• Approach & Initiatives
• Employee Engagement Survey and Initiatives for Improving the Organizational Climate
• Diversification of Work Arrangements

• Wages
• Labor-Management Relations

We will secure and take advantage of a diverse workforce, including women, non-Japanese, mid-career hires, people with disabilities, and older workers, in order to enhance creativity to realize innovation. We will also create a comfortable work environment that leverages our advantages as a regional company, such as our commitment to organizational culture, the natural environment of Shinshu, and proximity to work and home, to increase employee engagement and maximize the overall strength of the organization for continuous value creation.

Epson has conducted an annual organizational climate survey since 2005 to gain an understanding on the current state of organizational culture, with the aim of creating an environment where each employee has more motivation and initiative than before, and where diverse human resources can work autonomously and with vitality.
We introduced and conducted an engagement survey which allows us to compare our company with external organizations in FY2022. The aim of the survey is to engage in effective activities based on even more specialized and multifaceted detailed analysis. The results clearly show there is a relationship of mutual trust at the foundations of our entire company and that Epson is an organization in which employees act when given instructions by their superiors. However, the results have also revealed there are many challenges to realizing an independent (autonomous) self-propelled organization in which individuals take the initiative to improve the weaknesses of the organization on their own.
Based on these results, we began initiatives to (1) instill our philosophy among employees, (2) change the prevailing mindset and adopt an outward-facing perspective, and (3) achieve further growth and a sense of contribution through work in order to maximize our organizational strength.
Each workplace will share and consider with its members their detailed survey results. Those workplaces will then establish improvement measures and set improvement targets focused on those three items. The improvement targets will be linked to management by objectives for middle managers. We will look to achieve these targets by FY2025.
We will also help them fulfill their management roles and improve their management skills by providing various opportunities and examples in conjunction with the results of a 360-degree survey. This includes things such as 1-on-1 skills training, changes to the education and training system for current and future managers, discussions among managers from throughout the company, and a management consultation service and mentoring program. We specifically help workplaces and areas that need thoroughgoing support.
The overall rating in the Engagement Survey in FY2023 was BB, one rank higher than the previous year. We aim to improve productivity by building a strong organization. Toward this end, we are developing people who take initiative and building relationships of trust in the workplace.


Employee Engagement Survey Results and Targets

Epson aims to create an environment where employees have motivation and can work with vitality and in a physically and mentally healthy and safe manner while adapting to various changes in life stages and others. In particular, we are promoting flexible working styles that allow employees to work at any time and any place, such as a flexible working hours system and telework, and creating an environment that enables a work-life balance in life-stage events such as childcare, medical treatment, nursing care, and infertility treatment. We are also promoting measures to prevent harassment in the workplace and keep working hours at an appropriate level. At Epson, a Group whose main sites are concentrated in the Shinshu area, we believe that it is important to further promote flexibility in working hours and workplaces, and create an environment that enables our diverse human resources to realize their individual career development, in order to promote diversity in the future based on hiring and retention of diverse human resources including managerial human resources and specialists.

Seiko Epson has been driving additional work reforms since 2017. In Phase I (FY2017-2019), we prioritized the management of overtime and the prevention of long working hours. In Phase II (FY2020-2022), we established a work-from-home system for all employees, abolished core hours in flex time, expanded the applicable age range for shortened working hours for childcare reasons (up to the sixth grade of elementary school) and otherwise expanded our systems for the diversification of workstyles and increase in choices.
We are striving to reform workstyles in Phase III (FY2023-FY2025) from FY2023. The birthrate will decrease and the population will age, the working population will decline and there will be other changes in the environment in the future. To continue contributing to society even in face of such issues, we believe it is important to foster a better workplace where employees from various backgrounds can balance their work and family lives with peace of mind.
The diversification of work arrangements is bringing a wide range of issues to the forefront in areas including human resources management and organizational operations. Everything from health to how we communicate and how we develop/evaluate/appraise personnel are affected. As a part of our efforts to create a healthy and vibrant work environment, we will also review our human resources systems and provide management with support.

Progress on Measures to Diversify Workstyles

Remote work system

Seiko Epson introduced a system in FY2018 that gives time-constrained employees the opportunity to work from home so that they can provide care to dependents, including children and other sick or ill family members. In September 2020, the remote work option was expanded to encompass all employees. This allows employees to work from home even if they are not constrained by childcare or nursing/caregiving responsibilities. Employees can also work remotely from approved locations outside the home in case of sudden needs for care, providing even greater flexibility. Effective from July 2022, Seiko Epson expanded the work location options so that employees can also work from the home of their parents or their spouse's parents or at the home of their spouse who lives separately.
However, we recognized the importance of face-to-face communication and saw that there were organizational management issues during the rapid implementation of the work-from-home system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, in September 2023, we established company-wide guidelines that require workers to come to the office at least once a week in order to achieve the best organizational productivity and performance using the optimal form of working arrangements. In addition, in September 2024, we changed the system to allow workers to work from home in one-minute increments in addition to all-day and half-day.

Time Off by the Hour

From October 2022, employees will be allowed to request time off by the hour at any time during the workday. This is meant to strike a better balance between work and the care of a child or family member or with one’s own medical care. Enabling employees to take up to five days’ worth of annual paid leave by the hour has made it possible to lead to the realization of a work-life balance.

