Occupational Health

The Mitsui Chemicals Group has set forth the promoting of the happiness and fulfillment of employees in the Corporate Mission. We believe that “healthy employees lead to the happiness of the employees and their family, bringing greater work value and joy. This establishes the foundation of the Group and contributes to the local community and the sustainable growth of society.” Based on this belief, the Mitsui Chemicals Group has adopted the following as its vision: “To engage in health-focused management that autonomously promotes occupational health and worker health by enhancing tangible measures, such as improving work environments and facilities where employees can maintain good health at work, and enabling employees to pursue intangible measures that focus on health management and promotion.”
We have established our company rules (occupational health regulations) that set out the basic provisions for occupational health. Founded on the basic philosophy that employee well-being is directly linked to the Company's well-being, we are actively involved in occupational health measures that include health management to prevent work-related diseases, and creating good working environments that are adapted to our employees, as well as supporting our employees in their individual activities to maintain their well-being.

We promote good health management among employees via activities such as medical examinations and health guidance carried out by occupational physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
Since 2008, we have been conducting comprehensive medical check-ups for employees (combining regular medical examinations with special medical check-ups and cancer screening), with a coverage in fiscal 2022 of nearly 100% for regular medical check-ups, nearly 100% for lung cancer screening, approx. 80% for colon cancer, approx. 60% for gastric cancer, approx. 70% for abdominal ultrasound scans, approx. 90% for prostate cancer screening, approx. 70% for breast cancer, and approx. 60% for uterine cervical cancer screening.
The results are managed by the Health Management Department, which is responsible for explaining the need for more detailed examinations to employees who require them and encouraging employees to undergo further examinations by medical specialists. The results of specialized examinations are reported either by the employee in question or in the form of a letter received in response to the letter of recommendation. In fiscal 2022, 69% of cancers were identified through these examinations, and about half of all cancers detected were found to be curable.

In addition, to encourage employees to voluntarily manage their health and raise health awareness, stool antigen tests for helicobacter pylori bacteria are conducted for those who wish to undergo the test early in their employment. Prompted by previous gastric cancer risk screenings, a growing number of employees have rid themselves of helicobacter pylori bacteria or have undergone gastroendoscopies for gastric cancer screening and more. Employees who have undergone gastric cancer risk screenings, etc., and are aware of their own risks are screened as often as they want (once a year is the most frequent) by their chosen method (endoscopy or barium swallow test).

The index used to indicate the state of health of its employees shows that Mitsui Chemicals had a figure of 8.0% or less for lifestyle-related diseases in fiscal 2030, and the index is being carefully monitored. Continuing in fiscal 2022, we conducted health improvement activities by offering medical examination follow-up guidance and health guidance, encouraging health examinations, and providing online access. In addition, we used online and on-demand delivery to share information (such as tips on weight loss and health promotion from various perspectives), provided guidance using an app, and conducted “Laugh Education (learn to laugh)” seminars, a program to improve communication by comedians. We encourage many employees to participate by making the seminars available to the entire company and again by e-mail on the day of the seminar. A body balance measurement session was also held, providing an opportunity to assess one's own condition. Through these activities, a company-wide system has been established to implement new health promotion plans proposed by each business site and to share the effectiveness verification results after implementation. As a result of these various activities in fiscal 2022, we confirmed that the obesity rate is under control and that the hypertension and cholesterol levels have improved. However, as a result of the obvious increase in obesity and sugar, we have not reached the target for the average prevalence rate of lifestyle-related diseases, partly because we have set a stretch goal based on the recent downward trend in lifestyle-related disease risks. In fiscal 2023, we plan to continue devising programs and methods to conduct seminars and provide health guidance and other activities that are useful for promoting good health.
The ratio of smokers has decreased by more than 10% compared to 10 years ago and is gradually decreasing. The Health Management Department will continue to lead the Company in providing support to employees who want to quit smoking, while providing smoking rooms to curb exposure to secondhand smoke. Each business site has begun taking action to ban smoking on Company premises or during work hours by fiscal 2025 to protect the health of our employees.
In addition, starting in fiscal 2021, we opened a personal portal site (MCI Health Navi) to provide each employee with their own medical examination results, notification, etc. MCI Health Navi allows each individual to view medical examination results and check information based on their medical examination results and work history, graphs to confirm changes based on past test data, recommendations to take medical examinations, and notifications regarding healthcare guidance, etc. In fiscal 2022, some functions were modified to allow individuals to manage their own health information and to make it easier for them to view their own health information. We will continue to support the program to foster health awareness and improve health literacy among employees.

