Japan's government plans to encourage firms to let their employees choose to work four days a week instead of five to improve work and life balance for those with family care responsibilities or for those who need more time off to acquire new skills, reports Kyodo News. The government included the promotion of an optional four-day work-week in its annual economic policy guideline finalised today by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's Cabinet. Experts are divided, however, on whether the new initiative, intended to address challenges posed by the country's labor shortage, will be widely accepted, with labour and management both voicing concerns about possible unwanted outcomes.

The policy could provide a boost in demand for contingent talent including temporary workers.

For employers, while people working four days a week may become more motivated, this may not improve their productivity enough to compensate for the lost workday. Employees, meanwhile, fear pay cuts. Meanwhile, Hisashi Yamada, vice chairman of think tank Japan Research Institute, said he does not expect a four-day work-week to rapidly spread in Japan even with the government pushing it because it would complicate personnel management and evaluation. Takuya Hoshino, an economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, says simply introducing a four-day workweek may not necessarily encourage employees to use their time off in a way that benefits their careers or contributes to the economy.