Creating a Healthy Working Environment
In accordance with our basic mental and physical health policy, we aim to maintain and improve the health of our employees. Furthermore, as the physical and mental wellbeing of each individual employee is the driving force behind realizing both company and personal dreams and ambitions, we have positioned the maintenance and improvement of employee health as an important management issue in our Health Management Declaration.
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- *SB Atwork Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of SoftBank Corp.
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Health management declaration
We want to be a group brimming with energy in which everyone enjoys good mental and physical health
The most important foundation for tackling this new stage of the information revolution and realizing continuing growth is to be a group in which each individual employee is healthy in both mind and body and always brimming with energy. In signature SoftBank style, we will actively utilize cutting edge AI and information and communication technologies to promote health management that maintains and enhances the wellbeing of our employees and their families.
Junichi Miyagawa
President & CEO, SoftBank Corp.
September 2018
Promotion system
| CHRO | As the person with ultimate responsibility for human resources, the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) oversees the provision of a healthy working environment and the management of occupational health and safety. |
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| Wellness Promotion Office | A dedicated team that reports directly to the CHRO and is tasked with promoting an environment in which all employees are able to enjoy good mental and physical health in their work. The office plans and implements health management measures in partnership with the Wellness Center of group company SB Atwork Corp. |
| SB Atwork Corp. Wellness Center |
Staffed by qualified specialists, the Wellness Center of SB Atwork Corp. supports occupational health and safety and provides somewhere for employees to go about their mental or physical health. These specialist staff include industrial physicians for internal medicine and mental health, public health nurses, councelors, and health keepers (masseurs). |
| Each Office Health and Safety Committee |
Maintaining the safety and health of everyone in the workplace is an intrinsic part of our business activities. A Health and Safety Committee has been set up at each office with more than 50 employees to coordinate the provision of a safe and welcoming work environment. The committees also play a part in facilitating workplace improvements by looking at what other workplaces are doing about health and safety and by publicizing their own good practices. |
| Peer supporters | Staff volunteers who, along with their regular work, also support the mental and physical health of other close colleagues in their workplace. |
| EAP | The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) supports the mental and physical health of staff along with productivity improvement. |
Broad-ranging health management KPIs
Broad-ranging KPIs are defined that cover work engagement as well as mental and physical health. We utilize the PDCA cycle to make ongoing improvements to our practices, with these indicators being monitored in terms of three different approaches: health management, safe and welcoming work environments, and health maintenance and improvement.
Specific numerical targets
Health management targets
| FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results | Goal | Result | ||||||
| Presenteeism*1 | 81.0% | 80.0% | 81.0% | 85.0% | 85.0% | 86.0% | 90.0% or more |
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| Absenteeism*2 | 4.6days | 4.6days | 3.8days | 4.0days | 4.1days | 4.4days | 4.5days or less |
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| Work engagement*3 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.9 or more |
2.6 |
- [Notes]
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- *1FY23: 12,752 people measured, response rate 54.0%. Up to FY20, this was determined from the health awareness survey data on how often business efficiency was impeded by ill-health, with responses of or “1 or 2 days a month” or “almost never” deemed to indicate presenteeism. From 2021 onwards, the number was obtained from the University of Tokyo Single-Item Presenteeism Question (SPQ).
- *2FY23: 20,823 people measured, response rate 100%. Absence or leave due to illness or injury
- *3FY24: 20,045 people measured, response rate 93.9%. A score that indicates a positive and fulfilling psychological state toward work. The stress check measures two items related to work engagement from the New Occupational Stress Simple Questionnaire. (4: Yes, 3: Somewhat yes, 2: Somewhat different, 1: Different).
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Monitoring indicators
| FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results | Goal | Result | ||||||
| Ratio of Positive Findings in the Regular Health Examination | 54.7% | 55.1% | 57.9% | 57.9% | 56.7% | 57.1% | 56.6% or less |
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| BMI+Risk factors*4 | - | 20.2% | 22.2% | 21.3% | 21.2% | 21.2% | 20.2% or less |
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| Lipids (LDL cholesterol) | - | 24.8% | 28.2% | 27.7% | 25.1% | 25.2% | 24.2% or less |
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| Smoking rate | 29.9% | 29.7% | 26.8% | 25.8% | 24.7% | 24.5% | 23.5% or less |
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| Sleep restfulness | 62.5% | 62.9% | 71.3% | 71.1% | 70.8% | 68.9% | 70.4% or more |
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| Overtime working hours (Average of general employees) | 24.9h | 24.2h | 27.2h | 27.0h | 24.9h | 24.9h | - | - |
| Stress check / Psychological lively scale*5 |
- | 105 | 110 | 111 | 110 | 112 | 105 or more |
115 |
| Stress check / Comprehensive health risk*6 |
- | 89 | 87 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 90 or less |
83 |
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- *4Risk factors: Blood pressure, lipids, liver function, or blood sugar
- *5FY23: 19,814 people measured, response rate 92.3%. A score indicating the level of vitality of individuals and workplaces. Includes elements of workplace cohesion and work engagement. Based on the data from a survey of 0.5 million workers conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2010, and expressed as a deviation from the national average of 100.
