Japan, known for its overwork culture, launched an initiative to reduce working hours in 2021. However, employees are still refusing to work a four-day week. This was reported by Business Insider.

The initiative aims to improve the quality of life of the Japanese and reduce the number of cases of illnesses and even deaths due to overwork. It is reported that such a culture of workaholism does not contribute to, but rather harms the development of the economy in the country.

In January 2023, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that the country was on the verge of collapse due to a drop in the birth rate. People are working so hard that they simply do not have time to meet and start families.

However, the pace of implementation of these changes remains slow. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, only about 8% of companies in the country allow employees to take three or more days off per week.

It’s not just companies – employees are also hesitant. Electronics manufacturer Panasonic, one of Japan’s largest companies, joined the initiative in early 2022. Two years later, only 150 of the 63,000 eligible employees decided to switch to a four-day schedule.

Other large companies that are introducing a four-day workweek include Uniqlo Fast Retailing, electronics giant Hitachi, and financial services company Mizuho. About 85% of employers report that employees take only two days off per week.

To a large extent, the reluctance to take extra time off is due to a culture in which employees put the company before themselves. This dates back to Japan’s postwar era, when, in an effort to stimulate the economy, then-Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida called on large corporations to offer lifetime job security to their employees, with the only requirement being that they return the favor.