Basic Policy

Sumitomo Forestry recognizes employees' diverse work styles and strives to create a workplace where they can be motivated in their jobs while leading fulfilling private lives. Reflecting these aims, the company has worked on such initiatives as providing childcare and family care programs and reducing overtime.

The Workstyle Diversification Department established within the Personnel Department brings together support desk functions relating to work styles and careers, including those for childcare and family care, career development, health care, and post-retirement reemployment. The department supports diverse workstyles by developing a counseling system that is easy for employees to access.

Furthermore, we have introduced a flextime system and a work interval system, shifted from a deemed working hours system to an actual working hours count system, and started to evaluate per-hour productivity, with the purpose of reducing long working hours and improving productivity at the workplace.

These systems are intended to improve employees’ motivation as well as their productivity by preventing them from being exhausted from working long hours. while raising their awareness of time efficiency, thereby helping them keep their work-life balance.

Addressing Long Working Hours

Leaving issues related to long working hours unaddressed could result in occupational injuries, damage to the brand image and labor shortage, and poses a serious management risk to us.

Based on this recognition, the Sumitomo Forestry Group set an important ongoing goal of "reducing long working hours through workstyle reforms" in the Mid-Term Sustainability Targets and is implementing measures to attain this goal. Each division and consolidated Group company in Japan manages progress on the measures implemented toward the goal.

As one of measures against long working hours, we introduced a PC log-linked attendance system in 2023 to ensure the accuracy of applications for and approvals of working hours.

Also, average overtime hours and individual overtime hours including those of managers are reported to the head of each department to increase their awareness about the importance of reducing long working hours.

In particular, in the Housing Division, where close communication with customers is indispensable for the sales and construction of custom-built detached houses, employees tend to work long hours. To deal with this situation, each branch of the division discusses initiatives to reduce long working hours at its occupational health and safety committee meetings. As for the reforms of the working system and operational flow, which are difficult to tackle at a branch level, the Housing Division continuously leads the long working hours mitigation campaign and makes proposals for improvements.

Encouraging Employees to Take Paid Annual Leave

*Calculated by dividing the number of annual paid days off taken by the number of days off granted for the year

*Excluding directors and executive officers, employees on overseas assignment, employees seconded from other companies, and employees on extended leave or leave of absence

Initiatives to Encourage Employees to Take Paid Leave

Sumitomo Forestry is developing workplace environments that allow employees to take paid days off as they wish, so that they can engage energetically in their jobs with healthy body and mind. We have also established a "refresh leave" system to make it easier for employees to take consecutive holidays according to their own schedule, and also encourage employees to take a summer vacation for at least five days in a row.

The branches of the Housing Division are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and often have business meetings with customers on Saturdays and Sundays, which sometimes makes it difficult for their staff members to take days off to attend their families' school activities or community events. We have been addressing this issue with the introduction of “Family Friendly Day leave,” which allows employees to take either one Saturday off or one Sunday off each month for their families or for their hobbies. We encourage branch employees to adjust their job responsibilities and meeting schedules, thereby making it easier for them to take days off on the weekends.

Supporting Employees Raising Children

Sumitomo Forestry made its first action plan in 2005, when the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children came into effect. Since then, we have continued to implement related initiatives through our action plans, including the current ninth action plan (for the period from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027).

Encouraging Male Employees to Participate in Childcare

At Sumitomo Forestry, male employees are requested to inform their supervisors and the Workstyle Diversification Department within the Personnel Department of their spouses' pregnancy and expected date of delivery. We have also established an internal system to which the expected date of delivery can easily be registered.

After registration, necessary materials, such as the Handbook for Supporting Work and Childcare Balance, which provides various information, and a guidebook on childcare-related systems, will be sent to their supervisor. In reference to the materials, the supervisor will interview the employee about their childcare situation and childcare leave.

After the interview, information about the employee's plan to take childcare leave and the supervisor's related comments are entered into the above system, and the Workstyle Diversification Department follows up with the employee according to the content.

In addition, it is mandatory for eligible employees and their supervisors to attend e-learning courses on male childcare leave.

This system is designed to deepen the understanding of male employees and others in the workplace about their role in childcare and encourage them to participate in it. A total of 95 employees took childcare leave in fiscal 2025, and the average number of days off taken increased substantially from 16.2 days in the previous fiscal year to 32.9 days.

Support for Employees Raising Children

In 2025, we held a seminar on work-childcare balance. An external expert briefed participants on the revised Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children and Other Family Members as well as on the related systems and benefits provided by the national government. Also, our childcare-related systems and the important points of interviews to be held under the systems were explained to the participants. Their comments included, “At this event, I learned the details of the in-house systems. It encouraged me to think more about how to keep my work and childcare responsibilities in balance.”

Promoting Communication between Supervisors and Employees Returning to Work after Childcare Leave

Since 2020, Sumitomo Forestry has been holding a “pair seminar” for employees returning from childcare leave and their supervisors every fall. At the seminar, lectures are given on the social situation surrounding childbirth and childcare, work-childcare balance, future career development, and other topics. Also, messages from senior staff members who are raising children are introduced, and group discussions are held among participants. It provides employees raising children and their supervisors with an opportunity to think about the actions they should take to help employees balance work, childcare, and career development.