Higher scores indicate higher levels of vitality of individuals and workplaces. - *6FY23: 19,814 people measured, response rate 92.3%. A score indicating the impact of workplace stress on individual health. Based on the data from a survey of 25,000 workers at 332 workplaces nationwide conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2000. Lower scores indicate less negative impacts on employee health.
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Other indicators
| FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results | Goal | Result | ||||||
| Regular health examination rate | 99.9% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | - |
| Follow-up examination rate | 57.0% | 53.8% | 58.7% | 64.0% | 73.1% | 73.2%*7 | 80.0% or more |
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| Completion Rate for Specific Health Examination*8 | 31.6% | 32.9% | 31.5% | 57.7% | 50.2% | 52.2% | 60.0% or more |
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| Stress check consultation rate | 90.1% | 91.0% | 84.7% | 86.1% | 87.2% | 92.3% | 95.0% or more |
93.9% |
| Ratio of employees with high stress | 12.7% | 13.3% | 11.2% | 11.8% | 12.2% | 13.1% | less than 13.0% |
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| Rate of taking paid vacation | 76.5% | 72.2% | 61.8% | 70.1% | 77.3% | 77.7% | 70.0% or more |
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- *7As of July 25, 2024
- *8As the data for Completion Rate for Specific Health Examination relates to the results for all subjects after ongoing support is completed, the target is shown along with the actual result for the previous fiscal year.
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Three actions
We are undertaking three specific actions: Health management, safe and welcoming workplaces, and health maintenance and improvement.
Health management
Encouragement for health examinations
To facilitate the early detection and treatment of illness, we encourage employees to have regular health examinations and are working to educate them about the importance of doing so.
In addition to the HR Division Head and Well-being Promotion Office Head sending an e-mail to all employees stressing the importance of health examinations and rechecks, any employees who have not yet had their examinations are reminded to do so. Steps are also being taken to reinforce this message by enlisting the aid of the human resources staff responsible for the department and utilizing tools to remind not only the employees who have yet to have their examinations but also their supervisors.
Thanks to these measures, 100% coverage has been achieved for these regular health examinations since FY19. Moreover, the total sum spent on health examinations during FY23 was around 180 million yen.
| FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular health examination rate | 99.9% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
High-risk employees and those requiring follow-up examinations
| FY23 | |
|---|---|
| Follow-up examination rate | 73.2%*1 |
| Rate of consultation with industrial physician or public health nurse | 100% |
| Treatment rate for high-risk patients | 100% |
Since April 2022, the time required for examinations has been treated as working hours and employees reimbursed for their travel costs so as to create an environment where it is easy for employees to get health checks or follow-up examinations (repeat check-ups or detailed check-ups). A target of 80% has also been set for follow-up examinations in an effort to catch and treat ill-health early.
For those employees who are found by the examination to be in the high-risk group, the industrial physician and public health nurses provide health advice such as recommending by e-mail or through a consultation that they get their health checked at a medical institution.
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- *1As of July 25, 2024
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Encouragement for women's health, cancer, and dental examinations
Depending on patient age and gender, cancer and women's health examinations are conducted to facilitate the early detection and treatment of cancer and diseases specific to women. We encourage employees to have dental checkups guided by the health insurance association so that they can maintain good dental health.
Encouragement for stress checks
As part of our mental healthcare provision, we encourage all employees to take regular stress checks using the Wellness Eye system provided by group company SB AtWork Corp. This encourages self-care that helps prevent damage to mental wellbeing and has been useful in improving work place conditions.
| FY24 | |
|---|---|
| Stress check consultation rate | 93.9% |
Safe and welcoming work environments
Establishment of a Wellness Center
Employees are given the opportunity to consult about their physical and mental health with public health nurses or industrial physicians specializing in internal or psychological medicine who are made available in partnership with the Wellness Center operated by SB Atwork Corp.
