Japan proposes a four-day workweek

Is Japan taking cues from Iceland's successful shorter workweek trials? It looks like it since the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is promoting a four-day workweek following the finalization of its economic policy on June 18, Friday.

This policy aims to improve the work-life balance of employees in a country that is notorious for its buraku or extreme work culture that often leads to karoshi or death by overwork.

Moreover, Japan is also faced with a declining population as a result of people being overworked and not having time to start their own families.

The Japanese government hopes that giving the employees the choice of working a five-day or four-day workweek will give them more time to meet people, find a partner to marry and eventually have kids.

Plus, more days off would give more time for employees with families to attend to their loved ones' needs.

And in general, this will grant more time for Japanese employees to learn or hone new skills for career development.

Will Japan soon see a big change in its buraku or extreme work culture? / Source: Pexels

However, there's a big catch: this is only the government's recommendation and companies will still have the final say on whether to implement this or not.

There are also a few concerns that might discourage both employers and employees from adapting to this new policy.

Companies, of course, fear that this might lead to a loss in productivity, while workers worry of a pay cut since their working hours will be reduced, if ever.

Additionally, a shorter workweek might lead to less pension for working individuals when they retire, since healthcare plans are dependent on the number of working hours of an employee.

Aside from this, even if the policy is implemented by companies, the Japanese people's deep-rooted culture of working two jobs to boost productivity and address the shrinking workforce might hinder people from taking more days off.

Nevertheless, even if there are misgivings about having a shorter workweek, some companies in Japan have already begun making changes in their work culture ahead of the government's recommendations.

In April, Japanese human resources company Recruit gave an additional 15 days off to their employees.

And in 2019, Microsoft Japan went through a five-week trial of having a four-day workweek, which reportedly yielded a 40 percent increase in productivity.

Just recently, Iceland also did two trials of having a three-day weekend and it was hailed as “an overwhelming success.”

What do you think of having more days off for employees? Do you think it'll work here in the Philippines? Sound off in the comments section, mga Kapuso.

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