Creation of a Healthy Workplace
Employee health and safety are among DISCO’s top priorities. For this reason, we established the Principles of Health and Safety in 2005 and continue to promote initiatives in this area. DISCO has been working to strengthen its health management since 2013, starting with the implementation of “Excellence in Personal Wellbeing” as one of its managerial objectives and the expansion of related activities.
By encouraging employees to improve their health through everyday activities rather than as a special separate activity and by combining this with our organizational management measures (Personal Will, PIM, DISCO Values, etc.) which have been cultivated over a long period, we aim to improve health literacy and individual employee productivity to bring further improvement in business productivity. (In comparison with fiscal year 2013, in fiscal year 2020, there was a 1.7-fold increase in sales and a 3.1-fold increase in ordinary income.)
External Ranking
In acknowledgement of these longstanding health initiatives, DISCO has been recognized under the Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program, administered by METI and the Nippon Kenko Kaigi.
Organizational System to Support Health
From fiscal year 2019, in order to further improve the effectiveness of health-related services, we are working on transferring industrial health staff to an independent organization and building a system in which they cooperate with the human resources department and DISCO Health Insurance Society as a three-part organization working as one.
The person overseeing organization is the General Manager of the Corporate Support Division, who also acts as Director / Managing Executive Officer.
Company-Wide Health Initiatives
Every year, DISCO implements an initiative centered on health as one of its managerial objectives, and all employees participate. DISCO Group proactively works to promote a healthy lifestyle among all its employees, including those at overseas affiliate offices. Employees are paid in Will (internal currency) for the achievement of these health-related objectives. In turn, the amount of Will each employee earns affects their bonuses. This system promotes behavioral modification in each and every employee, thus ensuring that the activity is self-propelled.
*The smartphone apps used in these activities are created internally at DISCO.
Excellence in Self Care (2023)
“Self-care” is defined as taking a proactive interest in one’s health on a day-to-day basis and maintaining one’s health through appropriate lifestyle changes. Based on this definition, DISCO implemented an initiative that encouraged employees to learn about self-care and then transform it into a habit. As part of this initiative, health-related actions were divided into several categories, such as diet, exercise, and sleep, and points were assigned to each action. By having each department then compete to earn the most points, DISCO cultivated an environment in which all employees came together to focus on their health.
Excellence in Eye Health (2022)
To prevent reduction in productivity due to eye disease and eyestrain, DISCO conducted an activity to maintain employees' eye health. All employees acquired the necessary knowledge regarding maintaining eye health and came up with countermeasures against tasks and habits that could affect their eye health. In addition, employees regularly checked how healthy their eyes were by performing monthly self-checks.
Past Initiatives
Excellence in Immunity (2021)
We carried out these activities with the aim of maintaining the immune system and entrenching lifestyle habits that further improve immunity, while also learning about the immune system itself. We aimed for each employee to work toward strengthening their immune system and build a body resistant to bacteria and viruses through establishing health habits, such as those related to exercise, diet, and sleep.
Excellence in Posture (2020)
In fiscal year 2020, DISCO employees worked to achieve “Excellence in Posture.”
All employees aimed to become aware of their posture and make good posture a habit. Employees checked their own posture, identified poor posture and habits, and gained knowledge regarding good posture and the impact of poor posture.
In this activity, employees also learned stretches and exercises that will improve their posture by implementing posture improvement activities that best suit them. Employees cheered each other on in these activities, creating an environment where nobody becomes discouraged.
Excellence in Dental Health (2019)
In fiscal year 2019, DISCO employees conducted activities based on the theme “Excellence in Dental Health.”
All employees turned their attention to oral health, gaining detailed knowledge regarding teeth and gums and learning about oral diseases and their health risks. In addition, they learned proper brushing techniques, received dental checkups at the office, and were encouraged to seek treatment at a dental clinic if necessary.
This theme aimed to make dental checkups a habit for employees and encouraged periodic checkups for all employees with the support of the DISCO Health Insurance Society. This leads to treatment being sought at an earlier stage, reducing the dental treatment cost per employee.
Better Health through Team Competition (2016～2018)
In fiscal year 2016, DISCO employees worked in teams to achieve “Excellence in Personal Wellbeing” by conducting activities based on the theme “Better Health through Team Competition.” By organizing themselves into teams, employees were able to work on improving their health while providing encouragement to one another. In fiscal years 2017 and 2018, we furthered efforts in “Better Health through Team Competition,” with employees presenting their own methods for improving health and measuring their BMI every week, leading to a further increase in health awareness.
Excellence in Personal Wellbeing (2015)
In fiscal year 2015, DISCO conducted activities based on the theme “Excellence in Personal Wellbeing.” Employees gained a better understanding of their yearly health checkups by participating in study sessions led by public health nurses on interpreting checkup results and by taking a test on “Excellence in Personal Wellbeing.” In addition, each employee chose a checkup examination result related to lifestyle illnesses to improve and then worked on improving related lifestyle habits.
Other Initiatives
Assistance Program to Recover from Metabolic Syndrome
An assistance program to recover from metabolic syndrome is being implemented for employees over 40 whose health checkup results have exceeded the specified health guidance standards. There are several courses in this program created to best suit the each individual employee’s lifestyle, such as a course to improve their lifestyle by using an activity measurement gauge and consulting with an expert for three months, a course to improve their lifestyle by focusing on their food habits, and a course to improve their lifestyle by focusing on exercise.
Fitbit Health Promotion Program
In fiscal year 2021, DISCO has implemented a joint health program by the DISCO Health Insurance Society and the training department using Fitbit, an activity tracker that tracks your exercise, food, sleep, etc. This program encourages employees to improve their health while having fun and increasing their motivation by competing with their coworkers using step count or calorie intake control, sharing methods to improve their sleeping score, etc.
Mental Health Care
DISCO places importance not only on physical health, but also on mental health. In addition to annual stress checkups, DISCO also provides consultations with industrial doctors and public nurses, and counseling by psychosomatic physicians.
“Early detection of mental illness is just as important”
The number of cases of mental illness in Japan have been on a rapid increase during the last decade.
Mental illness is no longer rare, and anyone is at risk of developing one. Early detection is just as important for mental illness as it is for physical illness. If you or the people around you show even the slightest of symptoms, I recommend consulting with your supervisors and mental health experts.
If there is anything you would like to discuss, please feel free to visit me anytime.
Antismoking Measures
From fiscal year 2017, an anti-smoking support program was implemented at no cost to employees in cooperation with the DISCO Health Insurance Society.
The DISCO Health Insurance Society not only tracks each employee’s progress periodically but also provides support for quitting by giving personalized advice.
In addition, DISCO held a “No Smoking Derby.” In this activity, DISCO employees who want to quit smoking participate in the derby and receive encouragement from other employees who act as supporters, giving them the impetus to quit smoking.
Creating an Environment That Encourages Exercise
Dedicated full-time instructors support employees in the fitness gym, studio, and pool within the company. By building an onsite gym, tennis courts, futsal court, golf practice ground, and more at the headquarters and at production plants, DISCO has created an environment in which employees can exercise regularly with coworkers.
Last updated: 2024/02/29