Counseling room
Qualified counselors are available to provide career counselling or to talk one-on-one about concerns such as work or relationships.
Massage room
Massage is available to rejuvenate staff and prevent the problems that come from PC and other deskwork, including eyestrain, stiffness in the neck or back, and lower back pain.
Offering mentoring
in the workplace
with the peer supporter system
We are introducing a “peer supporter system” in which employees who hold occupational counseling or health and safety related qualifications may volunteer as accessible counselors within the workplace after passing a specific selection process and receiving training.
Infectious disease control
Measures are being taken to prevent the spread of influenza and other infectious diseases. Staff can get their influenza vaccinations at work, including any contract staff who want to participate. (As of the end of FY2023)
In addition to influenza, time spent receiving vaccinations for COVID-19 and measles/rubella (including MR and antibody tests) are also deemed to be work hours, and transportation expenses incurred in receiving these are covered by the company.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, antibody testing was conducted for all employees and the company had its own program of saliva PCR testing for staff. This was accompanied by workplace vaccination both within the company and farther afield.
Smart office environment
The company headquarters relocated to Takeshiba in January 2021 to reinforce business continuity planning (BCP) and facilitate further working style reforms. The site provides a community-style workplace that embodies the concept of “Smart & Fun!”, enabling all employees to perform at their best. A variety of health-affirming measures have also been adopted at the offices to provide a safe and welcoming work environment.
Floors linked by internal stairways
Internal stairways have been installed between three floors to create an open and flexible workplace that allows for a wide variety of working styles, also helping employees to get more physical exercise as they work.
Exercise equipment
To promote health and relaxation, exercise equipment and rocking chairs are provided in a corner of the floor for use during break times.
Flexible working arrangements
Encouraging a clear distinction between work and private life
To make it easier to take annual paid leave, employees are encouraged to take off workdays during the Golden Week holidays or that fall between a weekend and a public holiday. The company also encourages a clear distinction between work time and private time, with one day each week being designated a “Go Home on Time Day” and support for participation in the Premium Friday campaign for leaving early on the last Friday of each month.
Introducing a work-interval system
To ensure that employees have enough time for their daily lives and sleep, we are introducing a “work-interval system” which establishes a set rest period from the time that employees finish work until the next time that they start work. All employees are required to take 10 or more consecutive hours of rest from when they finish work until they start working again.
Support for maintaining employment while undergoing cancer treatment
Outpatient Care/Cancer Treatment Leave* is a system established for employees who are unable to work due to cancer-related hospital visits, treatments, and feeling unwell the day after treatment. This system helps create an easy working environment for employees, balancing their treatment and work life.
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- *May be taken as accrued annual leave or Special unpaid leave
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Preventing workplace harassment
The SoftBank provides awareness training through topic-based seminars and e-learning for all workers with the goal of ensuring a healthy and safe workplace free of all forms of harassment. Should a harassment incident occur, a primary contact point has been established so appropriate measures can be taken as quickly as possible. As part of that response, a counselor will first listen to what happened, and then discuss next steps with the employee. All consultations are handled with complete confidentiality.
Monthly Engagement Survey
By answering a total of 20 questions (about 3 minutes) on work, life, and health on a monthly basis, both organizations and employees can measure changes in their own condition. Furthermore, the survey is intended to facilitate timely communication among supervisors and members.
We initially introduced a “Pulse Survey” developed in-house in October 2019, and starting from August 2023, we have revamped and implemented it as the “Monthly Engagement Survey”.
Health maintenance and improvement
We have highlighted seven themes for improving employee health: Improving eating habits, Encouraging exercise habits, Reducing the ratio of smokers, Improving mental healthcare, Improvement of sleep issues, Improving women's health, and Improving health literacy. Support includes providing information and venues for activities to occur.
Seminars have also been held, with most of these taking place online so that as many employees as possible could participate. Archived copies are also available on the company intranet site for employees who were unable to attend the live events. From 2021, October has been designated Health Promotion Month (renamed “Mental and Physical Health Month” in fiscal year 2022), with online seminars and other events held jointly with group company LY Corporation.