Flex Time without Core Hours

Epson amended its flex-time system to eliminate the requirement to be present during core hours. This change took effect in March 2023 to provide greater flexibility in the use of the system that is available to many employees. The elimination of core hours has given employees a wider range of options about when to start and end the workday.

Epson is creating an environment that facilitates a better work-life balance so that employees can continue to work with peace of mind while adapting to changes in their situation. Since FY2022, we have been encouraging all fathers to take paternity leave. As a result, the ratio of male employees who took paternity leave increased significantly.
In addition, we established a new system to support employees undergoing infertility treatment from September 2023.

Childbirth and Childcare Support

We are also focusing our efforts on childcare support. For instance, we enable both men and women to work without disparity at the time of childbirth and childcare. Our aim is to create an environment where both male and female employees can play an active role to realize their desired career. Specifically, we have set up systems which allow employees to balance work while valuing childbirth such as with short-term leave, long-term leave and shortened working hours.

<Childcare Leave Trends>

^*Data for Seiko Epson Corporation employees as of March 31, 2024.

Calculation after FY2022:
^*1: Ratio of the number of employees who took childcare leave in the fiscal year prior to publication with respect to the number of employees who gave birth or whose spouse gave birth in the fiscal year prior to publication

Calculation for the fiscal years up to FY2021:
^*2: Number of people including those who took wellbeing leave which is a system unique to Epson
^*3: Number of people who took childcare leave / Number of people eligible for the system (people eligible for the system: those who gave birth to a child and who became eligible to take childcare leave)

Support for Employees Undergoing Infertility Treatment

There is a need for companies to establish workplace environments where it is possible for employees to continue working while undergoing infertility treatment in response to the social issue of the declining birthrate. We expanded our short-term leave and long-term leave systems in September 2023 to ensure that employees can undergo infertility treatment without worrying about work. Both male and female employees are equally using this system.

<Support Systems for Infertility Treatment>

Responding to employee caregiver needs

With advancing population aging, the number of people requiring care is on the rise. Consequently, the number of employees acting as caregivers for their families is also on the rise. Aiming to eliminate turnover due to caregiver needs, Epson provides the following types of support to caregivers.

• Launched a website related to caregiving to provide information related to in-house programs and nursing care insurance systems.
• Conducting nursing care preparation seminars to equip employees with the knowledge that will enable them to respond calmly to sudden nursing care needs.
• We contracted with an outside advisory service that employees can privately consult about caregiving issues.
• Enable the use of the following programs to support balance between work and caregiving.

<Caregiving Program>

Epson's Wellbeing Leave Program

Seiko Epson introduced a special paid leave program in March 1998 that allows employees who do not use all their annual paid vacation days during the year to stockpile the remainder, up to 60 days, in a separate account. They have the option of using special paid leave days in the event of personal injury or illness, or to care for children or family members, or to participate in school events for their children in elementary and middle school.

Seiko Epson has been acting to more closely manage working hours and prevent long working hours as part of work reforms we began in 2017 and as a priority field in our Health Action 2025 medium-term health management measures we enacted in April 2022. In addition to ensuring legal compliance by familiarizing employees with an operations manual for managing working hours, we monitor in-out times and hours spent at work with automated tracking systems. We also remind personnel of the importance of maintaining reasonable working hours.

Achievements and Targets for Managing Working Hours and Preventing Long Working Hours Through the Above Activities

Target in FY2024 for actual total annual working hours: 1,845 hours

Target in FY2024 for number of days of paid leave taken: 20 days (including leave taken other than annual paid leave)

Epson's wage standards are compliant with the local labor regulations in the countries where we operate. Our standards provide for things such as suitable wages, allowances, and extraordinary pay.
The Epson Group Human Rights Policy states "Epson promotes equality of opportunity and treatment in respect to employment, occupation, and remuneration, with a view to eliminating any discrimination." In Japan, Epson pays its people based on the principle of equal pay for equal work, regardless of type of employment, as required by law. The wage system does not discriminate by age or gender. Seiko Epson eliminated the gender pay gap in 1983.

In Japan, for regular employees who are not in management positions, we have introduced a qualified grade-based system wherein compensation is primarily determined by the employee's job and competencies. For leaders, we have a system wherein the compensation is determined by their job, which is given based on their competencies, and the level of roles they are fulfilling. We have a role-based grade system for managers wherein compensation is determined by the size of the person's role. The suitability of non-management employee and leader wages and the wage system are reviewed by a committee made up of members of management and the labor union.

In every country and region outside Japan, we establish rules that are compliant with all local wage-related regulations governing things such as minimum wages, legal benefits, and overtime. Wages, deductions, and so forth are calculated based on these rules, and employees receive an electronic or printed pay stub showing the details of each pay period. Payment is made on directly to employees on the appointed date.

Epson states in its Human Rights Policy that it respects the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining based on applicable laws and regulations. It also commits to providing workers with necessary information and exchanges opinions with them in good faith to maintain good labor-management relations.

A labor-management council forms the basis of the labor-management relationship. Held regularly and as needed, this council is where management explains important management matters to labor union representatives and where the two sides discuss proposed changes to employment conditions. In addition to the labor-management council, Seiko Epson has formed labor-management committees, the safety and health committee, as well as some other committees, to discuss and solve issues related to things such as working styles, family support, and benefits and wages.

Informal discussions are also held on the division and department level to provide a venue for bidirectional communication between employees and managers. Management communicates its thoughts and wishes to employees as well as get direct feedback from them.

^* Rate of joining the labor union among all regular employees: 86.3%