Don’t expect wild parties as `Premium Friday’ kicks off
TOKYO’s workers can take free limo rides and sip champagne this afternoon, courtesy of downtown developers. SoftBank Group Corp. is giving staff extra money to hit the town. And a railway operator is running a booze train, where passengers can enjoy four hours of solid drinking.
This is how some of Japan Inc. is responding to a government campaign to get the country’s chronically overworked populace to leave the office by 3pm on the last Friday of every month and go spend some cash. They call it Premium Friday.
But don’t be fooled by all the fanfare. Beyond the bluechips — and some of them are lukewarm about the plan — it will be business as usual for most companies. According to a survey of 1,603 workers by Culture Convenience Club Co., just 3.4 per cent said their employer is on board.
“I haven’t heard a thing about a Premium Friday at my workplace,” said Ayako Sera, a market strategist with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd. in Tokyo. “I suspect the situation will be the same for the vast majority of firms in Japan. Trying to change how people work isn’t a bad idea, but it’ll take time.”
In a country where death by overwork is common enough that it has its own word, any step to get people to do fewer hours — or even take their allotted holidays — isn’t something to criticise. Indeed, Japan has been fixated for months on the death of a young woman at Dentsu Inc., the nation’s biggest advertisement agency, who took her own life after putting in more than 100 hours of overtime in a month.
In theory, the extra rest should make workers more productive while their spending will stimulate the economy, at least a little. Premium Friday could boost consumption by as much as 63.5 billion yen (RM2.52 billion) a year, according to SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.
Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank will give each permanent employee in Japan an additional 10,000 yen per month from April to encourage spending, and will let all staff finish at 3pm with full pay.
“This is a wonderful, very interesting way of encouraging managers to change their work habits,” Jesper Koll, chief executive officer of WisdomTree Japan Inc., said of Premium Friday. “There’s no question that the work habits in Japan are very outdated — the longer hours you work the better it is, and the more loyal you are to the company.”
Other firms are participating with strings attached: employees must take paid leave or use flextime. Still, even that has merit in a country where workers generally use just half their annual holidays.
Toyota says employees in Tokyo can use the company’s flextime system to go home early if they want. Nissan is taking a similar approach. Nomura Holdings will encourage employees to take a half-day’s paid leave.
Daiwa House Industry Co. will give its staff the last Friday afternoon of every other month off — but they have to start an hour early. At Usen Corp., employees can leave at 3pm with full pay this Friday, but the music-service provider says it may not allow this next month.
Even the trade ministry, the mastermind of the plan, is hesitant to apply it across the board. It will recommend that staff leave early, but the decision is up to them.
Some smaller companies embracing the campaign have their own reasons. AGS Consulting Co., a mid-sized accounting firm in Tokyo, is allowing people to leave early, but not because it wants to help boost the economy, or address the country’s problems with overwork. It was mostly about image, President Yoshihide Hirowatari says.
“We’re absolutely not doing this for the good of the country,” Hirowatari said. “We’re just trying to stand out from the crowd. As a smaller firm, it’s not easy to find good staff, so we wanted to send a signal that we’re committed to work-life balance.”
In fact, just 37 per cent of the public agree with the idea, according to a survey by brewer Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. Some part-time workers are against it if it reduces their income, while housewives are unhappy their husbands will come home early, depriving them of time to themselves.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo Station, Takahiro Hasegawa looks confused when approached for his views.
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” the 37-year-old bank worker says. “It’s a very nice idea but the government needs to advertise this more and appeal to the public. Nobody knows!”
I haven’t heard a thing about a Premium Friday at my workplace. I suspect the situation will be the same for the vast majority of firms in Japan. Trying to change how people work isn’t a bad idea, but it’ll take time. – Ayako Sera, a market strategist with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank