Panasonic has announced that it will offer a four-day work week in Japan to those who are interested, which we assume is every single staffer.
“We must support the well-being of our employees,” President and Group CEO Yuki Kusumi said.
This follows a growing trend in Japan, with companies such as Yahoo implementing the three-day weekend as early as 2017.
Microsoft Japan brought in the idea in 2019, with 90 per cent of workers “responding favourably” to the idea, which ended up saving the company money on operating cost, such as electricity.
Despite this push, less than 10 per cent of companies have introduced the idea. As Nikkei Asia explains: “Workers also often hesitate to take more time off, worried that colleagues will have to pick up the slack.”
Over 60 per cent of U.K. companies who have introduced a four-day workweek have reported productivity improvements, according to a 2019 survey by the University of Reading.
