SOCIAL
WELLBEING:ACTIONS
Improve Wellbeing among Employees
CASE
Shift to Mindset That Values Employees’ Disposable Time
To help employees gain more disposable time, we are transforming employee management with new approach to workstyles and time allocation, focusing on three themes: follow-up process, 1 on 1, and leave support. For the follow-up process theme, team leaders keep track of members’ work with timely follow- ups and then modify work schedules and reallocate resources as necessary. This process helps standardize workflows and improve efficiency at each organizational unit. Alongside this, we have set days for which we encourage employees to take paid leave and encourage employees and their supervisors to hold dialogues about strategic take-up of leave. Such dialogue will only be effective if there is an open organizational culture, enabling transparency in relationships. We have examined the kind of 1-on-1 sessions that best suit our organization (the frequency of the sessions, the settings in which they are held, and the tools used), resulting in the KOKUYO 1-on-1 model, which we have rolled out across our organization. We also hold communication events across divisional boundaries.
We are also actively committed to reforming workstyles in the logistics industry. KOKUYO Supply Logistics and KOKUYO Logitem have introduced flextime for distribution center staff and all other employees. With flextime, employees exercise autonomy in deciding which hours they work according to busy and slow periods. This contributes to wellbeing by freeing up disposal time and by reducing physical and mental strain.
CASE
Helping Employees Build Diverse and Fulfilling Careers
Among our metrics for measuring empowerment of diverse employees in the workplace is a material goal: 16% of management posts to be occupied by women in 2027.
We also provide support measures to help employees balance work with family care commitments. Such support helps prevent the career bottleneck that employees can experience when they take time away from work to look after children or care for an elderly relative. We extended the coverage of leave to care for a sick or injured child so that employees can now use it until their child is in the sixth grade of elementary school. We also relaxed the requirements for family care leave. Additionally, we offer the new workstyle option of bringing their children to the workplace.
We organize a Life & Career Day. The event features talks by guest speakers from pioneering companies about balancing work with parenting, encouraging men to take paternity leave, and other topics. It also features a panel discussion by employees.
For junior employees, we have KOKUYO Career Dock. KOKUYO Career Dock includes two programs run simultaneously. One is a self-development program for the junior employees. The other is a program for training subordinates attended by the employees’ supervisors. KOKUYO Career Dock is designed to foster a common understanding between supervisors and subordinates about career growth and challenge-taking. The training programs are also attended by senior managers to encourage the junior employees to commit to professional development and their supervisors to support their development.
We will continue to help employees develop their potential and forge fulfilling careers.
Improve Wellbeing among External Stakeholders
CASE
Promoting KOKUYO Inclusive Design
We have a cross-organizational taskforce that promotes inclusive design across the KOKUYO Group. We have launched and showcased HOWS DESIGN, a KOKUYO-style approach to inclusive design. HOWS DESIGN uses a design approach that emphasizes co-creation through a process of dialogue inspired by asking plenty of “how” questions. Two “how” questions are particularly important: “how are you?” which represents a concern for the people’s needs and “how will we do it?” which represents the passion to build them a better tomorrow. Products and services created in HOWS DESIGN are labeled with an original mark. They also have an inclusive design that accommodates the needs of people with disability and are based on ideas developed through a process of dialogue with members of KOKUYO K Heart Co., Ltd. (a disability-friendly subsidiary) and KOKUYO employees who have a disability. As well as promoting inclusive design, the taskforce has launched a HOWS DESIGN website, held universal manner training sessions for employees, a workshop to experience what it is like to have disabilities, and a boccia event. These and other activities of the taskforce all involve co-creation with external partners. Our goal for 2024 was for 20% of our newly launched products to have been designed through the HOWS DESIGN process. We exceeded this goal, reaching 26.6%. As part of our efforts to reach the goal, we launched a diversity office called HOWS PARK in 2023. HOWS PARK runs workshops attended by designers, marketers, inventors, and lead users.
In 2024, HOWS PARK held more than 100 workshops. We will step up efforts to reach our 2030 challenge goal, which is for at least 50% of newly marketed products to incorporate inclusive design.
This mark appears on products and services that were created through HOWS DESIGN
- A varied range of lead users participate from the planning stage
- A pro-diversity approach is used to gain insights that lead to ideas for potential solutions
- A prototype is shared with lead users in a process of dialogue, and the design is reworked and improved accordingly
- The design includes features that eliminate barriers to accessibility, so that users can have a better experience
https://www.kokuyo.co.jp/sustainability/howsdesign/*
- *Japanese Only
HOWS DESIGN Releases
CASE
Stationery: Scissors with Hybrid Arch Blade (Saxa)
We revamped Saxa, a popular scissors series equipped with a hybrid arch blade for extra sharpness.
Retaining the same features, the new release adds an inclined insert, in an industry first. This new feature makes it easy to cut thin or thick material using the right hand or left.
To make the product more environmentally friendly, the packaging was switched from a blister pack to paper packaging. The revamped product also comes with an accessibility code (QR code for accessing multilingual and audio product information).
- *Japanese Only
CASE
Stationery: Blue Memorization Sheet with Orange Marker Pen (Campus)
When studying for exams, students in Japan typically use a colored sheet and marker pen to aid memorization. They highlight key content with the marker and then a colored sheet over the page to hide this information.
Respecting visual diversity, this product consists of a blue sheet and orange marker (as opposed to the traditional red sheet and green marker set), making it accessible to more people.
The product has been certified by Color Universal Design (CUD).
- *Japanese Only
CASE
Furniture: Hemming
Hemming is a shell chair with an ergonomic design, not just in terms of being comfortable to sit in: It is also easy to stand up from and say to pull out and carry.
Find out more*- *Japanese Only
CASE
Furniture: Energy Line
Energy Line is a clamp power strip for desks. It features a linear socket design, allowing the user to plug in their device anywhere along the strip, making work a little easier.
As it has no separate sockets, multiple users can share the power strip. Each strip can accommodate up to five electrical plugs (typical household plugs).
Find out more*- *Japanese Only
CASE
Business Supply Distribution: Easy-Carry ID Card Holder with Band
This is an ID card holder with a band for versatile usage. Users can slip their hand through the band, grasp the holder with their fingers, or pull out the ID card. Users can also fix the strap with the band, allowing easy storage.
This product was commercialized following an inclusive design workshop in 2023. The workshop, designed to promote HOWS DESIGN, was jointly organized by three corporate divisions of KOKUYO Group and by KOKUYO K Heart, a special subsidiary.
- *Japanese Only
CASE
Business Supply Distribution:
Mineral Water Sourced from Tsumagoikogen
(260ml labelless, 260ml “omotenashi”)
CASE
Business Supply Distribution:Mineral water sourced from Tsumagoikogen
(260ml labelless, 260ml “omotenashi”)
We developed a plastic bottle with an inclusive design that anyone can carry and open with ease.
We analyzed how people open a plastic bottle and incorporated our findings into the design.
- *Japanese Only
