Photograph on left: Female employees participate in a roundtable discussion with Olympus President, Tsuyoshi Kikukawa.
Sustained Professional and Personal Growth for All Employees
Policy and BackgroundHarmonizing Work and Personal Life
In fiscal 2008, Olympus analyzed concepts for human resource policies that would contribute to the realization of its "Social IN" management philosophy. This led to the identification of two key goals for Olympus employees: sustained professional growth through work and personal growth in private life. It is wrong to limit people's opportunities to develop careers and use their abilities and skills because of their personal circumstances (which may include caring for small children, sick or aging family members, having disabilities or reaching retirement age and wanting to re-enter the workforce). It is also necessary to provide every person who is motivated to work with opportunities to use and develop their abilities through their work, so that they can achieve sustained professional growth.
In private life, it is important to foster interaction between employees' families and the company. Individual employees also need to achieve personal growth through hobbies, education, self-improvement programs and other activities. Employees also contribute to the company through their growth and this helps to harmonize their work and personal lives.
Essential Support for Female Employees
A variety of events and circumstances affect the work and personal lives of employees, including work transfers, marriage and the need to care for sick or aging family members. Major life events, such as marriage, childbirth or the work transfer of a spouse, can have a particularly significant impact on the ability of women to remain in employment and develop their careers (see graph below).
Some life events can make it difficult for women to remain in employment; and even if they are able to continue working, their careers may be interrupted. As a result women are deprived of opportunities to achieve their potential. When such life events occur, the employer needs to provide support so that female employees can continue to realize their potential in the workplace and achieve sustained growth, whilst also deepening their family bonds.
Reasons for Voluntary Retirement (April 2005-March 2008)
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