementing a PDCA cycle for the dental health program and are currently implementing the ALOHA VII plan.
In line with the belief that it is important that employees practice preventive dentistry, Lion offers time-limited financial incentives for receiving professional care to spur employees to find primary care dental clinics where they can receive regular professional oral care.
In addition to communicating the need for professional care examinations, the program provides participants with stickers bearing an original logo and computer background images to use when working remotely to inspire them to want to see a doctor in various ways.
In 2021, subsidizing costs for more accurate cancer screening, Lion introduced a program for the prevention of three common types of cancer* in addition to the primary cancer screenings conducted during regular health checks. In conjunction with this program, we regularly hold seminars to improve cancer literacy among employees.
From 2024, the target age has been adjusted to include those 40 and older to ensure employees receive highly accurate testing at a time when their risk of contracting three common types of cancer is increasing. In addition, the Lion Health Insurance Society has implemented a system under which medical examination costs are subsidized in the event the primary checkup reveals that a full examination is warranted as well as modifying this system into a more enhanced measure to reduce absenteeism.
For its proactive initiatives, Lion was given the 2022 Award for Companies Promoting Cancer Control under the Action Plan for Promotion of Cancer Control, which is a project promoted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. This is the second consecutive year Lion has received the award. In addition, we were given the 2023 Partner Award for the Promotion of Cancer Control in the Treatment and Work-Life Balance Category.
* Lung, stomach and colorectalcancers
We provide support and have created facilitative environments for employees who want to quit smoking in order to prevent exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace. To improve work environments, in January 2020 we banned smoking during work hours, and in April 2020 we implemented official rules banning smoking indoors. Furthermore, in 2022, the Lion Health Insurance Society began a subsidy program for visits to smoking cessation clinics and, in 2024, the association will continue its efforts to help people quit smoking by adding incentive missions with health points.
We provide health checkups that cover a range of items more extensive than is legally required. In addition, we have established Company-wide standardized criteria and implemented measures for follow-ups based on said criteria, regardless of the worksite or medical institution where the checkup takes place. Employees with checkup results that indicate a need to undergo further examination are strongly encouraged to do so by industrial physicians and nurses who provide one-on-one guidance on medical examinations and offer referrals to medical specialists when necessary.
* At age 40, in addition to the above, hepatitis B and C and stomach cancer risk tests are conducted at during health checkup.
Lion’s Health Support Office coordinates with the Lion Health Insurance Society to implement specific health checkups and specific health guidance. We strive to ensure that these serve as effective and clear inducements to employees to improve living habits that cause lifestyle-related illnesses. For those eligible for specific health guidance, a recommendation is made jointly by the Lion Health Insurance Society and the director of the Human Resource Development Center. Proactive support is also provided by contracting a dietitian with the Lion Health Insurance Society or an outside provider with abundant knowledge and experience.
*1 Health checkups to identify individuals who need specific health guidance, aimed at reducing the number of individuals who have visceral obesity (metabolic syndrome) or pre-metabolic syndrome in order to prevent lifestyle-related diseases, which are involved in approximately 60% of deaths in Japan. Specific health checkups are conducted for all insured persons and their dependents between the ages of 40 and 74.
*2 Health guidance, including providing information, helping generate motivation and offering proactive support from specialized staff (health nurses, registered dieticians, etc.) for individuals who, based on the results of specific health checkups, are at high risk of developing lifestyle-related illnesses and for whom the onset of metabolic syndrome is expected to be preventable through lifestyle improvement.
Through an examination of weight change among our younger employees, we found that the weights of 86% of male employees had increased 5% or more within the first 10 years of employment. Therefore, in 2022, we launched an initiative to support lifestyle improvement among overweight employees in their 30s by improving their health awareness and thereby reducing the number of who may become subject to specific health guidance in the future. In 2023, in collaboration with a dietitian from the Lion Health Insurance Society, we worked to strengthen our support through regular information dissemination. The program also raised awareness regarding eating and exercise habits, with most respondents to a post-enrollment survey revealing that they were now more cognizant of their weight. Employee satisfaction with the initiative was 60.6%.
