Safe working environment and work-life balance

IIJ recognizes that our employees are an important asset and the foundation for sound business activities.
IIJ is committed to promoting health management that supports the physical and mental health of employees, and strive to create an environment in which each employee can continue to work safely and with peace of mind while increasing their motivation and energy. Additionally, IIJ establishes an environment that helps employees achieve a healthy work-life balance.

Promoting health management

Initiatives for physical wellbeing and mental health

Initiatives for physical wellbeing

Our employees are provided with free health checkups, a complete medical checkup (once a year), and flu vaccinations to maintain their personal health. In addition, each business site is equipped with rest spaces and AEDs, and they feature an environment where employees can regularly consult with industrial physicians and public health nurses. Moreover, employees who do not receive paid leave due to personal illness or injury are eligible to use special paid leave under the private injury and illness return leave system.

If employees work a night shift an average of four times or more per month in the most recent six months, they are required to take a medical checkup twice a year.

Mental health initiatives

IIJ conducts stress screening once a year in line with the Industrial Safety and Health Act. Employees who are considered as needing face-to-face guidance due to high stress levels can talk with an industrial physician if they wish. The results of stress screenings are shared at the Stress Check Group Analysis Results Report Meeting for general manager or higher, where they take steps to improve the work environment.

As part of our mental health measures, we also conduct communication training (anger management, assertions) to foster good interpersonal relationships.

IIJ (non-consolidated basis) Stress Check - Overall Health Risk

Prevention of overwork and promotion of paid leave

IIJ has made a policy on working hours management and has been promoting efforts to comply with the Labor Standards Act and to ensure appropriate working hours. IIJ constantly monitors the working hours of its employees through measures such as advance application for overtime work and the preparation of overtime status reports for departments. If overtime hours exceed a certain level, the human resource department alerts concerned departments, conducts hearings with them, and arranges interviews with industrial physicians for those who work more than a certain level of hours. As for paid leaves, employees are granted special leaves such as anniversary leave in addition to annual paid leaves. IIJ ensures that employees take at least five days of annual paid leaves, not including special ones.

Average overtime per month

	FY2018	FY2019	FY2020	FY2021	FY2022
Average overtime per month	19.4	21.3	24.7	28.1	27.7

Number of days and percentage of paid leaves taken

	FY2018	FY2019	FY2020	FY2021	FY2022
Average number of paid leaves taken per year (days)	14.4	13.2	10.2	11.3	12.6
Annual average acquisition rate (%)	85.3	75.6	58.5	64.4	71.0

Respect for human rights

IIJ is committed to ensure that human rights are always protected in its corporate activities.
We promote a range of activities for employees in line with the principles of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Initiatives for prevention of harassment

Since FY2017, IIJ has implemented a system to prevent harassment, and periodically provides harassment prevention training for managers and general employees at each level.The Human Resources Department provides a consultation service for issues related to harassment. It reviews recurrence prevention measures and other measures regularly and continuously implements improvements.

Achievement of a healthy work-life balance

IIJ respects the life stages and values of each employee and moves forward with initiatives for achieving a healthy work-life balance to enable our employees to demonstrate their full potential. As for working environment, IIJ Group operates a variety of support systems for illness, childcare and nursing care that enable employees to balance work and family life, including the Childcare and Nursing Care Leave Systems, and the Private Injury and Illness Return Leave System. Additionally, IIJ operates the Flextime System, Shift Work System, Shorter Working Hours System, Remote Work System, and other systems to meet the needs of the characteristics of their specific job and their individual situation.

