Health and productivity management
Bridgestone Corporation values the physical and mental well-being of its employees as a key management priority, seeing it as vital to a dynamic organization where everyone can work safely and with deep personal fulfillment
and satisfaction. The Company practices health and productivity management to support the health of each employee in accordance with the Bridgestone Group’s mission of "Serving Society with Superior Quality."
In Japan, the Company strives to maximize productivity by fostering a healthy workforce that takes fewer sick days and brings a natural vitality to every task. In partnership with the Bridgestone Health Insurance Society, the
Company implements the following six core programs while also working to improve employees' health literacy.
Six core programs
・Smoking cessation
This program seeks to reduce the smoking rate among employees in Japan in addition to preventing passive smoking. The Company aims to lower the smoking rate to 30% by 2022 and 12% by 2025 by encouraging employees to receive
medical assistance for smoking cessation (for a one-month period) and participate in a cessation support program (three-month period). In April 2020, the Company banned smoking during work hours.
・Cancer detection and treatment
Bridgestone conducts regular and special health check-ups, as well as health exams for employees working outside Japan as required under the Industrial Safety and Health Law. Industrial physicians and other medical personnel
offer healthcare guidance to employees with health issues, usually at the Company’s Health Care Center.
Furthermore, in order to increase screening rates and achieve early detection and treatment, the Company provides at-work cancer screening, informs employees of subsidies for screening expenses, and raises awareness through
videos and an e-learning. In addition to using a bus to provide screening services, the Company is considering offering screening services through a nationwide network*1 of clinics made available through the
Bridgestone Health Insurance Society starting in July 2021.
As a priority issue for FY2021, the Company aims to provide women's cancer screening at all sites in Japan and achieve a screening rate of at least 50%. This effort is aimed at early detection as well as to help employees who
receive cancer treatment to return to the workplace.
- Made possible through an agreement between Bridgestone Health Insurance Society and a medical examination enforcement organization.
・Lifestyle diseases
The Company uses information and communication technologies to encourage employees to use a health guidance program*1 designed to improve lifestyle-related health outcomes. It also encourages use of an online health
improvement service available by smartphone or computer.
- A program for employees deemed high risk for serious lifestyle diseases based on the results of their annual health check-up. Eligible employees receive free guidance and support from a medical expert for improving their
lifestyle habits.
・Mental health care
The Company has developed a guideline on mental health, and established a mental health plan for each office that complies with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare guidelines on self-care, consultation line care,
on-site industrial medical staff care, and off-site care.
Based on a mental health plan, every site in Japan has a health promotion officer in charge of building a team of nurses, public health nurses, and other health professionals that provide counseling services under the guidance
of an industrial physician. This mental health team is supported by an external Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that also covers employees’ families.
・Infectious disease
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the Company prepared response procedures for suspected cases of infection among employees and sent this document to all sites in Japan. The Company has updated its response procedures consulting
with industrial physicians whenever necessary to prevent further spread, based on changing conditions and the newest information announced by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
・Integration of health-related efforts
Bridgestone's General Affairs and Health Management Promotion Division manages advancement of the above programs in partnership with the Health Care Center and industrial health staff at each site and with the Bridgestone Health
Insurance Society.