Utilization of Human Resources

(working style reform and the creation of workplaces where diverse human resources can play active roles)

Working Style Reform

Approach

The purpose of the working style reform that our Group pursues goes beyond shortening working hours to enhance the growth and productivity of every employee, thereby efficiently advancing high-quality work in a limited time frame and creating new value. Restated, the purpose is “rebuilding the ability to work,” which we believe will lead to growth of the Group as a whole. We announced the start of working style reform efforts in April 2017, and since then have continuously advanced a variety of initiatives. In addition to strengthening management of appropriate working hours and reducing long working hours, we have created an environment that lets all employees demonstrate their abilities in work. We anticipate that employees will invest the time created through working style reform in themselves, using it as an opportunity for personal growth.

Working Style Reform Initiatives

In our Group, particulars of work often differ by division and workplace, with the result that working style reform activities are generally undertaken on a per-workplace basis. Every year at every workplace, we create and carry out an action plan aimed at assessing and improving current conditions related to working styles.
Average annual working hours are steadily decreasing, and we have begun initiatives aimed at reducing the number of persons who work long hours.

Diverse Working Styles and Labor Productivity

We make efforts to reduce employee average annual working hours to our target of 1,900 hours or lower, and report on progress toward this target every month at executive officers’ Meetings. The recognition of diverse working styles (workfrom- home and flextime systems) matched to the job leads a more active involvement in work from employees and promotes reduced working hours and enhanced productivity. In the Head Office District, we have introduced a flextime system with no core hours, achieving flexible working styles grounded in the autonomy of employees. To promote the taking of annual paid leave, we also engage in labor-management dialogue at all business sites, and study and carry out related measures based on the situation at each site. Based on the reduction of annual working hours achieved through these initiatives, since April 2021 we have unified the annual scheduled working hours for all working styles to 1,920 hours. In FY2022, annual total working hours were 1,933.3 hours (average for all employees) and the percentage of paid leave taken was 87.6% (annual average for all employees).

■ Average Annual Working Hours¹ and Percentage of Paid Leave Taken²

• 1.Average annual working hours = scheduled working hours (excluding leave, paid leave, etc.) + overtime hours
• 2Scope: Employees of Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. during the year (excluding limited-term employees who are specially hired employees)

Prevention of Long Working Hours and Overwork

Our Company complies with the laws and regulations of countries and regions regarding long working hours and overwork. As an initiative in Japan to prevent health disorders due to overwork, since 2003, before our working style reform initiatives, we have made superiors aware of employees who have worked overtime for over 45 hours per month and conducted health guidance by occupational physicians for employees who have worked overtime for over 80 hours per month. In working hours management, since 2016 we have linked login and logoff time of PCs to our attendance management system to check the state of working hours. When the discrepancy between working hours and PC login/log-off times exceeds a certain criterion, we check whether a labor situation exists. From the standpoint of compliance with overtime and holiday work in accordance with Article 36 of the Labor Standards Act, we are building a mechanism that delivers email alerts about subordinates’ overtime hours to superiors, and are providing support for appropriate management in the workplace.

Creation of Workplaces Where Diverse Human Resources Can Play Active Roles (initiatives and development of systems)

Support Matched to Employees’ Life Stages

Our Company offers support measures and systems matched to changes in life stages, such as joining the Company, marriage, childbirth, childcare, nursing care, and reaching retirement age. We also provide consultation and opportunities for information provision through training.

■ Support matched to employees’ life stages

Development of Support Systems for Balancing Work and Child-Rearing and Nursing Care

By enhancing our support measures beyond statutory requirements to let employees balance work and child-rearing and nursing care without worry, we are making efforts to create comfortable working environments. Our handbook on benefits summarizes internal systems, including those for child-rearing and nursing care. We revise the handbook to accommodate changes in systems, and make this information familiar to employees.
We further hold seminars on support systems for balancing work and child-rearing, aimed at employees and their supervisors before and after return from parental leave; seminars on the parental leave system to aid managers’ understanding of systems associated with revision of the Act on Childcare and Caregiver Leave; and individual informational sessions on the parental leave system and interviews to confirm intent to take leave to aid understanding of the leave system by employees preparing for childbirth in the family.

