In an effort to combat a concerning labor shortage, more individuals and businesses are being persuaded to switch to four-day workweeks in Japan, a country so industrious that there is a euphemism for literally working oneself to death in the language.
After lawmakers approved the plan, the Japanese government initially announced its support for a shortened workweek in 2021.
Though the idea has taken a while to catch on, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 8% of Japanese businesses permit workers to take three or more days off each week, while 7% only allow the legally required one day off.
The government launched a “work style reform” campaign, which advocates for shorter hours and more flexible arrangements coupled with overtime limitations and paid annual leave, in an attempt to attract more takers, particularly among small and medium-sized firms.
As further incentive, the labor ministry has started to provide grants, free consultations, and an expanding collection of success stories.
A ministry website describes the “hatarakikata kaikaku” campaign, which translates to “innovating how we work,” as “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 every worker to have a better outlook for the future.”
Only three enterprises have so far stepped forward to ask for guidance on making modifications, pertinent regulations, and potential subsidies, according to the department in charge of the new business support services.
This indicates the difficulties the program confronts.
What’s perhaps more striking is that, of the 63,000 workers at Panasonic Holdings Corp. and its group firms in Japan who are qualified for four-day schedules, only 150 have chosen to accept them, according to Yohei Mori, who manages the program at one Panasonic location.
The official government support for a better work-life balance marks a significant shift in Japan, a nation whose storied workaholic stoicism was frequently credited with driving the country’s remarkable post-World War II economic boom.
There are strong conformist demands to make sacrifices for one’s firm.
Citizens usually take vacations around the same time as their coworkers, around New Year’s and during the Bon holidays in the summer, to avoid accusations of carelessness or negligence.
Laptops 1000Long workdays are typical.
Even still, 85% of businesses say they give their employees two days off each week, and overtime is legally limited and governed by contracts that are negotiated with labor unions.
However, some Japanese people conduct “service overtime,” which is unpaid work that goes unrecorded.
According to a recent government white paper, Japan has at least 54 deaths from “karoshi,” which translates to “death from overwork,” each year, including heart attacks.
Author Tim Craig of “Cool Japan: Case Studies from Japan’s Cultural and Creative Industries” noted that Japanese people are “serious, conscientious, and hard-working,” and that they often value their relationships with coworkers and bond with their companies.
He also noted that Japanese TV shows and manga comics frequently focus on the workplace.
“Here, work is important. Although it is, it’s more than just a means of generating income, according to Craig, who founded the editing and translation company BlueSky Academic Services and was a former Doshisha Business School teacher.
Given Japan’s decline in birth rates, some officials believe that altering that way of thinking is essential to preserving a workable workforce.
According to government data, the working-age population is predicted to decrease by 40% to 45 million people in 2065 from the present 74 million, at the current rate, which is partially attributable to the nation’s job-focused culture.
The three-day-off model’s proponents claim that it promotes workers searching for flexibility or extra income to stay in the workforce longer, such as those raising children, taking care of elderly relatives, or pensioners living on pensions.
Working at Spelldata, a small technology business in Tokyo that permits its workers to work four days a week, Akiko Yokohama takes Wednesdays off in addition to Saturdays and Sundays.
She can go shopping, get her hair done, and attend other appointments because she has an extra day off.
“Having bad health makes it difficult to work five days in a row. The time off lets you heal or visit the doctor. It’s less stressful emotionally,” Yokohama remarked.
In line with his industry, her spouse, a real estate broker, works weekends in addition to his Wednesday off.
This enables the pair to take their elementary-school-aged child on midweek family outings, according to Yokohama.
In recent years, a four-day workweek has also been offered by pharmaceutical business Shionogi & Co., electronics companies Ricoh Co. and Hitachi, and fast-growing Japanese retailer Fast Retailing Co., which owns apparel labels such as Uniqlo, Theory, J Brand, and others.
Even in the notoriously spending finance sector, the practice is gaining traction.
2020 marked the start of the brokerage firm SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.’s four-day workweek policy.
The three-day schedule option is provided by banking behemoth Mizuho Financial Group.
People who place themselves on four-day schedules often find themselves working just as hard for less money, according to critics of the government’s initiative.
But things are starting to shift.
Japan’s workforce is among the least involved of all the countries surveyed in an annual Gallup survey measuring employee engagement; in the most recent survey, only 6% of Japanese respondents characterized themselves as engaged at work, compared to the global average of 23%.
This indicates that while the majority of Japanese workers put in their hours without much enthusiasm or passion, a comparatively small percentage felt deeply engaged in their work and passionate about what they were doing.
As women make up the majority of workers in the service sector, Kanako Ogino, president of Tokyo-based NS Group, believes that providing flexible hours is essential to filling positions in this sector.
The company runs hotels and karaoke bars, and provides thirty alternative schedule options, including a four-day workweek and extended leave between jobs.
Ogino asks each of her 4,000 employees twice a year about their preferred work schedule to make sure none of them feel penalized for selecting a different one.
In Japan, where it is expected to make sacrifices for the group’s welfare, expressing your wants could be looked upon.
Ogino laughed and remarked, “The mindset in Japan was: You are cool the more hours you work, putting in free overtime.” “But in a life like this, there is no dream.”
