Health and Productivity Management

DKS has a proactive corporate culture toward employee health management, as evidenced by the fact that in 1919, the year after its founding, DKS began implementing health checkups on all employees. Underlying this is our corporate philosophy that people are our assets and must be nurtured and treasured. In 2017, DKS announced its Healthy Company Declaration and began Health and Productivity Management initiatives. One of the goals of our medium-term management plan “FELIZ 115” is the improvement of employee happiness, and we are working to maintain and improve the health of our employees, which is essential to achieving this goal.

Concept of Health and Productivity Management

Efforts in Health and Productivity Management

We believe that efforts to maintain and improve the health of our employees will enhance our corporate value in the future. From a managerial perspective, DKS is striving to maintain and improve the health of its employees under its Healthy Company Declaration. We have clearly stated specific healthy actions for employees in our Employee Healthy Action Guidelines, and have established a Health and Productivity Management Promotion Committee to promote health across the Company.

Efforts to Establish Exercise Habits

We are working to establish exercise habits by using an app that registers the number of steps taken on a daily basis. We hold company-wide walk-a-thons regularly and motivate employees by establishing rankings for each individual and teams per office. In addition, we have created a system to increase the amount of physical activity during the workday by setting a time for radio calisthenics before work and DKS Calisthenics (a DKS original) at 3:00 p.m. as a preventive measure against outbreaks of illnesses among able-bodied employees. As part of efforts to improve not only exercise habits but also eating habits, we encourage the use of health guidance to employees who meet the criteria for metabolic syndrome or pre-metabolic syndrome and provide support to help them make improvements (measures to prevent serious illnesses among those at high risk).

In addition, we hold physical fitness seminars for older employees to help them create an environment in which they can continue to exercise. As a result of these efforts, the percentage of employees aged 40 and over with exercising habits increased from 13.6% in fiscal 2016 to 24.4% in fiscal 2021, and accordingly, the percentage of employees aged 40 and over maintaining an appropriate weight improved from 69.0% in fiscal 2016 to 72.1% in fiscal 2021.

DKS Trim Waist Award

After distributing DKS original measuring tape to all employees and educating them about abdominal circumference, we have employees self-report changes in their abdominal measurements over time and give out Trim Waist Awards. In addition to DKS Calisthenics, which incorporates movements focused on reducing belly fat, we also support walk-a-thons, No Snacking Day, and Teetotal Day to raise awareness of the need to reduce abdominal circumference.

Enjoy Eating Project

Our cafeterias are free for our employees and offer a well- balanced healthy menu. We also provide nutritional guidance through a health app. By taking photos of their meals and registering them in the app, employees can receive nutritional guidance from the AI. Points are awarded for each meal registered, which can be redeemed for health-related products. The app was used by 70.0% of employees in fiscal 2021, and is being used to help them manage their health.

Mental Health Measures

As a mental health measure, DKS has introduced an external Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides employees with counseling for their concerns via e-mail, video call, telephone, and in-person. Around-the-clock counseling is available to employees and their relatives up to the second degree of kinship, and is available in Japanese as well as English, Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese. In fiscal 2021, our counseling service was used in 262 cases. In addition, the participation rate of employees in hierarchical mental health training, which is conducted at milestones such as promotions, was 100% in fiscal 2021, and the participation rate of mental health education for all employees was 87.9% in the same period.

Third-Party Review of Health and Productivity Management

In recognition of its efforts, DKS was selected by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) for the third consecutive year as a “Health & Productivity Stock.” For the sixth consecutive year, DKS and subsidiaries Gembu Co., Ltd., Dai-ichi Kenkou Co., Ltd., Dai- ichi Ceramo Co., Ltd., Kyoto Elex Co., Ltd., and for the fourth consecutive year, Ikeda Yakusou Co., Ltd. were certified as White 500 Organizations. Yokkaichi Chemical Co., Ltd. was certified for the third consecutive year as a “Corporation with Excellent Health Management” by the Nippon Kenko Kaigi (Japan Health Council), a system designed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to recognize large corporations, small and medium-sized companies, and other corporations that practice particularly excellent health management based on initiatives that meet local health issues and health promotion efforts promoted by the Nippon Kenko Kaigi.
Going forward, assessments of Company efforts through the eyes of external organizations will continue to lead to further enhancements in corporate value.