We at the JCU Group believe that making effective use of the individual abilities of employees is a major pillar of our management, and are working to develop human resources and create comfortable working environments.

Comfortable Working Environment

Achieving Employee Retention

Average years of employment (non-consolidated)

JCU carries out initiatives to ensure employee retention. We encourage employees to make use of opportunities to discover and develop their own abilities such as by taking self-development seminars, visiting trade shows that can potentially help grow our business, and taking language training courses. We also ask all individuals to use a goal management sheet to set their personal goals. The goal management sheet is designed to help individuals express their individual goals with more clarity, and check whether they are able to perform work that is a step above and is more rewarding for themselves. In addition, we are also enhancing our employee benefit programs as a way of creating a comfortable working environment.

As a measure of whether these initiatives contribute to employee retention, JCU calculates the new employee retention rate, average number of years of employment, and turnover rate.

The retention rate of new employees who joined the company during the past three years (from FY2020 to FY2022) has remained unchanged at 100% from the previous year. The average number of years of employment was 16.1 years for men and 15.2 years for women, which were both higher than the previous fiscal year. Compared to industry averages of years of employment (in manufacturing: 15.8 years for men, 12.0 years for women^*1), our numbers were higher for both men and women. The average number of years of employment has been trending gradually higher for both men and women since FY2017.

The turnover rate, which was 4.8% in the survey for the previous fiscal year, was 3.3% in FY2022^*2 (Reference: The average turnover rate in the manufacturing industry for FY2022 was 5.5%^*3). A breakdown of the turnover rate shows that 2.9% left for personal reasons, 0% for company reasons, and 0.4% for retirement or other reasons.

*1 Excerpted from the “Basic Survey on Wage Structure̶Results and Overview” from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
*2 Rounded to the first decimal place.
*3 Excerpted from the “2021 Survey on Employment Trends̶Results and Overview” from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

Harassment Countermeasures

As a measure to counter harassment, the JCU Group provides a permanent sexual and power harassment consultation section in-house. One male and female are assigned at all offices as contact persons in charge, and this is communicated to all employees on the intranet to create an environment where people feel comfortable seeking consultation. In addition, we have formulated a harassment prevention policy for all employees, and make every effort to prevent various types of harassment, resolve issues, and protect privacy.

In addition, we have also established a consultation desk outside the company (EAP/Employee Assistance Program) for addressing mental health and various harassment issues so that we are able to quickly act on stress and anxiety issues that employees may have. We provide mental health care training headed by EAP lecturers, distribute pamphlets and cards, and publish information on the intranet four times a year as part of our efforts to create an environment where all employees, including managers, are able to work comfortably.

Status of employee training on mental health and harassment (non-consolidated)

Diversity and Equal Opportunity

The JCU Group respects diversity and strives to realize equal opportunity.
There are no gender differences in our terms of employment.

Number of employees (non-consolidated)

Percentage of full-time employees (non-consolidated)

Percentage of female managers (non-consolidated)

Number of foreign national employees (non-consolidated) / People with disabilities employed (non-consolidated)

Childcare and Nursing Care

In order so that employees are able to make the most of diversity in performing their work, JCU provides a childcare leave program that allows employees to take more days off than the statutory days stipulated by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and a shortened working hours program for childcare that is used by male employees as well. We also provide a similar nursing care leave program.

Number of employees who took maternity leave (non-consolidated)

Number of employees who took childcare leave (non-consolidated)

Overview of Maternity Leave, Childcare Leave, and Nursing Care Leave Programs

Employee Comments

Interview with Employee Who Took Maternity Leave and Childcare Leave

JCU provides a variety of working environments where both men and women can work with peace of mind. In this report, we spoke with Ms. Shinjo, who took maternity leave and childcare leave, about her feelings before taking leave, and how things went after returning to work.

General Affairs Section, Management Dept., R&D Center Sayaka Arashiro

Q1.Did you have any concerns before taking your maternity leave and childcare leave?

