The Premium Friday campaign kicked off in Japan today, where the government is urging employees to leave the office early every last Friday of the month to tackle the workaholic culture and boost the economy.
“We hope this will encourage people to rest and to leave the office earlier,” an ANA spokeswoman told Japan Times. “Participation by the government and companies is needed to push forward reforms (in the working culture),” she added.
A survey of 155 companies showed that 45 percent had no plans to implement the scheme, however, 37 percent companies surveyed by the Nikkei newspaper said they will be joining the new government campaign.
The major companies taking part include SoftBank Group (TYO:9984), Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TYO:8058), Sumitomo Corp. (TYO:8053), and Shimizu Corp (TYO:1803).
The Premium Friday campaign is part of a push to end excessive working hours, following the suicide by an employee of ad agency Dentsu that was ruled to be a “death by overwork”, highlighting Japan’s problems with intense working culture. In the wake of the incident, Dentsu has announced new measures such as switching off the office lights between 10pm and 5am.
To promote the campaign, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left the office early for a Zen meditation session at a Tokyo temple at 3:30 p.m
The campaign is expected to boost the country’s consumption by up to 63.5bn yen (£445m) a year. Some experts have warned that cutting down on overtime could lower wages and suppress consumer spending.
Last month, Internet company Yahoo Japan Corp said that it was considering reducing the number of working days to four-a-week by 2020.
“By giving employees more freedom on how to work, we’re hoping that employees choose a style that lets them perform at their best so that we boost productivity,” a company spokeswoman said.