The Japanese term “karoshi” literally means working oneself to death, a term that has come to represent the gruelling work culture and long working hours that many Japanese employers expect of their workers.
But an impending labour shortage has the Japanese government encouraging changes, including for employers to have a four-day workweek. It’s the latest country to weigh the move as employers around the world grapple with challenges from tighter workforces, workers demanding better work-life balance, and shifting demographics as older workers retire and younger ones have fewer children.
So why now — and what do Canadian employers already experimenting with longer weekends have to say about the shift?
The Japanese government first expressed support for a shorter working week in 2021 after lawmakers endorsed the idea. The concept has been slow to catch on, however; about eight per cent of companies in Japan allow employees to take three or more days off per week, while seven per cent give their workers the legally mandated one day off, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Hoping to produce more takers, especially among small and medium-sized businesses, the government launched a “work style reform” campaign that promotes shorter hours and other flexible arrangements along with overtime limits and paid annual leave.
“By realizing a society in which workers can choose from a variety of working styles based on their circumstances, we aim to create a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution and enable each and every worker to have a better outlook for the future,” a ministry website states about the “hatarakikata kaikaku” campaign, which translates to “innovating how we work.”
The department overseeing the new support services for businesses says only three companies have come forward so far to request advice on making changes, relevant regulations and available subsidies, illustrating the challenges the initiative faces, The Associated Press reported.
In October 2022, following calls by the Japanese government for a better work-life balance for its residents, Panasonic introduced more flexibility and a shorter working week for more than 60,000 employees in Japan.
Among the several options offered by the technology giant, the most popular proved to be the one that allowed employees to compress their working hours into four longer days, for the same salary.
Perhaps more telling: of the 63,000 Panasonic Holdings Corp. employees who are eligible for four-day schedules at the electronics maker and its group companies in Japan, only 150 employees have opted to take them, according to Yohei Mori, who oversees the initiative at one Panasonic company.
The government’s official backing of a better work-life balance represents a marked change in Japan, a country whose reputed culture of workaholic stoicism often got credited for the national recovery and stellar economic growth after the Second World War.
Imagine Canada, a Toronto-based advocacy group that supports charities and non-profits, started a four-day workweek pilot in January 2023. The original pilot was for six months, which got extended to the end of the year. The pilot was renewed for a second year when the group found that employee satisfaction improved.
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Émilie Pontbriand, a spokesperson for the group, said they slow-rolled the pilot.
“We started by eliminating meetings on Fridays,” she said.
“It was really about working smarter and really rethinking, ‘Do we really need this meeting? Who should be in that meeting?’”
This strategic reprioritization has led to the company adopting a four-day workweek on a pilot basis and the results, she said, are encouraging.
“We found that employee satisfaction and work-life balance has improved drastically since we announced the pilot,” she said.
Pontbriand said this was done as a response to the burnout felt by employees in the non-profit sector.
The four-day workweek has not only drastically improved Imagine Canada’s employee retention, but has also been an effective recruitment tool.
“In the non-profit sector, it’s difficult to attract talent because it’s hard for us to compete with the salaries that are offered in the private sector,” she said.
She said as the group has interviewed potential new hires, nearly all have mentioned the four-day workweek as motivation to apply for a position.
Productivity has remained relatively stable, she said.
“Having more time off means we come back to work on Monday more rested, and so more productive in the end.”
Craig LePan, managing partner at Calgary-based Flipp advertising, said when companies across Canada were adopting hybrid work models after the height of the pandemic, they realized it was not a system that would work for them.
“There’s certain synergies there in meetings and creativity that come out when you’re around the team that just aren’t the same when you’re on screen,” he said.
To improve working conditions for their employees, Flipp decided to experiment with a four-day workweek.
“It was a matter of evolving it to the point where if Monday to Thursday, we are in here and we’re focused as a group, then the exchange is every week is a long weekend.”
Flipp Advertising said its relationship with clients has not changed dramatically, since part of the leadership group monitors emails and messages on Fridays in case of emergencies and last-minute client requests.
LePan said they have found productivity has increased, but it took some work.
“I think it does require some leadership in place to make sure that we are optimizing our time and staying committed to the fact that we are more productive throughout the week,” he said.
In Japanese work culture, long hours are the norm.
Eighty-five per cent of employers report giving their workers two days off a week and there are legal restrictions on overtime hours, which are negotiated with labor unions and detailed in contracts. But some Japanese do “service overtime,” meaning it’s unreported and performed without compensation.
A recent government white paper on “karoshi” said Japan has at least 54 such fatalities a year, including from heart attacks.
Some officials consider changing that mindset crucial to maintaining a viable workforce amid Japan’s nosediving birth rate. At the current rate, which is partly attributed to the country’s job-focused culture, the working-age population is expected to decline 40 per cent to 45 million people in 2065, from the current 74 million, according to government data.
Proponents of the three-days-off model say it encourages people raising children, those caring for older relatives, retirees living on pensions and others looking for flexibility or additional income to remain in the workforce for longer.
Critics of the government’s push say that in practice, people put on four-day schedules often end up working just as hard for less pay.
Which other countries have it?
In 2015, Iceland started a four-year trial that reduced working hours for its residents.
This paved the way for residents of larger economies in Europe to explore similar changes.
In 2022, Belgium brought in legislation that would allow workers to choose either a four- or a five-day workweek. Employees who request it will be able to work up to 10 hours per day if trade unions agree, instead of the maximum eight now, in order to work one day less per week for the same pay.
Belgians will also be able to choose to work more during one week and less the following one, allowing people to better manage their work-private life, in case of co-parenting for example.
It’s not just governments; large employers are also making changes.
In December last year, sports car maker Lamborghini reached a deal with unions to introduce a shorter working week, on certain conditions, for its production workers, the first in the automotive industry in Europe.
Under the plan, to start as a one-year pilot by the end of 2024, some workers will alternate a four-day week with a five-day week, while others will alternate a five-day week with two four-day weeks, depending on their shift arrangement.
Eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica has also agreed to test a four-day week at six Italian factories, for 20 weeks a year.
But one of the biggest impacts of shorter workweeks has been on employee mental health.
In December last year, Imagine Canada shared the results of its one-year pilot project.
The group said it saw a 66 per cent increase in the overall mental, physical and emotional health of its staff and a 105 per cent increase in satisfaction related to work-life balance.
— with files from The Associated Press and Reuters
