SPARX Health Management
SPARX Health Declaration
To realize our purpose of making "the world wealthier, healthier, and happier," SPARX hereby declares that we will create a workplace where the Group's executives and employees can work in good health and with smiles on their faces.
- Our future growth rests on the shoulders of all our people, each being healthy and energetic.
- We must value the health of our colleagues, work together to prevent illness, support each other when one of us becomes ill, and back our colleagues if their family members suffer unforeseen hardships.
- We intend to create opportunities for people to learn about health and raise their health awareness. To this end, we will plan and execute events and programs that serve as learning opportunities and allow people to enjoy healthy food, products, and activities using all five senses.
Chief Health Officer
President & CEO Shuhei Abe
Promotion Systems
SPARX Group's president and CEO takes ownership in promoting health management throughout the Group as its Chief Health Officer. With the Director in charge of HR as its lead, the Healthier SPARXON Project Team works to promote health management with the support of industrial physicians and health insurance societies.
Annual Planning Framework
SPARX strategically promotes health management through its annual health management plan, which the Healthier SPARXON Project Team prepares after consulting with the Chief Health Officer, before getting it approved by the Management Committee. The project team shares and reports on its plan progress to the Management Committee as part of utilizing the PDCA cycle for health management throughout the Group.
Medium-Term Health Management Promotion Vision
Overall KGIs for SPARX Health Management
We have set our final key goal indicators (KGIs) for health management as Presenteeism*1 Absenteeism*2 and Work Engagement*3 the target values we aim to achieve by 2030. We believe that promoting health through health management positively impacts daily motivation and performance, empowering the company.
SPARX experiences slightly higher losses from presenteeism and absenteeism than the national average.
While direct comparisons are challenging because average values for presenteeism and absenteeism vary by age, preexisting conditions, and industry, we believe there is significant room to further improve employee performance. High work engagement indicates employees feel pride and fulfillment in their work, are enthusiastic in their efforts, derive energy from their tasks, and are vibrant and energetic. SPARX maintains a high score, even when compared to the national average. Through SPARX's health management, we will create an environment where top professionals can work with genuine satisfaction, enabling us to deliver our corporate philosophy of 'Bringing ever-better investments to the world.'
- ※aQuoted from the results of the "Health Management Evaluation Indicator Development and Utilization Project" under METI's Fiscal 2015 Project Promoting the Creation of Industries Extending Healthy Lifespans
- ※bQuoted from the 2019 "Survey on Working Styles and Conditions Involving Labor Shortages (Regular Employee Questionnaire)" by the German Federal Institute for Vocational Policy and Training
- *1 Refers to situations where absenteeism has not occurred and thus does not appear in attendance records, but productivity is reduced due to health issues. Calculated using the Single-Item Presenteeism Question (SPQ; from Tokyo University).
- *2 Absences from work due to health issues (sick leave). Calculated based on employee survey response: "How many days did you miss work last year due to personal illness or injury?"
- *3 A positive and fulfilling psychological state toward work. Calculated using nine items from the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES; maximum score: 6 points)
Health Management Initiatives Reflecting SPARX's Philosophy
In our pursuit of "ever-better investments," SPARX professionals conduct research and manage funds using a bottom-up approach. We value direct engagement with companies, conducting research on over 3,700 companies annually*1 to engage in face-to-face dialogue.
Similarly, in health management, we value a bottom-up approach that goes beyond evaluations based solely on quantitative data. It involves conversing with each employee individually, supporting their personal health, and addressing issues identified through dialogue or, when necessary, recommending medical institutions.
Since 2023, when we fully launched our health management initiatives, we have instituted individual follow-up consultations after regular health checkups conducted by our in-house occupational health staff. We now confirm consultation requests regardless of abnormal findings, creating dedicated time to discuss health with each individual. We recognize that individual health is influenced by a complex interplay of age, individual characteristics, and personal circumstances. Therefore, we do not view a high number of requests as inherently positive. However, we observe that our annual health management activities are leading to an increase in the number of employees participating in these consultations.
- *1 Actual results from CY2024
Post-checkup follow-up interviews by occupational health staff
-
Certified as one of the 2025 Outstanding Organizations of KENKO Investment for Health Program in the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Category (recognized as the "Next Bright 1000")
-
Certified as one of the 2024 Outstanding Organizations of KENKO Investment for Health Program in the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Category