Japanese can clock out early on ‘Premium Fridays’
Work-life balance scheme, launched this week, allows staff to leave at 3:00pm on the last Friday of every month
Japan’s Prime Minister spent yesterday afternoon meditating while staff at some of the country’s biggest firms quit work early — in time for a bit of shopping or maybe a boozy train ride.
Welcome to Premium Friday, Japan’s latest bid to tackle two perennial problems — sluggish consumer spending and notoriously long working hours blamed for a national health crisis known as karoshi, or death from overwork.
The work-life balance scheme, which launched yesterday, calls on employers to let staff off around 3:00pm on the last Friday of every month. Major firms such as automakers Nissan and Toyota, beverage giant Suntory and brokerage Nomura are taking part in the government-backed initiative. But it’s not mandatory and many companies have opted out, while some analysts question whether it will really boost spending or do much to change Japan’s punishing work culture. Still, the idea was a hit with Suntory employee Maki Suzuki, who said she often works late into the night or early morning when things are busy at the office.
“This is a good opportunity to plan something that we don’t usually do,” said the 34-yearold, as she visited a Tokyo art museum with some colleagues Friday afternoon. “Taking a long holiday is too high a hurdle for many Japanese, but taking an afternoon off isn’t.”
The word has not gotten out to some people, however. “When I told my friends about Premium Friday, they were confused,” said Nami Kawasaki, another Suntory employee.
Mobile carrier SoftBank is letting its staff quit early and, later this year, will be putting an extra 10,000 yen (Dh326) in their pockets. - AFP