Employees of the major Japanese investment bank Nomura are not allowed to smoke during working hours. This rule applies from October, even if they work from home. Nomura states that it assumes mutual trust and will not check whether the staff is complying with the regulation.
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“There must be a work environment where everyone is healthy and vibrant so that employees can get the best out of themselves,” Bloomberg news agency said in a statement. Nomura will also close all smoking areas within the company before the end of the year. It also recommends that you stay away from the office for at least 45 minutes after smoking during lunch or breaks to prevent “third-hand second-hand smoking”.
The investment bank wants to encourage employees to stop smoking. The percentage of company employees who smoke was 20 percent in March 2020 and should be around 12 percent by 2025. Nomura has been providing employees with financial aid to help quit since 2017.
More Japanese companies are taking measures to discourage employees from smoking. For example, snack food maker Calbee already banned employees from smoking during working hours in 2018. The health of staff and their families was seen as essential to the company’s growth. Food processor Ajinomoto banned its staff from smoking during working hours in 2019.
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