International News from World: Microsoft Japan trialed a radical idea in a country known for overwork: to work less. And it found that four-day days, along with other changes, boosted sales and reduced costs.
The US IT giant’s Japanese division shut its offices every Friday in August, giving special leave to all 2,300 full-time workers. It also restricted meetings to up to 30 minutes, promoting online chats as an alternative to face-to-face interactions.
The number of participants at meetings was limited to a five, and workers were also encouraged to use online communication instead of emails, it said.
The results were positive, with sales per employee rising almost 40 percent in August from a year earlier, electricity consumption down by a quarter and paper usage being cut in half.
The firm said the trial showed “employees want to have a variety of ways of working” and that adopting the model more broadly could boost efficiency.
It plans to launch a similar programme this winter — but won’t offer special leave. Instead, employees will be encouraged to use their existing holiday days, it said.
The programme comes as Japan’s government pushes for more “flexible work styles,” urging businesses to accept telecommuting, different part-time schedules, and off-peak commuting.
The effort is part of an attempt to address the issue of “karoshi” — death from overwork — and to encourage overworked and overburdened couples to have children in a country that is struggling with a shrinking population.
