Employee-friendly Environment

Policy and Basic Concept

In April 1990, Eisai announced the concept of “Eisai Innovation (EI)”, and established the idea that “Eisai encourages all of its employees to develop and exhibit their abilities to the fullest extent.” Since then, and to this day, we have promoted efforts to create a work environment in which each and every one of our employees can thrive, and to realize a work style that maximizes their performance. In the Articles of Incorporation, our employees are positioned as major stakeholders. In 2022, with the approval of the General Meeting of Shareholders, Eisai added to our Articles of Incorporation our intention to “respect human rights and diversity,” “enhance opportunities for employees to develop their skills”, and “create a comfortable work environment”, in addition to “ensure stable employment,” which had previously been included. Each employee is surrounded by diverse conditions and values. Based on the concept of Work Life Best (WLB), which is not about balancing the work and life of employees, but about aiming for the best of both work and life for employees, we are improving a working environment in which diverse employees can work in a highly productive and healthy manner, in their own way, even under a variety of conditions. We believe that the pursuit of WLB for our employees will ultimately lead to the creation of anhhceco system that supports “Empowering People to Live Their Lives to the Fullest.”

Targets, Issues and Actions

We consider that in order for our employees to be inspired by thehhcconcept and to be able to pursue self-actualization through working at Eisai, it is important for us to continuously provide and maintain rewarding work, opportunities for growth, and a comfortable working environment. The number of cases in which employees are able to choose a variety of work styles based on their individual lifestyles is still limited in society. However, working styles have a significant impact on individual lifestyles, and creating an environment that enables employees to cope with life events and experience life fulfillment while maintaining high motivation and continuing to work is the essence of WLB for each and every employee, rather than simply increasing productivity. We believe that our organizational strength will be dramatically enhanced when employees who get a deep sense of WLB gather together, unleash their own individuality, mutually recognized and connect with each other. To create an environment in which employees can work globally, regardless of time or place, we are not only establishing various systems, but also building a platform to further induce communication through DX and to promote interaction and collaboration.

Structures and Systems

Eisai has long been engaged in labor-management consultations based on sound labor-management relations, and has promoted various work environment improvements. In particular, in Japan, Eisai regularly holds labor-management consultations on the nature and scale of the company’s business, as well as on financial summaries and mid-term forecasts, in order to ensure that labor and management share a common understanding on current status of the company. We also believe that in order for each employee to experience WLB, it is important to have a system that can induce communication and collaboration among employees in a variety of environments, including remote work and in-office work, in addition to discussions between labor and management. Currently, we are conducting verification, including trials, of a new platform for diversified teams that will activate collaboration and co-creation through visualizing human talent information, and we will continue to develop the structure and systems for WLB.

Initiatives

1)Enhanced flexible work styles that are not restricted by time or location
To improve WLB for our diverse employees, we carried out office renovations based on the Activity Based Working (ABW) concept, which allows employees to choose their working environment and location based on when and where work is most productive and best contributes to the expression of creative results. We have also conducted trials of share- office use and in-house social media for employees in the headquarters area. Also, from 2020, we have eliminated restrictions on the number of days employees can work from home, as well as core hours when using the flextime system.
Eisai Inc. (U.S.A.) launched the Eisai UShhceco Center in March 2022, with the aim of maximizing interaction, innovation, and community, and progressing from a primarily remote work environment. The new office environment is equipped with the latest technology to flexibly accommodate hybrid in-room and remote meetings for the post COVID-19 “new normal”. Moreover, a Flexible Working Arrangements Policy was introduced that collaborates with the efficiency of remote work and the depth of connection of face-to-face interactions.

2)Preparing suitable environment to assist work-life balance and self-actualization (Japan)
In addition to increasing flexibility in terms of where and when employees work, Eisai provides employees with extensive leave and short-working hours beyond the legal requirements to support their life events and help them balance work and family life. within addition, the company has established a paternity leave program for male employees, and fosters a workplace climate that encourages both male and female employees to take childcare and caregiving leave, etc., with the goal of quickly achieving a 50% utilization rate for childcare leave among male employees. We are also working on preparing suitable environment that assists self-actualization of employees and allows each and every employee to work with vigor and enthusiasm, including systems to support self-development and study abroad, in order to enhance employee autonomy over work styles and growth potential.

Genealogy of Work Style Reforms

Programs for supporting employees in their life events and for self-fulfillment

Pregnancy morning sickness leave Allows expectant employees having difficulty working due to morning sickness to take leave three times per pregnancy (up to a total of 15 days).
Childcare leave Allows employees to take leave up until the child's third birthday in addition to maternity leave (leave available immediately before and after childbirth).
Paternity leave Allows employees to take paternity leave up to 4 weeks, during the 8 weeks following childbirth
Caregiving leave Caregiving leave: Allows employees with family members who require caregiving to take up to five days of paid leave per year (on a daily or hourly basis) or leave of up to one year.
Shorter working time for childcare, caregiving and medical treatment for personal injury or illness Allows employees to work shorter hours (reduction of up to two hours per day) for childcare, caregiving and medical treatment.
Temporary childcare leave Allows employees with pre-school age child to take up to five days of paid leave per year (on a daily or hourly basis) to attend to their sick child or for vaccinations and health checkups for their child.
Long-term medical leave Allows employees to add together unused paid leave, which is not taken within the validity date, up to fifty days for themselves in order to take paid leave for medical treatment and/or convalescence. Can be used when taking seven or more consecutive calendar days off for medical treatment of illness or injury. Can be used on a daily or half-day basis in the case of cancer treatment, dialysis treatment, and infertility treatment.
Leaves for self-development / social contribution activities Allows employees to take up to five days of paid leave per year for self-development activities based on their career plans, taking part in activities related to medical care / welfare /environmental protection conducted by organization of a social and public nature or non-profit organizations, and carrying out social contribution activities that utilize their own knowledge, skills, and experience.
Donor leave Allows employees who become bone marrow donors to take as many days of paid leave as necessary during the period between their registration as a donor and a checkup performed after the bone marrow harvesting.
Leave of absence for privately funded studying abroad Allows employees with more than 1 year of service to take leave of up to two years for studying abroad at private expense (overseas / domestic).
Paternity leave Allows employees to take up to five days of paid leave when their spouse gives birth, up until eight weeks after birth.
Leave of absence for accompanying spouse assigned overseas Allows employees with more than 1 year of service to take leave of up to three years for accompanying their spouse on overseas assignment or studying abroad.

Data

  FY 2021
Japan* Average monthly overtime hours
(per non-management employee)
13h59m
Average days of paid holidays taken
(per non-management employee)
11.2
Percentage of employees using work-from-home system 52.8%
  • *
    Excluding Group companies in Japan