1) Improving eating habits
Main efforts
- Provision of healthy options and sale of lunches that are certified “smart meals”* (staff canteen)
- Offering of “Kokoka Lunches to energize your mind and body!” (staff canteen)
- Provision of healthy breakfasts during company-wide morning meetings (monthly)
- Holding of health seminars to help employees improve their lifestyles (monthly)
- Training videos
- -“Health management (including alcohol consumption) for workers”
- -“Lifestyle-related diseases: Proper understanding and prevention”
- -“Proper understanding and practice - Good habits to prevent lifestyle-related diseases”
- -“Let's have a healthy relationship with alcohol - The relationship between alcohol and health”
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- Recipes for healthy eating
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- *Smart meals are nutritionally balanced meals containing healthy ingredients. The concept is part of an initiative by the Healthy Meal & Dietary Environment Consortium aimed at promoting healthy eating.
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Example activity
| Description | Holding vegetable intake measurement sessions and providing healthy menus at the staff canteen |
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| Challenge | As a result of the “health awareness survey” conducted within the company, it was found that many employees had deficient vegetable intake, so vegetable intake measurement meetings were organized at 12 offices nationwide. The results showed average estimated vegetable intake lower than the national average. The prevalence rate also tended to go up with the average age of the employees in question. The health examination most commonly found issues with lipids, followed by BMI, indicating a relationship between dietary habits and the prevalence of health issues. |
| Details |
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| Results |
Vegetable intake measurement meetings were held at 12 offices nationwide (number of participants: 572) 
Kokoka Lunch* 
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2) Encouraging exercise habits
Main efforts
- Holding of company-wide morning yoga before morning meetings and exercise function checks (total participants including online viewing: 95,000 since October 2021)
- Holding of Zoom morning yoga and evening yoga sessions (average satisfaction rate: 95% or higher)
- Holding of walking events (held in spring and fall every year since 2021; total participants from 2021 to spring 2024: 8,691)
- Employees able to get simple physical strength measurements or do their own self-checks at home
- Encouragement of company club activities
Example activity [1]
| Description | Yoga sessions before morning company meeting |
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| Challenge | In the FY2021 health awareness survey, the number one health issue perceived by employees was a decline in activity levels, and many employees complained of symptoms of VDT syndrome. There were also concerns that the increase in working at home would further reduce activity levels and worsen VDT symptoms. |
| Details |
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| Results |
The monthly sessions have been broadcast live since October 2021. 
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Example activity [2]
| Description | HELPO Walkathon |
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| Challenge | As with yoga, a health awareness survey conducted in FY2021 found that the number one health issue perceived by employees as a result of increased working at home was a decline in activity levels, and there was concern that the increase in working at home would further reduce activity levels. Employees also felt that workplace communication also suffering. |
| Details |
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| Results |
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3) Reducing the ratio of smokers
Main efforts
- Ban on smoking during working hours (every day since April 2020)
- Closure of workplace smoking rooms (73 such rooms closed at end of September 2019)
- Smokers and nonsmokers took up the Smoke-Free Challenge
- Training video “Smoking and Health”
- E-mail magazine and anti-smoking column
- Subsidies for cost of smoking cessation programs
- Smoking cessation advice from public health nurses
Example activity
| Description | Ban on smoking during working hours |
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| Challenge | The smoking rate is in the 30% range, higher than the national average, with the rate being especially high among employees who work outside the office. |
| Details |
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| Results | Reduction in smoking rate from 30% range to 20% range (FY16: 31.3% → FY23: 24.5%)
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4) Improving mental healthcare
Main efforts
- Training videos on “Self-Care” and “Resilience”
- Department-specific training
- -Line care for supervisors and self-care for ordinary employees
- -Communication skills (listening, assertion)
- -Motivation & stress management, harassment
- -Self-directed career growth, seminars on preventing the recurrence of mental health issues for seniors who have received mental health level
- -Mental health lectures by industrial physicians
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- Implementation of e-learning covering measures to improve the organizational environment based on the results of stress checks
- -[For managers] Basics of line care (supporting team members), building trusting relationships (listening skills), and basics of line care (recognizing changes)
- -[For all employees] “Health and safety and mental health,” “Assertion,” “Building trusting relationships”
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Example activity
| Description | We recommended employees take the training video "Self care, line care, and more". |
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| Challenge | We implemented trainings and follow-ups for employees returning to work after leaves of absence and their superiors, but the number of employees on leave has not decreased. The number of highly stressed individuals is also increasing according to the results of yearly stress checks. |
| Details | The following training video is recommended for all employees prior to the implementation of stress checks (Number of employees who completed the course: 9,020)
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| Results |
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5) Improvement of sleep issues
Main efforts
- Various sleep-related initiatives are implemented during “Mental and Physical Health Month,” which is usually held in October.
