Social Health Management

Policy and Basic Mindset

UBE is committed to health management; going beyond disease management efforts and investing in initiatives aimed at maintaining and promoting health.

Below is a health management declaration released in collaboration with labor unions as a headline message of this section, demonstrating labor and management’s unified efforts.

Management System

System for Promoting Health Management

• The UBE Group considers basic policies and measures for promoting health to be top management priorities. These management priorities are reviewed and established at Strategic Management Meetings (Sustainability Committee) chaired by the CEO, with oversight from the Board of Directors.
• The Group Health Management Implementation Committee, one of the specialized committees under the Strategic Management Meeting (Sustainability Committee), discusses basic policies related to health management and promotion as well as medium- to long-term plans and key items to be carried out each fiscal year. The content of these discussions is then reviewed and measures are established by the Strategic Management Meeting (Sustainability Committee).
• The content of discussions held by the Strategic Management Meeting is distributed across the entire Group. In doing this, and to ensure efficient operations, we utilize three meetings: Group Meeting of Occupational Health Professionals Group Meeting of Occupational Health Physicians , and the Group Meeting of Occupational Health Nurses . These committees also drive various initiatives.
• At all of our offices and facilities, we have established a General Health Manager System that is unique to the UBE Group. Under this system, occupational health professionals , occupational health physicians , and occupational health nurses collaborate in identifying issues based on analyses on various kinds of data. These professionals additionally strive to maintain a safe, secure, and comfortable environment in which employees can find meaning in their work.
• In partnership with health insurance associations, UBE is working to strengthen preventive measures for serious illnesses, enhance specified health guidance measures, and support general collaborative health measures. We also work with external organizations, engaging in joint research projects with universities and research institutions, while actively utilizing outside Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)*.

• *Outside Employee Assistance Programs: Support from external specialist organizations for employees experiencing mental health issues, with the goal of enhancing organizational vitality.

Each business site implements activities using Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycles in order to ensure continuous improvement of health promotion

Targets and Performance

Initiatives Aimed at Achieving our Vision for 2030

The UBE Group addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion as a top priority issue to enhance its human capital.

UBE is going beyond disease management efforts to invest in health maintenance and promotion measures. This includes spreading health and productivity management within the Group to create workplaces that are physically and mentally healthy and motivating to work in, as well as to improve employee work engagement.

As a health management goal, we aim to increase corporate value over the medium- to long-term. Under the medium-term management plan, we are advancing initiatives that aim to establish a comfortable workplace and promote respect for individuality and diversity in the interest of creating a motivating workplace and improving the human capital necessary for sustainable growth.

Based on feedback garnered from the health management survey, we have set key items, created a strategy map as indicated below, and are actively advancing related initiatives.

Strategy Map* for the Current Medium-Term Management Plan (2022–2024)*

• *Partially revised in fiscal 2024

Priority Issues (Four Items), for the Current Medium-Term Management Plan (2022–2024)

1. Health Management
2. Support for Balancing Treatment and Work (including measures for mental health, brain and heart diseases, and malignant neoplasms)
3. Measures to Address Tobacco Use
4. Measures to Address Occupational Illness Risks

Initiatives and Targets

1. Health Management

1-1. Initiatives to Raise Employee Awareness and Understanding of Health Management

As an initiative to raise employee awareness and understanding of health management, the president, who is responsible for health management, and the chairman of the labor union jointly issued a Health Management Declaration. The Health Management Declaration is posted on the top page of the company intranet along with the UBE Corporate Philosophy, and Medium-Term Management Plan, making it easily accessible to employees at any time.

We have also created a health management slogan. Group-wide, we invite employees to submit slogan ideas, with the top entries being officially recognized by the President at safety and health rallies. Our slogan for fiscal 2024 was “Healthy habits begin with the actions of an individual, spread to everyone, and create a future where healthy living is the norm.” This slogan is displayed on posters at all business sites across the UBE Group, with the aim of raising employee awareness and understanding of health management.

We periodically conduct surveys regarding employee’s familiarity with health management initiatives to further gauge overall levels of awareness.

• *1Results obtained from roughly half of employees
• *2Results obtained from approximately 65% of employees

As part of efforts to ensure employees’ understanding of health management, in fiscal 2023, we advanced initiatives aimed at promoting exercise habits and health promotion-related e-learning, setting them both as key items.

• *1As of March 2024

2. Support for balancing treatment and work (including measures for mental health, brain and heart diseases, and malignant neoplasms)

2-1. Absenteeism

At UBE, we strive to provide ongoing support for those balancing medical treatment and work.