It was going to my first baby so I was anxious about that, but many other employees had returned to work after childbirth and I had heard many helpful stories from my seniors, so I felt comfortable taking maternity leave and childcare leave . At the time , I worked in a department responsible for the research and development of chemicals, and I was very grateful for the support I received at my workplace, such as being reassigned to a work environment that was less physically demanding during my pregnancy, and the encouragement I received to take special leave.

Q2. Did you notice any changes when you returned to work? Also, can you tell us how things have been going since your return?

I was reinstated to the R&D department that I was working at before my leave, but after childbirth, my life became more child-centered and there were more instances that I had to take unscheduled leaves. Even under those conditions, I was able to work with the support of my supervisor, team members, and others around me, and I came to realize that I was not working all alone.

Q3. How would you define “being able to work comfortably”? And do you have any advice for other employees who may be considering taking leave in the future?

Above all else, I feel that the atmosphere and environment in the workplace directly correlate to being able to work comfortably. Our company is very understanding of our childcare needs, and it’s a very comfortable working environment since everyone is friendly and willing to help. If anyone is thinking about taking leave, please don’t hesitate to consult with people in your workplace.

Human Resource Development

One of the basic policies of the JCU Group’s Medium-Term Corporate Plan is to “build a corporate foundation from an ESG perspective,” and one of its top priorities is human res o u rce develo p m e nt . Th e grow t h of ea ch and every employee is essential to our goal of becoming a “global company that continues to grow sustainably. To this end, we are focused on enhancing our human resource development programs.

New employees undergo training in various departments for approximately two months after joining the company, including technical training in which they learn the principles of surface treatment through experiments, factory training in which they learn the chemical manufacturing process from raw material input to shipment, and sales training in which they accompany their seniors to customers’ produc tion sites where our chemicals are being used. This allows employees to experience the strengths of the JCU Group in the field, and acquire the basic knowledge that they will need to provide better products and services. In addition, we also conduct regular information security and compliance training to prevent information leaks and ensure compliance with laws and regulations.

As for human resource development initiatives implemented at different business sites, the Niigata Plant provides training to strengthen employees’ ability to identify near-misses and other problems. The R&D Center has adopted a skills matrix to provide employees with an objective view of their individual abilities and to raise their awareness of their aptitude. And the Sales Office has created a “Sales Capability Development Activity Plan Progress Management Sheet” to help employees acquire the necessary skills. Our overseas offices also held a variety of training sessions, including technical workshops and study sessions on laws and regulations to improve the skills of local employees.

Furthermore, JCU offers the following training programs to help employees grow in ways that are consistent with the globalization of our organization.

The JCU Group will continue to implement a variety of measures for the development of its employees.

Human resources that the JCU Group seeks

Training programs for human resource development

Healthy Labor-Management Relations

The JCU Group has an internal organization called the EUCO A ssociation whose purp ose is to ensure mutual welfare and fellowship among officers and employees.

The organization’s activities, which are carried out mainly by secretaries elected from individual departments, include proposing working condition improvements to the company, organizing various club activities, and planning and managing events such as employee trips.

Although club activities and events where large numbers of people were expected to gather were postponed for FY2022 due to the effects of COVID-19 continuing from the previous fiscal year, regul ar communication ac tivities between managers and employees were carried out via web conferences.

The EUCO Association gets its name from Ebara Udylite Corporation, the predecessor of JCU Corporation.

Respect for Human Rights

The JCU Group’s Code of Conduct states that the Group does not discriminate based on race, creed, gender, age, social status, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or disability, etc. In addition, we carry out ongoing verifications at all business sites to ensure that child labor or forced labor is not employed.

Occupational Safety

At the JCU Group, we have formulated a set of Safety and Health Management Rules and make every effort to ensure the safety of our employees based on these rules. Safety and health leaders, and safety managers are assigned at all of our business sites in Japan to promote safety and health. Monthly safety and health committee meetings are held at the Head Office, R&D Center, and Niigata Plant.

These Committees carry out patrols, identify near-misses, organize firefighting and evacuation drills, and are working to realize safe workplaces where employees are highly aware of safety and health.