Tokyo plans 4-day working week to boost births
The founders of 4 Day Week Global described the step taken by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as “extraordinary, in a country that has such a reputation for non-flexibility in this area and has an actual word [karoshi] for death by overwork”.
Founder Charlotte Lockhart said the results were “boringly consistent” in four-day week pilots that the group ran in 20 countries with different political systems, social expectations around work and at different points of economic development, including South Africa, Brazil and Germany.
“Productivity goes up, the ability to attract and retain staff improves, and sick days broadly halve,” said Lockhart. “The benefits become quite material, and this is something that transcends borders.”
