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submitted 2 months ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

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.”

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[-] Grizzlywer@feddit.org 8 points 2 months ago

So they want to reduce the week from 7 to 4 days a week? ;-D

[-] tiredofsametab@fedia.io 1 points 2 months ago

That's (every day of every week) actually illegal in most circumstances with labor law. There's a bit of nuance and edge cases, but this would be super illegal for the average employee to have to do and the government has been getting more strict about it.

this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2024
538 points (99.6% liked)

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