To encourage young families and raise the nation’s record-low fertility rates, the Tokyo government intends to implement a four-day workweek for its staff.
Yuriko Koike, the governor of Tokyo, declared that metropolitan government workers will be able to take three days off every week beginning in April.
She made this statement at a policy speech at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly’s fourth regular session: “We will review work styles with flexibility, ensuring no one has to give up their career due to life events like childbirth or childcare.”
At a time when Japan’s fertility rate is at an all-time low, the new policy aims to encourage couples to become parents. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, despite the government’s intensified efforts to encourage young people to start families, it fell to just 1.2 children expected per woman during her lifetime last year. For a population to stay steady, that figure must be at least 2.1.
Governor Koike also announced a new policy that would allow parents of primary school-aged children to exchange a portion of their pay for the opportunity to leave work early.
During these difficult times for the country, Tokyo must act now to safeguard and improve the lives, livelihoods, and economy of our citizens, she said.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare reports that there were just 727,277 births last year. The culture of overtime labor in Japan, which frequently forces women to choose between a profession and a family, may be somewhat to blame for this. After all, the World Bank reports that last year’s labor force participation rate was 72% for males and 55% for women, a gender difference that is greater than in other high-income countries.
The adoption of a four-day workweek, however, might give government workers more time to spend with their families.
Several businesses participated in a four-day workweek pilot experiment in 2022 as part of a global industrial series organized by the NGO 4 Day Week Global.
In those trials, almost 90% of the employees expressed a desire to stick with the four-day workweek. They claimed that it enhanced their overall life happiness, work-life balance, and physical and mental health. Their work-family conflict, burnout, stress, and weariness all decreased. A 9.1 out of 10 was the rating given by these individuals to their experience.
Another Asian nation tested a reduced workweek earlier this year.
Singapore implemented new regulations mandating that all businesses take into account demands from employees for flexible work schedules, such as staggered hours or four-day workweeks.
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