While some large companies in Japan have announced plans to transition to a four-day week, in accordance with the government's recommendations, this new model for work organisation is struggling to gain a foothold in practice. In particular, the model is having to contend with the tradition of long hours in the office and the habit of working overtime, which are strongly rooted in Japanese culture.
In April, Japanese electronics giant Hitachi announced plans to offer staff the opportunity to work only four days per week, without any reduction in pay, thereby following in the footsteps of competitor Panasonic, which did likewise in January (see article n°12856). Initially this measure will only apply to 15,000 Hitachi employees and, notably, the reduction in the number of days should be compensated with an increase in working hours on the days when they are present. The large Japanese comp
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