Promoting diverse working styles

Diverse working hours (Flextime and discretionary work systems)

System	Overview
Flextime	Employees work flexibly in accordance with the core time set for each department according to the business characteristics of the department. In addition, employees who are raising children may use the "Childcare Flextime System" until their child enters the sixth grade. Employees who are nursing family members may use the "Nursing Flextime System"
Discretionary work system	Under this system, employees are considered to have worked during the hours set by labor and management, and how to proceed with their work and allocate time and working hours is left to their own discretion so they can work efficiently and effectively
Staggered hours system	This is a work-hour modification system that enables employees to work flexibly according to their individual needs, such as to balance between childcare and nursing care and secure time for self-improvement
Shortened working hours	This system allows enables employees who are raising children or taking care of family members to shorten their working hours by up to 1.5 hours per day (2 hours for business support positions). Employees raising children may use this system until the end of September when their children are in first grade (until the end of the third grade for business support positions). Employees taking care of family members are eligible to use this system for three years

Diverse work environments (remote work, satellite offices, and hot desking)

The IIJ Group expanded its remote work system, which we introduced as part of our working-style reforms, to apply the system companywide as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection as the virus became a pandemic in 2020. By enabling employees to work from home to a certain degree even after the number of new infections began to decrease, IIJ is enabling work patterns that enable people to leverage the advantages of working from home while ensuring the smooth execution of business based on face-to-face communication.
Similarly, IIJ Group has introduced a satellite office system mainly for its sales division. IIJ plans to expand it to other divisions where it promises to be effective, further increasing the options for how employees work.
In addition, IIJ Group introduced a hot desking system in its workplaces, establishing a seamless working environment while stimulating internal communication.

Diverse support systems catering to people in different life stages

Childcare support systems

In addition to legally mandated maternity and childcare leave, IIJ has established a system that goes beyond these, including special leave for spouses and childcare flextime, which we have introduced on our own. Stemming from this action, many employees, regardless of gender, have taken childcare leave or maternity leave and have returned to work afterward.

IIJ（non-consolidated basis） Ratio of employees using the childcare leave system and ratio of employees returning to work after childcare leave system (Male / Female)

		FY2018	FY2019	FY2020	FY2021	FY2022
Ratio of employees using the childcare leave system (%)	Male	13.9	14.7	26.4	24.6	33.3
	Female	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Ratio of employees returning to work after childcare leave system (%)	Male	100.0	100.0	100.0	92.9	100.0
	Female	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

Support for employees returning to work

IIJ has signed contracts with childcare facilities through the Company-Led Childcare Business Program to support the smooth return of employees who have taken childcare leave. The contracts involve multiple companies using facilities established by childcare businesses, and they can be used when employees’ requests for services are judged as appropriate after consultation between IIJ and the childcare business. As of March 2022, we have signed contracts with nine service providers (25 facilities in six prefectures).

Family Day

IIJ holds Family Day and invites the employees' families who support them every day to participate. The goal of the initiative is, through interaction with participants, to help them gain a deeper understanding of the company and work and create a workplace that facilitates work and respects employees' families. The event consists of visits to offices, a work experience opportunity, a quiz competition about the company, the interaction of participants in groups and other activities

Nursing care support system

To prevent the loss of employees due to nursing care, IIJ has introduced a system that enables employees to take nursing care leave on a one-day basis and for up to 365 days per eligible family member, which exceeds the legal requirement in Japan. Employees who are taking care of their family members can take advantage of the nursing care shortened working hour system and nursing care flextime system, and may also be able to work remotely from home.

Promoting women

Responding to the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children and the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace

IIJ Group has set targets for employment and work-style modification based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children (from hereon, the "Next-Generation Act") and the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace. We have been working to create an environment in which women can play an active role over the long term by introducing systems to work remotely and providing flexible or shortened working hours for employees who are raising children.
Recognizing these efforts, IIJ Global Solutions Inc., an IIJ Group company, received a 3-Star certification under the "Eruboshi" recognition system based on the Act on the Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace. This is the highest level of certification for a company that meets the criteria for all categories: employment, continuous employment, working hours and other working styles, management-level ratio, and diverse career paths.

Support for employees' asset formation

The IIJ Group has a system to help employees accumulate assets through a shareholding association within the group, an employee savings scheme, regular financial seminars, and other initiatives. The Human Resources Department provides an asset formation consultation service.