Japan, a nation so hardworking its language has a term for literally working oneself to death, is trying to address a worrisome labor shortage by coaxing more people and companies to adopt four-day workweeks.
The Japanese government first expressed support for a shorter working week in 2021, after lawmakers endorsed the idea. The concept has been slow to catch on, however; about 8% of companies in Japan allow employees to take three or more days off per week, while 7% give their workers the legally mandated one day off, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Hoping to produce more takers, especially among small and medium-sized businesses, the government launched a “work style reform” campaign that promotes shorter hours and other flexible arrangements along with overtime limits and paid annual leave. The labor ministry recently started offering free consulting, grants and a growing library of success stories as further motivation.
“By realizing a society in which workers can choose from a variety of working styles based on their circumstances, we aim to create a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution and enable each and every worker to have a better outlook for the future,” states a ministry website about the “hatarakikata kaikaku” campaign, which translates to “innovating how we work.”
It always surprised me that the country that pioneered Lean production techniques has always had such an enormous waste of labour resources in their office culture.
They have one of the lowest GDP per hour worked of all Industrial nations.
Italy, Spain and Germany have way higher labour productivity, while even Turkey edges out Japan.
Also, it’s established practice for workers to stagger their off days across the week.
This way both the company and things like services, banks, stores etc. can be available 7 days a week without any undue pressure.
So they’re already well positioned to take advantage of flexible working time.