We monitor the yearly trends of employees taking leave due to non-occupational injuries or illnesses, while also managing the incidence rate, severity, and return-to-work rate of those suffering from mental health issues. By conducting analyses of various issues with the goal of preventing them before they occur as well as working with outside EAPs, we are committed to providing return-to-work support across the entire UBE Group.

Moreover, we published the UBE Work-Life Balance Handbook in fiscal 2022, which outlines support systems for balancing work responsibilities with child rearing, nursing care, infertility treatments, and medical treatments. This handbook provides clear information for those using these systems and aims to promote understanding among management and colleagues. UBE has set up consultation desks at all business sites and appointed work-life balance coordinators tasked with creating an environment where employees can easily receive guidance, aiming to support those returning to work or balancing work with personal responsibilities.

• ESG Data (S/Social)

2-2. Presenteeism

Presenteeism is when an employee continues working despite experiencing health issues, leading to a reduction in productivity. As tools to measure this, we introduced WFun^*1 and K6^*2.

• *1WFun: A questionnaire designed to evaluate the degree of work impairment due to health issues
• *2K6: A questionnaire designed to evaluate the mental wellbeing of employees

We regard “pain” as one of the key symptoms involved in presenteeism. As an indicator of “pain,” we confirm whether employees are experiencing lower back pain, a questionnaire item asked during regular health checks. According to fiscal 2023 results, approximately 8.5% of employees said they were experiencing lower back pain. Moreover, across all workstyles and genders, the percentage of those reporting lower back pain tended to increase with age. We are exploring age-specific support measures for employees dealing with such pain, such as revising working conditions, improving the working environment, and promoting stretching.

We are also conducting “Headache Seminars” for occupational health professionals work-life balance coordinators, and occupational health nurse, to enhance their knowledge and discuss how best to provide support.

2-3. Work Engagement

In accordance with Article 52-9 of the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health, in fiscal 2018, the number of stress check items were increased from 57 (in the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire to 80 (in the new Brief Job Stress Questionnaire).

Two of these items (Q79 and Q80) are used to track changes in work engagement. We identified groups that need improvement, analyzed the characteristics (challenges) of those groups, and established a structure that enables workplace supervisors to readily understand the workplace conditions. To solve these issues, we are working with outside EAPs* by conducting dialogue-based workshops aimed at enhancing and maintaining mental health.

• *Outside Employee Assistance Programs: External specialist organizations that provide support for employees experiencing mental health issues, with the goal of enhancing organizational vitality.

• *Scoring: Agree = 4 points, Somewhat agree = 3 points, Somewhat disagree = 2 points, Disagree = 1 point

• *Health and Vitality Assessment Report: Feedback sheet based on an e-Diagnosis for mental health

3. Measures to Address Tobacco Use

Seeking to further reduce the smoking rate, the UBE Group has planned anti-smoking education for new employees and employees in their 20s. The target implementation rate of this training is 100% by the end of the fiscal year for new employees and 100% by the end of fiscal 2024 for employees in their 20s.

4. Measures to Address Occupational Illness Risks

The UBE Group is continuously improving its frameworks for ensuring employees can perform their work duties in safe and secure environments, even in the presence of hazardous chemical substances.

We have been working to expand and enhance the functionality of our existing chemical handling and recording management system through joint research with the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, that is funded by a Health Labour Sciences Research Grant. We have also developed an application to assist with data input with the goal of lessening the workload of those working onsite. Alongside this, with the aim of strengthening self-management at all workplaces we also periodically provide training for occupational health professionals that is conducted by outside experts.

Support for Performance Improvement

As measures to support employee wellbeing so that they can work enthusiastically, UBE provides training opportunities, engages in workplace improvement activities to vitalize the organization, is working to expand work-life balance support systems, and promotes initiatives aimed at helping employees establish regular exercise habits.

As an initiative aimed at improving employee understanding of health, e-learning sessions are held three times a year and three-minute health advice is provided at Safety and Health Committees.

We are working to improve employee understanding on a wide range of topics, including female-specific health concerns, menopause and mental wellbeing from the perspective of male and female hormones, mindful consumption of alcohol, dental and oral health, eating habits and nutrition, sleep, infectious disease prevention, eye strain, methods to prevent tripping/stumbling accidents, and hay fever.

As support for managers, we conduct training on line care and hold workshops on effectively using health-related data. To promote the maintenance of a Personal Health Record (PHR), UBE has introduced a system that allows employees to check the results of their own health checkups and stress checks using company PCs.

Health apps are provided for those who wish to use them, increasing exercise opportunities for employees and promoting an environment in which employees can manage their health autonomously. Additionally, to foster workplace communication, we designate a key person for each team and organize enjoyable events like walking rallies meant to help establish exercise habits among employees.

