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While many workers would likely love to work fewer days for the same amount of money, those in Japan may not be ready to spend less time at their desks—even if the government wants them to.
Where in the world? Japan is known for its culture of overwork, which is contributing to a workforce that’s stressed out and dwindling.
The Japanese government is stepping up its efforts to combat worker exhaustion by encouraging employers to offer four-day workweeks, more flexible scheduling, and paid leave, according to the Associated Press. Advocates hope the changes will allow workers to spend more time with their families, help increase the country’s birth rate, or “remain in the workforce for longer."
Lawmakers in Japan first advocated for a shorter workweek in 2021, and while several employers currently offer four-day schedules, many employees do not take advantage of it. Some 63,000 Japan-based Panasonic employees are eligible for the company’s four-day workweek policy, but just 150 workers work on that schedule. The government hopes this new push will motivate more employers to not only adopt the practice, but encourage employees to work less.
“I think that it’s going to take time [for the four-day work week] to penetrate… we’re not used to being flexible,” Hiroshi Ono, professor of HR at Hitotsubashi University, told CNBC, noting non-Japanese companies may also be slow to adopt flexibility. “For the traditional Japanese companies, it might even take longer.”
Satellite view. Employers in the US have been toying with the four-day workweek trend as well, HR Brew previously reported. Leaders who’ve adopted it recommend that employers find an approach that works for their business and be diligent about enforcing the policy.
“My advice to any organization is it’s incumbent on the leadership and on HR to make sure that the day off truly remains a day off,” Bjorn Reynolds, founder and CEO of workforce management company Safeguard Global, told HR Brew earlier this year. “If you’re doing this, or any change, you have to rigorously defend that decision and enforce that decision because otherwise, everybody might remember it for a month, but then suddenly somebody is texting you on a Friday because, hey, they’re just used to it.”