Extra long weekends for Japanese workers

The Japanese government is mulling over plans to enact “Shining Monday” – where once a month, workers will get to have a lie-in on Monday morning, and only clock in after lunch.

If it goes through, the scheme will be voluntary for companies to participate in.

The proposal has been put forth by the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry as part of a governmental bid to alleviate Japan’s issue with over-working.

The country has been plagued by the rampant occurence of “karoshi” (death by overworking) over the last few years.

Only last year, Japan launched “Premium Friday”, where workers were able to leave the office early on the last Friday of every month.

However, a governmental study this year suggested that Premium Friday was a failure – with just 11.2% surveyed taking advantage of the scheme, despite most people being aware of it.

Some have suggested that Premium Friday’s failure is related to its timing at the end of the month – when Japanese companies are frequently under pressure to meet targets and deadlines.