Balancing Work and Family
- Specific Materiality
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Diversity and equal opportunity
405-1
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Principle and Outline
Osaka Gas aims to create a corporate culture in which employees can maximize their abilities by striking a balance between rewarding work and fulfilling personal lives and involvement with society. Furthermore, labor and management are working together to realize a work-life balance by systemizing support measures needed by employees at each life stage and creating a workplace environment that facilitates the use of such measures.
In FY2017, Osaka Gas launched a company-wide committee, to encourage employees to work efficiently, where measures to promote highly productive and creative work styles are considered and promoted, thereby working on a work-style reform.
Supporting Employees Balancing Work and Home
Support for balancing work and childcare by improving the systems and the workplace environment
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“Kurumin” mark certified by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
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Osaka Gas has various systems in place to support employees in balancing work and child-rearing by creating a comfortable working environment so that they can fully demonstrate their abilities. For example, we have a system allowing employees to take childcare leave up to the end of the month in which children reach their third birthday, as well as a system for shorter work hours until children finish their third year at elementary school. To ensure a smooth return to work, the company also provides support such as lending employees personal computers with intranet and e-mail access during their childcare leave to ensure opportunities for communication with the company, and operating a return-to-work program that institutionalizes regular meetings with supervisors during the period from pregnancy to return to work. Furthermore, we have established a consultation desk at the Health Promotion Center so that employees and their families can seek advice on health during pregnancy and child-raising. These are examples of the ways that Osaka Gas labor and management are cooperating to create an environment in which employees can balance work and childcare with peace of mind.
In recognition of these efforts, following in April 2007, May 2011, and March 2015, in February 2019 we were certified by the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare as an employer that actively supports child rearing based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children, and we acquired the "Kurumin" certification mark for supporting raising next-generation children. We will continue to promote support for balancing work and childcare in accordance with the 6th Action Plan for Support of Raising Next-Generation Children (from April 2021 to March 2025).
Support for Male Employees to Participate in Childcare
Osaka Gas encourages male employees to take one month of childcare leave. In addition to solving social issues such as the declining birthrate and creating a society in which both men and women can play an active role, taking childcare leave is expected to improve the work-life balance of employees raising children, thereby increasing their job satisfaction and productivity, and creating innovation from a new perspective through the experience of childcare, which is different from their work duties. Based on this concept, in addition to childcare leave, we have introduced a system that allows employees to flexibly take leave and according to their work and family needs, such as "Hagukumi Leave"*, and the utilization rate of "Hagukumi Leave" was 93.8% in FY2022. In addition, we are striving to create an environment that facilitates the use of the system by sending out messages from management, preparing guidebooks, and sharing examples of cases where employees have used the system.
- * Hagukumi leave: A unique paid leave for childcare purposes that can be taken for five days within six months of the birth of a child.
Support for balancing work and nursing care by improving the systems and the workplace environment
Osaka Gas offers various systems to support a balance between work and nursing care. For employees who need to take leave to care for family members, we have established systems that allow employees to take more leave than legally required, including a nursing care leave system that allows employees to take a total of 366 days of leave per family member who needs care and a system of shorter working hours for nursing care that allows employees to work up to 3 hours less per day for a total of 1,096 days in addition to the leave period.
Helping employees balance work and medical treatment
In April 2021, Osaka Gas introduced a system of shorter working hours to support employees in balancing work and medical treatment, mainly for employees requiring cancer and dialysis treatment. Normally, employees use paid leave, half-day paid leave, flextime, etc. when going to the hospital for treatment of illnesses, etc. However, in some cases where long-term continuous treatment is required, paid leave, etc. may not be sufficient. In response to such a situation, we introduced a system of shorter working hours for the purpose of outpatient treatment that allows employees to apply to shorten their working day.
Efforts to Improve Productivity and Reduce Working Hours
Aiming to improve productivity
by promoting efficient work styles
Osaka Gas promotes efficient work styles to improve productivity with the objectives of increasing employee value by realizing work-life balance, creating a culture to promote diversity, and preventing health problems caused by overwork. Aiming to reduce total annual working hours, we have been implementing the following initiatives one by one since FY2010.
- ・ Promote paperless office by digitizing internal documents (e.g., use of a projector in principle for internal meetings and discussions).
- ・ Improve efficiency of meeting management (e.g., distribution of meeting materials in advance and sharing of meeting minutes via electronic bulletin board, etc.)
- ・ Create a work environment that encourages creativity through office layout changes (e.g., free-address office space with no fixed seating for employees).
- ・ Visualize data, such as actual overtime work hours, and streamline operations using IT (e.g., information sharing via internal portal site, work support via smartphone, and automation of operations using RPA).
