Webinar on 'Why do relapses occur after returning to work?' to be held

Mental health issues leading to employee leave have become a significant management challenge for many companies. According to a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare survey, over 10% of companies have employees who have taken continuous leave for more than one month due to mental health reasons. This results in decreased productivity, impact on organizational operations, and increased response costs. In an environment of ongoing recruitment difficulties, there is a need to support employees on leave to return to full productivity rather than considering their departure. A common problem is that even after employees return to work, they often do not achieve stable employment and experience relapses. If return-to-work decisions are made solely based on the individual's desire for early return or a doctor's diagnosis, without sufficient business-oriented return-to-work criteria, it can lead to reduced duties or long-term accommodations becoming permanent. This increases the burden on colleagues and puts pressure on the individual, creating a cycle of repeated relapses. This seminar aims to address this by explaining how to systematize return-to-work support to prevent employees from repeatedly taking leave. It will cover organizing the situation of employees on leave and the risks faced by companies, then introduce concepts for systematizing return-to-work support. Based on the fundamental principle that 'the workplace is for working,' the seminar will present know-how that has successfully reduced re-leave rates to 5% or less, including establishing return-to-work criteria and self-care guidance. The target audience includes management and HR personnel struggling with mental health leave, those looking to establish criteria and support systems to prevent re-leaves, those wanting to make corporate return-to-work judgments not solely dependent on doctor's notes, those aiming to systematize leave/return-to-work responses, and those seeking to reduce the burden on HR and frontline staff while ensuring stable employment for employees on leave. The webinar is organized by NOVE Co., Ltd., with cooperation from Open Source Utilization Research Institute Co., Ltd. and Majisemi Co., Ltd.