A day less work for the same wage – a pipe dream? Not quite: In Japan, Microsoft has launched this summer, the experiment of a 4-day week. About 2300 employees were five times free on Friday and continued to receive the same wage.
“Work in shorter time, take a break and learn well,” was the motto of Microsoft Japan CEO Takuya Hirano. With financial incentives, employees were encouraged to use the time gained for training and leisure activities.
The result after five weeks: Not only increased employee satisfaction, productivity also increased in this time. The staff limited their meetings to a maximum of 30 minutes, and used more technical possibilities such as telephone conferences. At the same time, electricity costs dropped by a fifth, and it was almost printed out 60 percent fewer pages. 92 percent of the employees indicated that they enjoyed the 4-day week.
Various models to be tested
An original claim, the Experiment have improved the work productivity by 40 percent, and moved back to Microsoft Japan, however. This had international catered for particularly a lot of attention. The tech giant refers to the fact that this result is due to a number of factors and not only on the 4-day week.
Japan is known for its long hours of work and countless Overtime is known. For death by Overwork, there is on the island of their very own word: Karoshi. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is working on a Reform of the labour market – so far without success. Recently, companies have been called for more flexible work options.
Microsoft is currently considering whether the Experiment should be repeated in Japan in the coming Winter. This should then run under the Motto “eat smart” – without an additional Friday.
The 40-hour week has become obsolete Long work days sick, and robots take over Jobs: A historian calls for a radical transformation of the work.
(aru)
Created: 13.11.2019, 18:38 PM