- -Sleep seminars (attended by approximately 1,400 people)
- -Provision of sleep content on the healthcare app HELPO (sleep diagnosis, quizzes, stretching videos, stretching videos)
- -Provision of menu items to help review eating habits and to offer better support for sleep at the staff canteen, and distribution of recipes for a good night's sleep from public health nurses
- -Walking events and yoga sessions
- -Reinforced public awareness of the anti-smoking program
- -Training videos “self-care videos”
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- Provision of discounts for SAS testing (sleep apnea syndrome)
Example activity
| Description | Sleep seminars |
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| Challenge | Analysis of health checkup results and health awareness surveys revealed that employees with sleep issues tend to have lower levels of performance. |
| Details | Sleep seminars hosted by celebrities were jointly held at group companies LY Corporation and SB at Work Corporation (number of participants: approximately 1,400) |
| Results |
When we asked participants whether they were conscious of and putting effort into getting quality sleep before and after attending the sleep seminar, we found that the percentage of people who were conscious of and putting effort into getting quality sleep increased by 18 percentage points after attending the seminar. 
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6) Improving women's health
Main efforts
- HELPO actio+, women's health support service (purchase of femtech products, read columns, and more)
- Additional optional women's health checks are available, partly funded by the company
- Testing kits are available for purchase at a discount
- Established counseling (female industrial physicians are available for consultation)
- Past seminars have covered topics such as women's health issues (menstruation, PMS, menopause, etc.)
- Training videos
- -[All Employees] Everyone should Understand Women's Health
- -[For managers] Women's Health: You Need to Understand Women's Health Because You Are a Manager
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- Column on the company intranet supporting wellbeing
- Introduced a leave system that can be used for various situations such as menstruation, pregnancy, and childcare
Example activity
| Description | We held a seminar on menopause for men and women |
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| Challenge | Since menopausal symptoms, which are often viewed as a health issues specific to women, also appear in men, we thought it necessary to provide a place to deepen understanding of women's health issues, not only among female employees but also among male employees, using menopausal symptoms as an opportunity to address common health issues for both men and women. |
| Details |
We hosted a menopause seminar for men and women by a professor of urology at a university hospital and a pharmacist entitled “It's not only for women! Understanding Menopause for Men and Women”
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| Results |
Number of events: 1 date + archived distribution 
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7) Improving health literacy
Main efforts
Proactive dissemination of information about health management
We have produced the “Five-Minute Primer on Health Management at SoftBank” and made it available to employees as a central resource covering information such as the company's approach to health management, the things being done to maintain and improve employee health, and where to go for assistance. The health literacy level in the 2023 The health literacy rate was 80.4%*.
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- *percentage of respondents who answered “I think it's very high” or “I think it's high” or “I think it's Normal.”
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Wellness Eye Study Video Learning Provided
SB AtWork Corp., our group company which offers Wellness Eye Study Video Learning, provides video content to all employees. It features a full range of healthcare-related content that is useful for self-care and life-care, including topics such as mental health, harassment, cancer prevention, and smoking.
HELPO Healthcare App Provided
We have introduced the HELPO app offered by our group company Healthcare Technologies Corp.
With the HELPO app, users can make appointments and manage results for saliva PCR testing and vaccinations, conduct online health and medical consultations, search for hospitals, and purchase over-the-counter medicine.
External evaluation
Selected under the “Health & Productivity Stock Selection” for two years in a row and recognized the “Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program (White 500)” for the sixth consecutive year
SoftBank was selected under the “Health & Productivity Stock Selection” for two years in a row as an enterprise that is thinking about employee health care from a management perspective and actively engaging in health management.
We were recognized as a White 500 enterprise for the sixth consecutive year.
Obtained the highest rank of “DBJ Health Management Rating”
We received the highest rating in the “DBJ Health Management Rating*” conducted by the Development Bank of Japan, Inc.
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This is the world's first financing menu that introduces the “Health Management Rating” method, which certifies and selects companies that have excellent initiatives for employee health. In the certification phase, it evaluates the organizational management systems and the implementation of various health-related measures aimed at maintaining and promoting employees' physical and mental health, creating a comfortable working environment, and the initiatives to utilize and improve employee engagement.
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Here is the certificate
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Certified as “Sports Yell Company” for six years running
We have been certified by the Japan Sports Agency as a “Sports Yell Company”, meaning a company that makes an effort to get employees involved in sport to improve their health.
This is the sixth consecutive year that our company has been certified as “Bronze”.