Worn-out workers told to go shopping

JAPAN: The Japanese government is launching a campaign to persuade people to work less hard, in an attempt to reduce deaths from overwork and to stimulate the flagging economy.

The last Friday of each month will be designated Premium Friday, when employees will be encouraged to leave the office at 3pm.

The hope is that an early start to the weekend will enable the labour force to recover from some of the longest working hours in the world – and to go shopping, giving a much-needed boost to Japanese businesses.

The Japan Business Federation is urging its 1300 members to take part.

Hiroshige Seko, the trade minister, has promised he will not arrange any appointments on Premium Friday afternoons.

Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary and chief government spokesman, said Japan must end ‘‘long working hours so people can balance their lives with things like raising a child or taking care of the elderly’’.

About 200 Japanese people die every year from karoshi – death from overwork. Last year the suicide of Matsuri Takahashi, an exhausted 24-year-old woman at Dentsu, the world’s biggest advertising agency, led to the resignation of the company’s president.

Mitsubishi Electric is also under investigation for allegedly forcing its staff to work excessively late.

Almost a quarter of Japanese employees work 50 hours or more every week, compared to one in eight in Britain and the United States and one in 12 in France.

The average Japanese worker takes only half of their paid holidays, the consequence of a culture in which taking time off is regarded as an ‘‘inconvenience’’ to colleagues.

In some cases employers undoubtedly put pressure on their employees not to take time off, a demand which is harder to resist in a period of economic uncertainty and job insecurity.

It is not clear how many companies will genuinely participate, and how many employees will break the habits of a lifetime to leave work early. In addition, many people will simply choose to shop on Friday instead of Saturday, providing no net boost to consumption.

Most discouraging of all, surveys suggest that a third of Premium Friday beneficiaries will simply use the extra time to rest at home. – The Times