Of 107 employees (91 men and 16 women) who were eligible to take parental leave in FY2022, 104 (87 men and 17 women) did so. The percentage of eligible employees taking parental leave was 97.2% (95.6% for men and 106.3% for women).
In support for balancing work and nursing care, we regularly conduct questionnaire surveys on nursing care-related awareness, conditions, and needs within the Company, and use the findings to continuously strengthen support for measures. Our questionnaire survey in FY2015 uncovered problems in the workplace climate for employees who provide nursing care, along with considerable anxiety among employees over nursing care in the future. In response, in FY2018 we launched a seminar on balancing work and nursing care, and have continued this seminar from FY2019 (including e-learning format) for all employees of age 40 and older. As understanding and cooperation by superiors and others in the workplace are indispensable in balancing work and nursing care, through the seminars we will establish an atmosphere that facilitates consultation with people in the workplace, and will explain necessary preparations and the Company’s support systems for achieving that balance. Based on needs uncovered in the FY2019 questionnaire, we have continuously offered lectures by experts on nursing care and seminars on the Company’s nursing care system, in order to reform awareness concerning balancing work and nursing care and to make the Company’s nursing care-related systems known to employees. From FY2023, too, we plan to advance new initiatives such as creating opportunities for employees to exchange information and ideas on balancing work and nursing care. In FY2022, 2 employees took nursing care leave and 67 employees took nursing care short-term leave with pay.

■ Status of Taking Parental Leave

• From FY2022, the percentage of parental leave includes the percentage of leave with pay for child-rearing (male) The percentage of parental leave (female) in FY2022 includes those who gave birth in FY2021 and took parental leave in FY2022, and thus exceeds 100%
• 1.Number of employees who took parental leave in FY2022 ÷ number of employees who submitted a notification of birth to the Company for birth by their spouse in FY2022 x 100
• 2.Number of employees who took parental leave in FY2022 ÷ number of employees who gave birth in FY2022 x 100

Work-life Support Desk

In April 2021, we established the Work-life Support Desk to respond to a wide range of requests for consultation from all Group employees and to provide support for resolving issues. These issues span not only harassment and human rights matters but also careers, human relations in the workplace, and balancing work with childcare and nursing care. In FY2022, the desk responded to 18 inquiries.

Employee Awareness Surveys and Internal System Development

To achieve the goal of creating workplaces where diverse human resources can play active roles, as set out in Vision for 2030, we are undertaking reviews of our personnel-related systems. We have selected items related to “Management by managers and superiors,” “Appeal of job,” and “Work environment” as KPIs, and have set the goal of improving these scores. In results for FY2021, scores for all items improved from the previous survey and the percentage of positive responses increased as well.
We had conducted our employee awareness survey^* once every three years, but from FY2023 will conduct the survey every year and use it to monitor performance. We will use the survey scores to continue planning and advancing better personnel-related measures for employees.

■ Percentage of Positive Responses¹ and Scores² for Items related to the Employee Awareness Survey

• 1.Percentage of positive responses: Calculated from total responses of “Very much so” and “Somewhat so” among all response options (“Very much so,” “Somewhat so,” “Cannot say,” “Not so much,” and “Not at all”)
• 2.Average score: Calculated as the average value of responses, with “Very much so” as 5, “Somewhat so” as 4, “Cannot say” as 3, “Not so much” as 2, and “Not at all” as 1

■ Status of Development of Main Internal Systems over the Past Three Years (development of environments that facilitate and encourage work)

Diverse Working Styles for Older Employees

Through FY2020, we offered continued employment for employees reaching the age of 60 in the form of re-employment. From FY2021, however, we have changed the retirement age for general employees to 65, so that employees can remain in active roles for a longer time. In FY2023, we revised our managerial track personnel system so that senior employees can continue working past the retirement age of 65, up to age 70. By offering a variety of options, we are achieving diverse working styles. We have also developed career and life plan training targeting employees age 50 or older at age 50 and 58, as well as a support system for change of career (with transfer support subsidies, re-employment support, etc.) to back up employees’ post-retirement lives.