Health, Safety & Wellness

Rakuten's Approach

Rakuten is committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all employees.
We recognize that our employees are our greatest asset, and their well-being is essential to our success. To that end, we are dedicated to promoting and maintaining the highest standards of safety and wellness in the workplace.
We believe that by fostering a safe and healthy work environment, we will not only protect our employees but also enhance their satisfaction and our ability to attract and retain top talent, increase productivity and comply with all relevant laws and regulations.
Guided by the Rakuten Health Declaration, "Well-being First, " we are dedicated to making a positive impact on our employees, our communities and the environment and to fulfilling our commitment to workplace safety and employee wellness.

Rakuten Health Declaration

Strategy

Our strategy starts with identifying which health topics call for more attention. Identified health topics receive various forms of investments and result in outcomes such as reduced absenteeism and presenteeism and improved engagement and motivation. While the well-being of employees and the organization and its effects on business performance are complex issues that depend on multiple factors, our health management strategy is based on a firm understanding of this complexity. We launch Rakuten's health, safety and wellness initiatives with concrete outcomes expected on these different parameters and initiatives are not limited to internal efforts. Through mutual collaboration, our network of partners such as government agencies, educational institutions and hospitals and our data-driven culture help us improve the health and well-being of our employees and society at large. We are committed to continually improving the performance of our wellness management system and to establishing priorities and related action plans with quantitative goal-setting.

Management System

We established a system to promote group-wide health, safety and wellness management, starting with our CEO. Under the leadership of our Chief Well-Being Officer (CWO), the Wellness Department liaises with group companies and implements a range of initiatives to promote a healthy body, mind and connection with society. The system aims at fostering an organizational culture that allows employees to work in a healthy and sustainable manner.
Our health-management initiatives take place at a Group-wide level through regular health-management working groups and interviews on current health status for better information-sharing. Rakuten Kenpo, Rakuten's Health Insurance Association, supports the health of our employees and their families by providing healthcare information, various health checkups for disease and illness prevention and access to exercise and recreation facilities.

Understanding Employees' Mental and Physical Health

We analyze our employees' mental and physical health by regularly conducting well-being surveys covering three aspects: body, mind and connection with society. With questions related to job performance and how wellness culture is fostered within the company, we get a clear picture of our employees' physical and mental health status and identify issues to be addressed. The survey results have identified three challenges: lack of physical exercise, poor sleep quality and weight management. Rakuten is implementing various initiatives to reduce the percentage of employees experiencing each of these issues by 30% per year.

Data from Wellness Survey

• 

  Absenteeism^*1
  FY 2022: 3.86 days
  FY 2023: 3.3 days

• 

  Presenteeism^*2
  FY 2022: 82.08%
  FY 2023: 82.8%

• 

  Total Employee Experience(TEX)^*3
  FY 2022: 3.75/5
  FY 2023: 3.3/5

*1 Absenteeism: Late arrival or early departure due to health issues, time off due to inability to work
*2 Presenteeism: Poor performance due to health issues, even when present for work
*3 Total Employee Experience (TEX): Employees' level of vitality, enthusiasm and immersion in the workplace

We also conduct annual employee stress checks to help our employees better understand their mental health. This also helps the company to recognize stress-related trends in the workplace. The results are reviewed by industrial physicians and nurses. Employees are encouraged to seek further consultation according to their individual needs.

Enhancing Employees' Mental and Physical Health

Empowering employees to prioritize their mental and physical well-being, we implement various initiatives aiming to create a happier and healthier workplace.

Employee participation initiatives

Fostering a culture of active participation, our initiatives encourage employees to take charge of their mental and physical health in the workplace.
To effectively promote our health activities, we established the Health Committee as a way for employees and management to work together to investigate and think about important health matters, encourage healthy activities among employees, and prevent health-related hazards. At regular meetings attended by representatives of both, the Committee reviews any occurrence of work-related accidents, discusses working hours, and shares health-related information with industrial physicians.
We organize seminars on a regular basis to raise employees' awareness and promote exemplary health practices. Various experts are invited to share concrete and practical advice for wellness improvement. Our seminars have so far covered themes including:

Women's health

• Pre-conception care: How to organize your lifestyle, health and career for a possible pregnancy.
• Infertility treatment: Fundamentals of infertility treatment, balancing treatment with work, tips from guests with personal experience.
• Menstruation: Fundamentals of women's health for business professionals.

