Photo/Illutration More companies are moving to ban employees from smoking during working hours. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest brokerage firm, announced it will prohibit employees from smoking during work hours from October even if they are teleworking at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It said the step was aimed at keeping its 15,000-strong work force healthy and that teleworkers would not be monitored or punished if they violate the ban, which will be enforced purely on the basis of trust. The company also has contract employees and others on its payroll.

Nomura said Sept. 1 it will abolish all smoking rooms in the group’s branches and other offices by the end of this year. It set a goal of lowering the percentage of smokers among employees from 18 percent to 12 percent in 2025.

“Good health is indispensable to allow employees to put in a higher performance based on their personal abilities,” said a company representative. “We want our employees to concentrate on their jobs during work hours regardless of where they are working.”

To support employees who agree to seek medical help to quit smoking, the company pledged to pay all necessary expenses through its health insurance association. Employees who are able to stop smoking will be given benefit points, which can be exchanged for commercial products.

Nomura's move is in line with steps taken by other companies such as retail giant Aeon Co. and food manufacturer Ajinomoto Co. They also ban their employees, including teleworkers, from smoking during work hours.

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