A collaborative initiative involving multiple departments has been initiated to advance data-driven health management. This approach leverages insights from data analysis focused on receipts as well as health exam outcomes. Through the integration of many specialist divisions and their combined strengths, the initiative seeks to optimize healthcare expenses while simultaneously improving employee health metrics.
Since 2006, long before the most recent amendment of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, Lion has been providing stress level checks to support employees in their self-care efforts. From 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has driven rapid changes in lifestyles and ways of working. To address the psychological impact of these environmental changes, Lion conducted stress level checks twice in 2020 (these checks were previously conducted once per year). Every year, a high percentage of the Group’s employees undergoes these stress level checks and 2023 was no different at 98.3%. Employees found to have high stress levels are required to meet with industrial health staff who work with them toward the prevention of mental health issues.
In addition, GENKI Navi creates an environment that allows employees to conduct self-checks at any time, so that they can monitor their own stress profile and use it to inform their self-care. We provide detailed responses, such as conducting individual interviews in departments with particularly high percentages of highly stressed employees or departments with poor overall health risks, and work to improve the work environment through collaboration between workplace personnel and medical professionals.
In the early stages of the pandemic, we quickly set up a taskforce to prevent the spread of COVID-19. To ensure the safety and security of our employees, we created an environment that allowed employees to undergo prompt testing, sent out educational e-mails to employees, and conducted vaccinations at two operating sites in the east and west of the country for employees and employees of partner companies until the third inoculation (in March 2022).
In preparation for the winter influenza season, Lion decided to conduct influenza vaccinations for all employees at the company’s expense.
We created a guidebook for employees traveling or stationed overseas from Japan that clarifies pre-travel vaccinations, health management during travel and consultation services in the event of illness. It provides guidance regarding enhanced health support.
Having seen the employee obesity rate increase to over 25% in 2020 due to effects stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic such as self quarantining, Lion recognized that it could become a serious health issue. Therefore, we added a health point system to the 2022 GENKI Navi to help make adopting healthy habits more positive and enjoyable for employees, even amid the restrictions implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time filled with major lifestyle changes. In 2023, more than 1,000 people applied to participate in both the spring and fall sessions, and post-enrollment surveys showed that more than half of our employees increased the number of steps taken, with a satisfaction rate of more than 90%.In 2024, we are incorporating internal communication and smoking cessation as missions to earn health points, as well as devising ways to make forming healthy habits enjoyable. In addition, a function that allows users to present health points to others with a message of gratitude has been added to further invigorate internal communication.
We regularly hold meetings of the employee food service committee to enhance the offerings at our employee cafeterias. In consideration of employee health, we strive to offer healthy, delicious meals. Furthermore, we display information on the calorie, sodium and sugar content of all menu items and seek ways to make meals healthier, such as offering reduced-sodium soy sauce.
To boost employee health, we are implementing a variety of initiatives aimed at supporting and encouraging sports-related activities and have become a member of the Sport in Life Consortium. To promote sports activities among employees, we hold walking events in collaboration with the Lion Health Insurance Society, provide tips on increasing physical activity, and offer strength training lessons to employees through our rugby club, the Fangs. This is in addition to cultural and athletic association activities that we have held on a continuous basis for over 40 years. We also encourage sports, sponsoring walking events for the general public and holding rugby schools for children in Chiba Prefecture and Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. For its efforts, Lion was recognized as a Tokyo Sports Promotion Company 2023 and recertified for the third consecutive year as a Sports Yell Company 2024 by the Japan Sports Agency (in Japan, “yell” refers to cheering and shouts of encouragement).
Lion Headquarters, which moved to its new location in Kuramae in April 2023, encourages the development of healthy habits through the creation of a certain environment.
Lion has issued the “GENKI” Report, a white paper on health that visualizes employee health status as well as illness prevention and health improvement efforts, allowing users to compare age-related data against a Company-wide average since 2022. The report is shared annually with the officers responsible for health and productivity management and those tasked with its promotion at each office. Based on data furnished by Lion’s digital transformation (DX) departments, the report presents radar charts mapping various data to illustrate how close specific offices and organizations are to improving their health rankings. The report is intended to help each office and organization better understand its own health status and use this data to inform health promotion activities.