Since 2024, we have been using an interview sheet in order to offer detailed face-to-face discussions between employees returning from childcare leave and their supervisors. In October 2025, we started sending messages to inform the targeted employees of an interview with their supervisors that will be held before their child turns two years and 11 months old. This ensures that the employees can consult with their supervisors about their household situations and the use of childcare-related systems, and receive support from the supervisors and the company that fits their individual situations.

Supporting Employees Caring for Family Members

Sumitomo Forestry supports employees who are working while caring for family members. They can take up to 365 days off per applicable family member, and can also choose to work shorter hours or four days a week. Also, the flextime system was launched for all employees (except for employees on the discretionary work system) in January 2021, and now core working hours can be shortened for family care. Sumitomo Forestry has also established family illness and injury leave systems, under which employees can take leave in 15-minute increments.

In fiscal 2021, we prepared a guidebook to provide basic knowledge and information on balancing work and family care, as well as the fundamentals of facilities for the elderly and family care services.

Due to the revision of the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children and Other Family Members in 2025, companies are now required to give employees relevant information before they actually face the need to provide long-term care to family members (before they reach the age of around 40). However, past cases indicate that regardless of their age, employees may face a situation in which they need to take care of family members. This includes not only their elderly parents, but also spouses and children, such as children in need of special medical care. For employees facing such a situation to balance their work and family care, it is important for their supervisors and colleagues support them at the workplace. Based on this recognition, we send relevant information by email to all employees—not only those aged 40.

In January 2026, we formulated the rules on family care leave in order to establish a system to support employees who have children that refuse to go to school or socially withdrawn children or spouses in need of daily nursing care due to injury or illness. We provide this specialized system in addition to supporting these employees through the existing childcare and nursing care leave systems.

Increases in the numbers of people quitting their jobs for family care or due to children who refuse to go to school are becoming social issues. In response, we have established the family care leave system to allow employees facing challenges concerning their work-family care balance to take a three-year leave or work shorter hours. Through the provision of this system, we aim to offer a range of workstyle options. Employees can choose the one that helps them work and develop their careers with peace of mind.

*Descriptions about our support that goes beyond statutory requirements are underlined.

Childcare-related systems

*1During pregnancy, childbirth leave, childcare leave, and within one year after the childbirth

*2Until the first March 31 following the child's second birthday. Can be extended for up to 14 days for gradual entry

Seminar to Support Employees in Balancing Their Work and Family Care

In 2021, Sumitomo Forestry started to hold online seminars and individual consultations twice a year in July and December to help employees balance their work and family care. The goal is to create an environment where employees can keep balance between their work and family care in their daily lives, rather than giving up work to care for their family members, and to give them tips on how to stay healthy and active both physically and mentally.

Sumitomo Forestry held seminars titled "Secrets to Balancing Work and Family Care" in December 2021, "Balancing Work and Dementia Care" in July 2022, and "The Basics of Elderly Care Facilities and Nursing Care Costs" in December 2022. In 2024, we return to basics and held "Secrets to Balancing Work and Family Care" in July and "Learning about Elderly Care Facilities and Care Costs in Preparation for Sudden Need to Care for Your Family Members" in December. About 50 to 150 employees attend this seminar each time, including those who are already taking care of their family members, those who want to start preparations for such care, and those who need to learn necessary knowledge to support their subordinates and colleagues with family members in need of care. After the seminar, an optional social event was also held. Participants commented that talking with other employees facing the same challenge gave them tips to deal with day-to-day issues and that knowing some colleagues were balancing work and caregiving increased their motivation to work.

We will continue to provide seminars and consultations to assist employees in balancing work and family care.

Initiatives for Telecommuting

By working from home, employees can save time from commuting and spend more time on work and family activities. They can also concentrate more on work in a quiet home environment. Based on this recognition, Sumitomo Forestry introduced a telecommuting system in 2009.

Since fiscal 2018, Sumitomo Forestry has participated in the "Telework Days" campaign promoted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Cabinet Office, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and by related associations and corporations, as a special cooperative organization to promote work style reforms.

In fiscal 2020, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we started to implement measures to enable every employee to work from home and also began the use of satellite offices.

In January 2022, we abolished our existing telecommuting rules and established the Teleworking Regulations. Under the former telecommuting rules, employees who have been working for the company for less than three years, management supervisors, and fixed-term employees were excluded from the scope of application. However, the Teleworking Regulations cover all employees and were formulated by adding the provisions on satellite office work and mobile work. Based on the company-wide telecommuting experience gained during the COVID-19 pandemic, the new regulations are intended to improve work-life balance and productivity. Now all employees can work from home up to two days a week. They can also apply for working from home for three or more days a week.

Going forward, we will continue to consider further use of ICT, along with the development of an IT environment and the promotion of productivity through the use of ICT.