Osaka Gas strives to create a corporate climate where employees can balance a rewarding job with fulfilling personal life and involvement in society to maximize their talents. We have organized a Labor-Management Committee to Promote Work-Life Balance that is systemizing the support measures needed by employees at each stage of life and creating work environments that facilitate use of these systems.

In FY2017, Osaka Gas launched a company-wide committee to encourage employees to work efficiently. Measures to improve the Company's productivity and promote creative work styles are being studied through the committee.

Supporting childcare through systems and the workplace environment

Logo of certification from the Ministry
of Health, Labor and Welfare

Osaka Gas has a number of systems to support employees both while they are working and taking care of their families. These systems are aimed at enabling employees to display their abilities to the full extent by creating a workplace environment whereby they can strike a balance between work and childcare. 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. We also lend employees PCs so they can check the company intranet and email and thus keep in contact while they are on childcare leave. And we offer employees telephone counseling on matters of childcare. These are just some of the ways that Osaka Gas labor and management are cooperating to create a workplace conducive to balancing work and family duties. In addition, we have established a consultation desk in the Health Promotion Center so that employees and their families can seek advice on health during pregnancy and child-raising.

In recognition of these efforts, in March 2015 as well as April 2007 and May 2011 Japan's Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare certified Osaka Gas as a company that actively supports childcare for its employees in accordance with the Law for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation, entitling the Company to use a special logo from the Ministry. Moreover, Osaka Gas has been continuing to support employees in achieving a balance between work and childcare in line with its 4th Action Plan (from January 2015 to March 2018).

Click here for further information on efforts to comply with the Act for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation. (Japanese version only)

“Back-to-Work Support Program” includes advice from managers

Besides the childcare leave system, Osaka Gas has a “Back-to-Work Support Program,” which was introduced in FY2007, to allow employees to take leave with peace of mind and to ease their way back into the workplace. Employees, during the period from the time they take a maternity leave to when they return to work, meet with their superiors for support at fixed intervals.

Supporting nursing care through systems and the workplace environment

Osaka Gas has a number of systems to support employees both while they are working and taking care of their families. Osaka Gas's nursing care leave system allows an employee to take up to 366 days of nursing care time off per family member who needs care. For those who choose to continue working instead of using the nursing care leave system, the nursing care time system allows them to shorten each working day by up to 3 hours. Both these systems give employees more time off than is required under Japanese labor laws.

Click here for further information on the number of Osaka Gas employees who have taken days off using its child-rearing leave and nursing care leave systems.

Improving productivity through promotion of “Smart Work” initiatives

Osaka Gas implements "Smart Work" initiatives, of which aims are to improve value for employees through the realization of work-life balance, establish a workplace culture that promotes workforce diversity, and prevent health problems caused by overwork. By pushing forward with smart work initiatives, we will strive to improve productivity and reduce annual total working hours. "Smart Work" initiatives, which commenced in the fiscal year ended in March 2010, are a company-wide effort to improve productivity. Specific activities are as follows:

• Promote paperless workplaces by using only electronic documents for in-house use (e.g., using projected images rather than printouts for in-house meetings, in principle)
• Improve the efficiency of organizing meetings (e.g. releasing documents via electronic boards in advance of meetings, and sharing the minutes of meetings)
• Establish a working environment to promote employees' creativity by changing office layouts (e.g., designing an office layout with no specifically-assigned desks so that employees can work more freely)
• Utilization of company-wide information system to efficiently collect, analyze, and visualize work data, which improves efficiency of compiling reports

Satellite office set up inside
the Grand Front Osaka

As part of efforts to promote flexible work styles through telecommuting, satellite offices have been set up inside some of the Osaka Gas's business locations. Employees, who usually work at other business locations, can choose work at the satellite offices occasionally, shortening their commuting hours and travel distance from their homes. By using the satellite offices as their remote offices, these workers can concentrate on their assigned business duties, helping increase productivity. In FY2018, a satellite office was set up at our business office located at the Grand Front Osaka, a commercial complex near the main railway terminal JR Osaka Station, in addition to five other satellite offices set up at other business locations. Our office at the Grand Front Osaka serves as a new satellite base, helping increase the convenience of our workers.

In addition, the Daigas Group has drawn up a code of conduct for “smart work,” which is a set of standards that employees, their superiors and other relevant parties are supposed to turn to in taking specific business-streamlining and energy-saving actions aimed at improving productivity even further.

Click here for further information on the average total working hours per year by Osaka Gas employees.

Supporting employees' involvement with juror leave and other systems

Osaka Gas has leave systems that allow employees to perform their duties for society. For example, before Japan enacted the citizens' jury duty system in May 2009, Osaka Gas had already introduced (in fiscal 2009) its juror leave system giving employees chosen for jury duty the required number of paid leave days.

Click here for further information on the number of Osaka Gas employees who have taken days off using its jury duty leave system.

“Volunteer Leave Program,” “Community Leave Program”

Osaka Gas has introduced a variety of programs that allow employees to participate in company-approved volunteer and social contribution activities.

Employees utilizing the “Volunteer Leave Program” are regarded as being on leave while engaged in volunteer activities, and the impact of this leave on their length of service, salary, etc., will be handled in a special manner. Leave taken under the “Community Leave Program” will be counted as special leave, and this program was set up to support employees wishing to participate more actively in their communities.