Hitachi joins four-day workweek drive in Japan

With the pandemic heralding a change in working arrangements and schedules, more companies in Japan are introducing four-day workweeks.

Hitachi is joining other Japanese firms and global businesses to move in this direction, allowing workers to change and organise their schedules so they can choose to work only four days a week. 

Under the company’s flexible working arrangement, employees can choose to work 9-10 hours between Monday and Thursday, instead of the current daily requirement of 7 hours and 45 minutes, in return for a day off on Friday. They can also choose to work longer hours in the first half of the month and take some time off at the end of the month.

“If we have more flexibility regarding where and when we work, we can improve productivity,” said Hidenobu Nakahata, Hitachi senior vice president and executive officer, according to Nikkei Asia. 

READ: More companies implementing 4-day workweek in Japan

Besides Hitachi, NEC is also planning to introduce a four-day workweek by the end of the current fiscal year for 20,000 of its employees as a trial run. Panasonic Holdings also plans to pilot a four-day workweek at its holdings company and some of its subsidiaries in this fiscal year.