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Panasonic is introducing an optional four-day work week:
Panasonic is reportedly introducing an optional four-day work week for employees, allowing its workers to spend less time working and more time actually enjoying being alive. It's one more small push toward a better world where shorter working weeks are the norm.
Announced during an investor briefing on Friday, Panasonic will offer its workers a third day off per week, with Panasonic CEO Kusumi Yuki noting they may opt to further their studies, volunteer, or even work a side job. Last year, Japan's annual economic policy guidelines revealed the country would encourage employers to adopt four-day work weeks.
"We must support the wellbeing of our employees," said Kusumi, as reported by Nikkei Asia.
Hoping to facilitate better work-life balance in its workforce, the electronics manufacturer is also increasing flexibility by allowing more employees to work from home, and giving them the freedom to turn down job transfers that require them to move. It isn't clear whether these new policies will apply to all employees globally, nor whether hours or compensation will be adjusted to offset workers' reduced days.
Would you prefer a 4 day working week?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DavePolaschek on Thursday January 13 2022, @01:12PM (1 child)
Ditto. Before I retired, work was often 5 ten (or twelve) hour days. If working 4 tens had been available, I might still be working (though with COVID out there, being retired has meant we can just hunker down at home and avoid getting infected, which is nice). But yes, ten hour days are long. Frequently I would show up prepare for an early meeting (because coworkers in India), have that meeting, then fuck around for a couple hours before co-workers in California showed up for the day. And then I’d have to stick around for a meeting with the California people at the end of their day (I was located in MN, so waiting for a meeting that began at 5pm California time was especially brutal).
Towards the end, when I was interacting more with people in India (training my replacements), and only managers in CA, I just stopped attending the late meetings and it made a huge difference. But it was too late and I was mentally on my way out the door already at that point; no way I wasn’t going to retire / quit. And I had proposed working 4 days and had my immediate manager’s support on that, but those farther up the chain decided they would rather have zero days from me than allowing me to work four days per week, possibly showing other people that a less punitive schedule was possible.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 13 2022, @03:20PM
The punitive part was expecting you to do those India AND California meetings.