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 child care.”
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, Labor, 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.
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 registered just 727,277 births last year, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. The culture of overtime labor in Japan, which frequently forces women to choose between having kids and jobs, may be partly to blame for that. According to the World Bank, last year’s gender gap in the country’s labor force participation was 72% for men and 55% for women, which is more than in other high-income countries.
On the other hand, a four-day workweek 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.
Over 90% of the employees who took part in the trials expressed a desire to keep working four days a week. 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 those participants to their experience.
This year, a shorter workweek was tested in another Asian nation.
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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