GENKI Navi provides an environment in which employees can at any time perform self-checks and monitor their own stress levels for self-care. In addition, all employees annually receive self-care training, in addition to the training provided upon joining the company (including mid-career hires). Training on care via line of command for managers is also mandatory and held once a year.
Since 2013, we have held annual half-day health promotion seminars for employees who’ve reached the age of 50. To control health risks that rise significantly with age, bolstering self-directed health management skills is crucial. We also aim for these seminars to serve as opportunities for employees at the landmark age of 50 to, as we enter the era of 100-year lifespans, reflect on their circumstances and lives from multiple perspectives, including their health, work, and home life going forward, so that they can engage with their work with a renewed sense of vigor.
Group training has been offered in the past, but, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, training has been a combination of online seminars and video sessions since 2022. Participation rates have increased, with most of those eligible attending. According to the results of the post-enrollment survey, approximately 90% of participants answered that they understood all of the content presented, with a satisfaction rate of 88.1%. The training was concise, easy to understand and from the viewpoint of those in the participants' age group, very well received.
Lion regularly holds online seminars to address gender-specific health issues and improve health literacy. The seminars are recorded and archived for internal distribution, allowing employees seeking to improve their well-being to view them at any time.
Conscious of the issues involved with the advancement of women’s roles in the workplace Lion researchers assembled and voluntarily established the Well-Being Lounge, a program aimed at raising employee’s health literacy to the level needed to improve well-being. In 2022, the Well-Being Lounge became a Company-wide program as it moved forward to deepen our overall understanding of health issues specific to women.
In 2023, we opened an external fertility and infertility treatment consultation service. In collaboration with CoCoRe,* which has begun providing a web-based application service mainly for the care of women's mental health issues, Lion held a seminar at which medical professionals answered questions and concerns that had been submitted anonymously by employees beforehand. In real time, a total of 119 people participated, and the satisfaction rate was 94%.
* CoCoRe: A company that since June 2023, offers health care seminars focusing on women's mental health issues and an app designed to change preconceived notions and make living each day easier.
In 2023, the Well-Being Lounge focused mainly on men's specific health issues. The program centered on the themes of late-onset hypogonadism, fertility and other issues that may be difficult to ask others about. Participants had the opportunity to take part anonymously and consult with a medical professional. In real time, a total of 172 people participated.
Lion was recognized for its activities contributing to the improvement of health not only of its employees but also of a wide range of people, including activities aimed at creating healthy habits among employees and providing technologies and services such as saliva testing and health risk prediction tools that utilize know-how and data accumulated through years of preventive dentistry in combination with the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI.
In recognition of this, Lion has been selected under the Health & Productivity Stock Selection for two consecutive years and as a White 500 company under the Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program for eight consecutive years since 2017.
Results of an employee survey on these health management measures showed a satisfaction rate of 55.0% (1,687 respondents, 45.9% response rate).
We will continue our efforts to maintain and improve the health of our employees, contributing not only to their personal growth and the enrichment of their lives, but also to the development of our business and further corporate growth.
* Data on “GENKI” Action Subjects
Employees Who Brush Their Teeth after Lunch
Employees Who See Toothbrushing* as Highly Important
* Employees who brush at least twice a day for at least three minutes
Employees Who Use Dental Floss
* Fiscal 2014 comprehensive oral care survey (women ages 20–59)
Employees Who Use Interdental Brushes
* Fiscal 2014 comprehensive oral care survey (women ages 20–59)
Employees Who Received Professional Care at a Dental Clinic During the Year*＊
* Employees who went for regular cleanings at dental clinics during the year (excludes employees undergoing treatment)
Proportion of Employees Suffering from Gum Disease
Average Number of Cavities Per Person
* 2016 Odontopathy Survey (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) Ages 20–59
Average Number of Teeth Removed Per Person
* 2016 Odontopathy Survey (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) Ages 20–59
Click here for more data related to Lion Employee Preventive Dentistry [Japanese]In order to promote preventive dentistry, we offer oral care seminars for outside companies in addition to our own.
Click here for more details. [Japanese]