Panasonic will reportedly introduce a four-day workweek to allow employees to have more fun and less work. This is one small step towards a world with shorter workweeks.
Panasonic CEO Kusumi Yuki announced that the company will give its employees the third day of work each week. This was made public during an investor briefing. Japan’s annual economic policies guidelines last year revealed that the country would encourage employers to adopt four-day workweeks.
Kusumi stated, in Nikkei Asia: “We must support their wellbeing.”
The electronics manufacturer hopes to improve work-life balance by giving employees more flexibility and allowing them to reject job transfers that would require them to move. These new policies won’t apply to all employees worldwide. It’s also unclear if hours or compensation will be modified to compensate for workers’ shorter working days.
Workers have long dreamed of a four-day workweek. It is a fleeting fantasy that has been presented to them as an oasis in the middle of a desert. Iceland reported in 2021 that the largest test of a shorter workweek resulted in significant improvements in worker happiness, productivity, and health. Microsoft Japan tried a four-day workweek with great success in 2019. It increased productivity by nearly 40%. After a two-month trial, Perpetual Guardian saw a 20% increase in productivity. Perpetual Guardian was forced to switch to a four day work week .
tested , retested around the globe for years and have always shown positive results. The benefits of a shorter work week for both employees and employers are well documented, but it remains difficult to implement. Companies continue to drag themselves, claiming that it’s impossible, that they are a unique case, and it wouldn’t work in their industry.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic effects have caused workers to be more dissatisfied. Employers may need to reconsider their stance given the growing antiwork movement.