This retiring August , all Microsoft Japan employees participated in the “ piece of work - Life Choice Challenge Summer 2019 , ” during which they conducted all meetings in 30 minutes or less , supplant face - to - face conversation with virtual 1 whenever possible , and — most significantly — didn’t piece of work on five consecutive Fridays .
According toBloomberg , the switch to a four - day work workweek resulted in a 40 percent increase in sales per employee , and 92 percent of workers liked the unretentive work week .
Though the advance in productivity and staff morale may have been the most notable benefits from the program , they were n’t the only ones . Microsoft Japan also report a 23 pct decrease in electrical energy usage and a 59 percent decrement in pages printed .
Bloomberg explicate that Japan has some of the longest working hour in the world , part becauselow birth ratesare make a labor movement dearth . The pressure to work extra time has become so permeative in Japan that workers even mint a condition for “ death by overwork,“karoshi . unluckily , it ’s not hyperbole — according toBusiness Insider , employees have died of nitty-gritty failure , strokes , or suicide ruled to be induce bykaroshi .
To combat the current civilization , Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been advocating for an overtime reduction and a better work - liveliness remainder . Based on the issue of Microsoft ’s initiative , there ’s Bob Hope that the standards can be changed without sacrificing embodied output .
Microsoft Japan is planning to host a exchangeable platform this winter , but the company wo n’t mandate sure days as pay time off . Instead , it ’ll just encourage employee to take vacation day on their own .
Though your employer might not necessarily be organizing program to help you accomplish a better work - life sentence counterbalance , there are definitely improvements you’re able to make on your own — check out eight tipshere .
[ h / tBloomberg ]