As an indicator of performance improvement, the UBE labor union organizes a wellbeing survey, and the results are reported to union members. In addition, each plant and other sites regularly conduct employee satisfaction surveys and hold roundtable meetings to proactively improve the environment so that employees can work comfortably.

Note: In addition, our company PCs enable employees to see their health checkup data and receive stress checks results at any time.

Initiatives

Initiatives Involving the Supply Chain

1. Promoting Measures to Address Tobacco Use

UBE has a policy in its Rules of Employment that employees may not smoke on company premises during working hours. Partner companies and suppliers are also made aware of this rule to raise awareness of anti-smoking measures.

2. Providing Information on Health Management-Related Initiatives

UBE has created a leaflet that provides comprehensive information on all its health management-related initiatives and distributes it to all suppliers.

3. Joint Measures

We have worked together with the professional soccer team RENOFA Yamaguchi FC to create an original video on easy 3-minute stretching. The video provides movements designed to alleviate fatigue felt in the shoulders, lower back, and eyes, commonly experienced ailments felt after hours in an office or after performing work that requires standing for long periods of time.

Contribution to Society

1. Fostering Mental Health

Every year, the UBE Group invites the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra to Ube City and holds the UBE Group Charity Concert in order to contribute to the development of local culture through music. Prior to the concert, UBE conducts events to build bridges between the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and the young people who will lead the next generation with the aim of promoting local culture and fostering mental health.

2. Contributing to Regional Revitalization through Sports Promotion

UBE has signed an official partnership agreement with RENOFA Yamaguchi FC, to help realize an enriched future society.

3. Provision of Information

UBE provides information on the health promotion activities that it has conducted to date.

• Presentation at the Japan Society for Occupational Health
• Publication in journals, etc.: Health Up 21, Sangyo Hoken to Kango (Occupational Health and Nursing), Yamaguchi Prefecture Smoking Prevention Guidelines
• Reports at various committee meetings (Yamaguchi Prefecture Industrial Physicians Association Executive Committee, Yamaguchi Prefecture Infectious Disease Health Crisis Management and Yamaguchi Prefecture Measles and Rubella Countermeasures Council, etc.)
• Support for students and medical associations
• Practical training for nursing students at Yamaguchi University and the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan
• Training for industrial physicians certified by the Yamaguchi Medical Association and educational lectures conducted by the Yamaguchi Labour Standards Association
• To all of our suppliers (see above “Supply Chain” section)

Response to Global Health Issues

Because the UBE Group’s business spans the globe, the Group not only complies with applicable laws and regulations, but also responds to the risk of infectious diseases, which include the three major global health issues of malaria, AIDS, and tuberculosis. As part of this response, employees with work assignments outside Japan are required to receive health checkups.

• Health checkup before departing Japan: Employees with three-month or longer assignments outside Japan
• Health checkup after returning to Japan: Employees working in Japan after working outside Japan for six months or longer

During health checkups before departing Japan, an industrial physician provides guidance and recommendations on the individual’s health risks and necessary vaccinations. A public health nurse provides hygiene education and health guidance based on the living and food environments in the destination area.

The Overseas Crisis Management (OCM) Commission Secretariat has introduced the Alert Star business traveler management system. It regularly disseminates information and issues alerts, such as overseas safety bulletins.

• *Alert STAR was introduced in April 2018 with the following two objectives.
• ·In the event of an emergency, such as a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or pandemic, the OCM secretariat and staff can centrally ascertain the current location of international travelers in the affected country and promptly confirm their safety.
• ·Business travelers can obtain local safety information.

Furthermore, to prevent the psychological isolation of expatriate employees due to remote work, we have established a web environment that allows them round-the-clock access to a stress check examination that has been designed based on Japan’s Industrial Safety and Health Act to assess the degree of psychological burden. We have also established and offered a system that enables web-based consultations with industrial physicians when necessary.

To ensure health management for employees who are stationed outside Japan, we establish our own health checkup items adapted for locations outside Japan, set up an annual health checkup schedule, and encourage everyone eligible to participate. In addition, for Japanese employees, it is expected that the stress of work and life will be greater during an assignment outside Japan than when living in Japan. There is no Japanese statutory obligation that requires stress checks to be conducted outside Japan. However, UBE provides the opportunity to receive a stress check once a year, and we endeavor to prevent the onset of mental illness by asking employees assigned outside Japan to use the stress check results as a reference to ascertain their own stress level.

ESG Evaluations (Human Resources)

• ESG Data (S/Social) (PDF: 744KB)