Several municipalities across Japan are starting to test the waters with a four-day work week in the current fiscal year starting in April, allowing employees to opt for longer work days in exchange for an extra weekday off.
This shift is not limited to employees with parenting or care responsibilities, but is open to all employees as a strategy to attract and retain talent in a changing work environment. The wider acceptance and success of this initiative remains to be seen.
In Ibaraki Prefecture, the optional four-day work week was launched in April, with all prefectural employees eligible except teachers and shift workers. The arrangement is expected to facilitate tasks such as picking up and dropping off the children and taking the parents to the hospital, but also enable employees to develop themselves.