We continue to help balance work and disease treatment with the support of occupational physicians. We offer a health consultation and guidance for employees who are worried about their illness, such as not knowing the best action to take or when they are unable to fully understand the explanations of the doctor, etc. If some special working arrangement is required for an employee, we discuss with the workplace and Human Resource Division to suit the requirements of the situation. Due to these systems that support treatment of illnesses, including cancer, it is no longer uncommon to continue working during strong treatment. We also revised the Guidebook to Help Balance Work and Medical Treatment by compiling related information and concrete examples. The up-to-date book was published on the internal bulletin board to make it accessible to employees whenever they need it.

At our overseas bases, our occupational physicians go overseas every year to make the rounds, conducting health interviews with all employees working overseas, including their families if they so desire. Until the first half of fiscal 2022, we were responding online and by e-mail due to the spread of COVID-19, but in the second half of the year, we resumed overseas patrols and conducted in-person interviews. We continue to provide information regarding infection and health improvements.

Mental health can also have a significant influence on maximizing work performance and is an important issue to maintain the health of employees. With the wider spread of teleworking and changes in the social environment, mental health care has also become increasingly important. Upon formulating VISION 2030, Mitsui Chemicals has defined the “frequency of absences from work due to mental health disorders,” which we have been monitoring, as one of our management metrics and set the target frequency for fiscal 2030 to be 0.25. Although the number of new cases of mental illness decreased in fiscal 2022, the percentage of those with six months or more of absence from work increased, pushing up the overall number of days of absence from work. This also increased the overall frequency of absences from work due to health disorders. Although the condition of the employee depends largely on the individual, we will continue to support their recovery and return to work through various training programs (e.g., self-care training for new employees, managers, line managers, etc.), interviews with occupational physicians, counseling, and stress surveys, while steadily promoting improvements in the workplace environment.
In fiscal 2022, face-to-face interviews and consultations were conducted in consideration of infection risk reduction and working conditions, while continuing to utilize online video calls. In addition, creative ways of working are becoming more widespread at each workplace thanks to the use of the results of stress surveys conducted last year and the year before (including a summary of the effects of telework on the mind and body and key points of health management during telework), good practices (sharing of presentations and examples of specific improvements made at workplaces), and telework guides for employees, which are posted on the intranet.

In addition to training, e-learning on communication is provided to new hires (not only new graduates, but also career and temporary hires). For two years after entering the Company, we also continue to provide appropriate support. Occupational physicians, etc., interview all new employees every six months to determine the status regarding their lifestyle, health, communications with their supervisor, and colleagues, and provide advice as needed. We also offer trial counseling to make it easier to take advantage of counseling services.
In addition, inclusion study sessions have also been held. These sessions aim to create a culture to accept people with diverse characteristics and personalities, as well as those in the course of illness treatment, into workplaces.

Since COVID-19 became a category 5 infectious disease on May 8, 2023, we have continued to take measures to prevent the spread of infection according to the situation, based on the infection prevention measures taken at the discretion of each individual. In addition, we have begun to consider how to prepare for new emerging infectious diseases in the future.

The Mitsui Chemicals Group runs a wide variety of health promotion programs and supports the health management of its employees, primarily through its healthcare section and health insurance association. In fiscal 2022, in addition to the healthy mileage competition, fitness classes, smoking cessation challenge, healthy menu at the company cafeteria, physical measurements, and body balance measurement sessions that have been held in previous years, we have also held health checks to learn about one's own body and “Laugh Education.” We have also planned a series of six online seminars on health, which can be viewed in real time or on demand.
The Healthy Mileage Campaign is a program that involves participation by individuals or teams, collecting points (health miles) for exercise and healthy lifestyles, and winning prizes for miles collected. Employees can enter their achievements on the web or via smartphone, and approximately 45% of all employees, including those overseas, participate in the program. We prioritize their autonomy so that we can motivate people as much as possible and they can enjoy participating in the program.

The sickness/accident allowances have been decreasing since fiscal 2015; however, they have slightly increased since fiscal 2018 due to an increase in those suffering from mental health issues. Sickness/accident allowances in fiscal 2022 were 67% of the fiscal 2008 levels, showing a long-term decrease for cancer and cardiovascular diseases. There was also an overall decline in fiscal 2022 when compared to the Mitsui Chemicals Health Insurance Association.

The legal benefit cost (medical care cost) per capita for both Mitsui Chemicals Health Insurance and the National Federation of Health Insurance Societies increased slightly in 2022 from the previous year, returning to the situation before the spread of COVID-19, but the Mitsui Chemicals Health Insurance Association was able to control the rate of increase to about 44% compared to general health insurance associations when the legal benefit cost (medical care cost) per person insured by Mitsui Chemicals Health Insurance and the National Federation of Health Insurance Societies is viewed as an index with fiscal 2008 as 100. These show the comprehensive effects of our health management, and we will continue to strengthen measures to promote employee health in the years to come.