Japan is struggling to popularize a four-day work week

However, the initiative has had a slow start: According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, only about 8 percent of companies in Japan allow employees to take three or more days off per week.

It is not only companies, but also employees who hesitate.

Electronics maker Panasonic, one of Japan’s largest companies, opted for the effort in early 2022. After two years, only 150 of its 63,000 eligible employees have chosen to take four-day programs, a representative for company to the Associated Press.

Other major companies to introduce a four-day working week include Fast Retailing, parent Uniqlo, electronics giant Hitachi and financial firm Mizuho. About 85% of employers report giving workers the usual two days off per week.

Much of the reluctance to take an extra day off comes down to a culture of workers putting their companies before themselves, including pressure to appear as team players and hard workers. This intense culture stems from Japan’s post-war era, where in an effort to stimulate the economy, then-Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida enlisted large corporations to offer their employees lifelong job security, requiring only that workers reward them with loyalty.

Overcrowding and population decline

The reluctance to prioritize a better work-life balance is worrying for an economy facing low birth rates and an aging population that peaked in 2008. In January 2023, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that the country was on the brink of collapse because of it. declining birthrate. Overcrowding is linked to lower birth rates because it lowers your chances of dating, marrying, and having children.

The fourth-largest economy is expected to face a shortage of nearly one million workers by 2040, according to a July study by a state-backed think tank.

Japan’s efforts are in line with initiatives that other countries are taking reduce the number of working days. The concept has gained momentum in recent years, spurred by a post-pandemic society grappling with its toxic relationship with work.

In April, Singapore, which is facing a similar population problem, announced that employees would soon be able to apply shorter work weeks and flexible hours. Iceland, Ireland, Great Britain and Spain experienced four-day work weeks.

from 61 UK companies who took part in a six-month trial for a four-day working week in 2022, 54 continued the shortened week a year later and 31 said they would do so permanently.

Greece, however, took an opposite approach to combat population decline and low productivity by introducing a six-day work week for certain industries in June.