• Resting brain: Scientifically proven brain resting methods to reduce fatigue.
• Improving sleep quality #1: Tips for a better night's sleep.
• Improving sleep quality #2: Fixing poor health through sleep techniques.
• Enhancing mental health with good posture: How your posture impacts your mental health. Effective body posture and stretches for maintaining good mental health.
• Techniques to refresh the mind: Strategies for individuals and how managers should care for their teams.

• Relieving back pain, neck and shoulder stiffness: Insights and advice on body posture and easy stretching exercises.
• Eye care: How to prevent and treat eye strain and eye fatigue.
• Brain health: Knowledge on strokes and other common brain maladies.
• Lifestyle diseases: How to interpret health checkup results, basic knowledge of lifestyle diseases and how to avoid them by improving daily routines.
• Dental health: Oral care for business professionals.
• Building an ideal body: Training methods for better posture.

We regularly hold events such as yoga, stretching and calisthenics classes. Through these events, we support the development of healthy habits among our employees and promote a sense of unity. Rakuten's weekly morning meetings, Rakuten Asakai, also give a chance to start the day fresh with morning stretching sessions.

Employee walking initiative

Over a period of three weeks, employees use a health monitoring app to contend for the most total steps. Aiming to fortify our One Team spirit, this initiative looks to build community and boost motivation through the sharing of photos and information among participants. For the Summer 2022 iteration of this event, we created the CWO Award, which our Chief Well-Being Officer awards to the employee who took the most steps. This is a collaborative health initiative, held in cooperation with Rakuten KENPO.

Employee walking initiative

Over a period of three weeks, employees use a health monitoring app to contend for the most total steps. Aiming to fortify our One Team spirit, this initiative looks to build community and boost motivation through the sharing of photos and information among participants. For the Summer 2022 iteration of this event, we created the CWO Award, which our Chief Well-Being Officer awards to the employee who took the most steps. This is a collaborative health initiative, held in cooperation with Rakuten KENPO.

Asakai stretching

We stage a wellness segment at our all-hands meeting ‘Asakai.' Employees across the company take the time to stretch, guided by a stretching video made by Rakuten. This video is also available on our internal portal so that it can be used by individual employees or at team huddles.

Asakai stretching

We stage a wellness segment at our all-hands meeting ‘Asakai.' Employees across the company take the time to stretch, guided by a stretching video made by Rakuten. This video is also available on our internal portal so that it can be used by individual employees or at team huddles.

InBody (body composition analysis machine) events

We hold regular InBody analysis events. By measuring body composition, muscle mass and fat levels, employees can gain an in-depth understanding of their health, encouraging them to develop exercising habits where necessary.

InBody (body composition analysis machine) events

We hold regular InBody analysis events. By measuring body composition, muscle mass and fat levels, employees can gain an in-depth understanding of their health, encouraging them to develop exercising habits where necessary.

Fitness programs

Through small-class programs such as circuit training, we provide opportunities for employees to have fun building strength at our in-house gym.

Fitness programs

Through small-class programs such as circuit training, we provide opportunities for employees to have fun building strength at our in-house gym.

Pilates classes

To help employees relieve stiff joints, we carry out 15-minute lunchtime Pilates classes in our fitness gym.

Pilates classes

To help employees relieve stiff joints, we carry out 15-minute lunchtime Pilates classes in our fitness gym.

Seminar on Women's Health Issues

In collaboration with the Preconception Care Center at the National Center for Child Health and Development, we stage seminars to spread awareness of preconception care. These seminars aim to improve health in young men and women to enable them to raise their quality of life; improve health outlooks for children of the next generation; and invigorate society as a whole.
We have also created a series of seminars surrounding women's health, which we hold regularly.

Seminar on Women's Health Issues

In collaboration with the Preconception Care Center at the National Center for Child Health and Development, we stage seminars to spread awareness of preconception care. These seminars aim to improve health in young men and women to enable them to raise their quality of life; improve health outlooks for children of the next generation; and invigorate society as a whole.
We have also created a series of seminars surrounding women's health, which we hold regularly.

The Mindfulness Network carries out activities to improve productivity, communication skills and mental health through the practice of mindfulness. The Network offers an environment where employees can deepen their knowledge and understanding of mindfulness using scientifically proven data. Regular workshops, internal training, guest lectures and collaborative research on mindfulness with external stakeholders are conducted.

Systems and workplaces that support employees' health