Thailand employees in Japan instruct staff for alternate production
Thailand Plant employee (left) directing the work of Japanese employees
When the flood damaged the JVC Thailand Plant we arranged to shift production to Japan.
To do this a total of 68 specialists in production, quality assurance, and shipping inspection from the Thailand Plant came to Japan from December 5, 2011 to the end of March 2012 to work in the Yokosuka Business Center producing professional-level equipment. They arrived at the Yokosuka Business Center and were given full support for language, cuisine, and help in handling the unaccustomed cold Japanese winter from other employees who were invited to give them heavy winter clothing.
Holding a party for employee families
Every year at our overseas plants and sales companies, we hold parties for the families of our staff so they can relax and release the stress of their daily routine. The families and staff both enjoy these events, which may be beer parties, barbeques, field days, or trips that are unique every year.
Family party for employees at the JVC Electronics Singapore Pte., Ltd.
Kenwood Electronics Gulf FZE
Commemoration ceremony of the merger of JVCKENWOOD
Merger ceremony held in the PACIFICO Yokohama National Convention Hall
On October 1, 2011, Victor Company of Japan, Limited, Kenwood Corporation, and J&K Car Electronics Corporation merged to form the JVCKENWOOD Corporation. The memorial ceremony at the PACIFICO Yokohama National Convention Hall (Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama) themed the “New founding: Now, we are the JVCKENWOOD” marked the beginning of a new chapter in history.
About 4,200 employees of the JVCKENWOOD Group from Japan and overseas gathered this day to show their commitment to future growth as a single company.
We also held family style events at each of our facilities to commemorate the merger from October to November of 2011.
We have systematized and implemented training to improve the skills necessary for implementing personal roles, and training to manifest personal skills within the organization.
We are also implementing a Career Development Program to support actions to achieve “what I want to be in the future,” based on personal employment history and experience.
The Career Development Program comprises the following three pillars.
- Career interview
- Career design training
- Career development support
Career interview
During the career interview, which is the most basic of the three pillars, career visions (“what I want to be in the future”) and career development themes are discussed between the individual and their superior once a year, and individual motivations and company expectations are integrated.
Career design training
Career design training
Career design training was implemented as an opportunity to consider the actions required to plan personal career visions. Career design training is training where much realization is gained by considering “what I want to be in the future” while reflecting on how they have worked in the past. Further, this is an opportunity for participants to consider comprehensive work/lifestyle balance comprised of parsonal development to reach future goals and links to family life and the region, while discussing their career visions.
Career development support system
At the end of the career design training, a career development support system is introduced to offer support including time and money to enable further challenges by putting into practice the details and realizations learned.
This system is used for various purposes to achieve career visions, such as distance learning courses, participation in outside seminars, and the obtaining of qualifications, and is effective not only in personal development, but also in in-house invigoration.
JVCKENWOOD understands that in the future the lifestyles of each employee will become ever more diverse and is doing various things to support a work/life balance (WLB).
Supporting childcare and nursing
We have established a variety of ways, for childcare and nursing, to support our employees both at work and at events in their lives.
| Childcare leave | Leave can be taken until the end of April following the child’s first birthday or the end of the month in which the child reaches 18 months |
|---|---|
| Reduced working hours for childcare | During the period ending at the end of March following the child’s ninth birthday, it is possible to reduce work time up to two hours per day as provided by law for childrearing |
| Pregnancy leave for spouses | Three days holiday are allowed to attend the birth of a child by one’s spouse |
| Sick/injured childcare leave | During the period ending at the end of March following the child’s ninth birthday, five days holiday per year are allowed for nursing care |
| Nursing leave | A cumulative maximum of one year leave is allowed for each family member who requires nursing |
| Reduced working hours for nursing | Together with nursing leave, it is possible to reduce work time up to two hours per day for a cumulative total of one year |
| Nursing days off | Five days holiday are allowed to care for a family member who requires nursing |
| Overtime work and late night work | If an employee is raising a child, until the end of March following the child’s ninth birthday, and the employee nursing a family member requiring nursing care so requests, work at night will not be required and overtime work will be limited to a maximum of 24 hours per month or 150 hours per year |
| Registration for reemployment | An employee who quit because of pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, nursing care, or a spouse being transferred will be registered for reemployment |
Reduction in overtime work
Besides the specified family situations, such as childcare and nursing care, we are reducing overtime hours so employees can lead fuller family lives everyday.
Specifically, some of the things we are doing include; setting one day a week on which we urge all employees at a facility to go home at the end of the regular workday, holding classes as per union agreements on overtime to increase the awareness of overtime, and developing activities intended to have employees independently manage their own time as they work.
Encouraging workers to have a day off
In addition to lowering overtime hours, we are encouraging employees to use their annual holidays. To promote taking days off, we are promoting efforts such as spreading the idea through the various work sites, of setting a goal of a certain number of days to be taken during a proposed month in a joint effort with labor unions. In the future we will do surveys at each workplace to follow up on whether all employees are taking their days off.
Other systems
In addition to these systems and activities, to create greater harmony between work and home, we are using the preexisting “Spouse Transfer” system that rehires workers that leave the company for pregnancy, childcare, or nursing care, and we have renewed the “System to register retirees for reemployment” to give more consideration to family life.
Supporting people returning to work after a long absence
We are working proactively in the workplace, as a mental health care strategy, constantly presenting seminars on mental health so we are all aware and understand the reality of mental health and can treat our colleagues with thoughtfulness.
Mental health training
We have also established a return to work support system to allow people to return to work without stress when returning to the job after a long absence.
This system, is in principle a three month program that introduces work responsibilities on a trial basis, increasing the workload and working time in stages, to a state of normal full time work after a return from a long absence or period of not working.
We support returning to work during this trial period; the industrial physician and medical staff add their support also.
When returning to full work after finishing the trial work stage, a returning to work evaluation meeting is held with those people involved, such as the industrial physician, medical staff, and supervisors, where everyone involved evaluates considerations surrounding the return to work and the support system.
Countermeasures against overwork
Interview between worker with long hours and the industrial physician
Long working hours lead to overwork, and this is an important social problem that cannot help being linked to health problems.
We are striving to prevent damage to the health of people and reduce long working hours. We do this by reducing overtime and using interviews, guidance, and medical questionnaires by industrial physicians.
Further, we have also established days when people leave work on time, and the safety and health committee is reducing work hours as part of our pro-active efforts.
Health and safety at work
Safety and health committee
The JVCKENWOOD Group is promoting activities centered on safety and health every month based on the ideas of creating a culture of health and safety, zero accidents at work, and assuring the health of workers.
Our aim is to establish a corporate culture that places priority on the health and safety of employees. Regarding safety, we are introducing risk assessments as tools to remove risks as soon as we find them in the spirit of going from zero accidents to zero risks, and not just on the factory floor, in our offices also.
On the health side also, we are working to create pleasant working conditions to support the health of our employees, such as with mental health strategies.
What, if anything, are you giving up for your “job”? Maybe your hobbies, relations with your family, time with your friends, or something else. Your job can be a major part of a happy life, but sometimes it can be the opposite. Perhaps we can balance our work and life by controlling our jobs, and not letting our jobs control us. I think that if we change our outlook a little in this way, our lives can become much fuller.
Industrial Physician, Yoshinori Ebihara