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Satellite office set up in Grand Front Osaka
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As part of our efforts to promote telecommuting, which leads to flexible work styles, we have established satellite offices where employees can work in an office other than their own regular office to improve productivity by reducing commuting and travel time and concentrating work in a remote office. Furthermore, we offer our employees diverse and flexible work options that are not limited to working in our offices by expanding the number of employees eligible for telecommuting gradually and introducing a web conferencing system that allows employees to participate using smartphones and other devices.
In addition, we have formulated the Code of Conduct for Efficient Work Styles, a set of specific action standards that supervisors, subordinates, and related personnel should be aware of and implement from the perspective of increasing work efficiency and saving labor and of promoting further productivity improvement by practicing actions in line with the standards.
Support for Community Activities Involvement
Supporting employees’ participation in society through a juror leave system, etc.
Prior to the implementation of the juror system in Japan in May 2009, Osaka Gas established a juror leave system that allows employees to take paid leave for the required number of days when they are selected as a juror or prosecution councilor in FY2009 to support employees' participation in society.
Volunteer leave system / Community leave system
Osaka Gas has introduced various systems for employees to participate in company-approved volunteer and social contribution activities.
Under the volunteer leave system, each employee is treated as being on leave during the period of an activity and is provided with special treatment regarding their work period and salary. The community leave system is a system to support employees' involvement in the community, under which they can take special leave.
- Sustainability of
the Daigas Group -
President's Commitment
Transition Finance
- Values and Sustainability Promotion of the Daigas Group
- Daigas Group's Values Daigas Group Charter of Business Conduct and Management Policy Daigas Group Code of Business Conduct Sustainability Promotion System and Management Stakeholder Engagement Initiatives the Daigas Group Participates In Commendation from the Outside
- Sustainability Management and Value Creation Process
- Value Creation Process of the Daigas Group Long-Term Management Vision 2030 Medium-Term Management Plan 2023 Daigas Group Carbon Neutral Vision
- Actions on Materiality
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Materiality of the Daigas Group
Materiality Review Cycle
Creating Value for Customers
(Charter I) Contributing to the Sustainability of the Environment and Society
(Charter Ⅱ) Engaging with and Contributing to Society (Charter Ⅲ) Respecting Human Rights
(Charter IV) Complying with Laws and Regulations (Charter V) Providing Work Environment That Supports Employees’ Personal Growth (Charter VI)
- Corporate Governance
- Corporate Governance Risk Management Compliance Messages from Outside Directors
- FY2022 Activities Report
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- Creating Value for Customers (Charter I)
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Charter I Index
Management for Creating Value for Customers
Safety and Security 1:
Procurement Stage Safety and Security 2:
Processing Stage Safety and Security 3:
Distribution Stage Safety and Security 4:
Consumption Stage Incorporating Customer Opinions Proposing New Value
- Contributing to the Sustainability of the Environment and Society (Charter Ⅱ)
- Charter Ⅱ Index Management toward Contributing to the Sustainability of the Environment and Society Environmental Management Environmental Management: Indicators, Targets and Results Actions for Climate Change: Recognition of and Action on Risks and Opportunities Actions for Climate Change: Method to Evaluate Effects of CO2 Emissions Reduction Actions for Climate Change: Working to Reduce CO2 Emissions in Business Activities Actions for Climate Change: Working to Reduce CO2 Emissions at Customer Sites Efforts in Resource Recycling Conserving Biodiversity Developing Environmental Technologies Addressing Environmental Risk Promotion of Green Purchasing Environmental Communication
- Engaging with and Contributing to Society (Charter Ⅲ)
- Charter Ⅲ Index Management of Engagement with and Contribution to Society Activities for Promoting Communication with Society Corporate Volunteering Activities under the Small Light Campaign Social Contribution Activities Activities at Osaka Gas' Foundations
- Respecting Human Rights (Charter IV)
- Charter IV Index Status of Management regarding Respect for Human Rights Human Rights Due Diligence Action on Human Rights
- Complying with Laws and Regulations (Charter V)
- Charter V Index Management for Complying with Laws and Regulations Compliance Promotion Efforts Efforts for Protection of Personal Information Information Security Consultations and Reports from Partner Companies
- Providing Work Environment That Supports Employees’ Personal Growth (Charter VI)
- Charter VI Index Status of Management to Support Employees' Personal Growth Employment Acceptance of Diversity Balancing Work and Family Human Resource Development and Rewards Communication Between Employees and Company Improving Occupational Health and Safety
- Reporting Guidance and Guidelines and ESG Data
- Reporting Guidelines