Why Japan wants its citizens to try a 4-day workweek

The government launched a ‘work style reform’ campaign that promotes shorter hours and other flexible arrangements along with overtime limits and paid annual leave. Japan, a nation so hardworking its language has a term for literally working oneself to death, is trying to address a worrisome labor shortage by coaxing more people and companies to adopt four-day workweeks.The Japanese government first expressed support for a shorter working week in 2021, after lawmakers endorsed the idea. The concept has been slow to catch on, however; about 8% of companies in Japan allow employees to take three or more days off per week, while 7% give their workers the legally mandated one day off, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare.Hoping to produce more takers, especially among small and medium-size businesses, the government launched a “work style reform” campaign that promotes shorter hours and other flexible arrangements along with overtime limits and paid annual leave. The labor ministry recently started offering free consulting, grants, and a growing library of success stories as further motivation.“By realizing a society in which workers can choose from a variety of working styles based on their circumstances, we aim to create a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution and enable each and every worker to have a better outlook for the future,” states a ministry website about the hatarakikata kaikaku campaign, which translates to “innovating how we work.”The... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2024-09-02 14:15:57 UTC ]
News tagged with: #four-day workweek #gained traction #three-day-schedule option #nationalities surveyed #recent survey #global average #investing passion #filling jobs #women comprise #scheduling patterns #ns group #alternative schedule #asserting individual #free overtime #manga

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Summersdale buys An Apple a Day

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 25/07/2011 - 15:44 Summersdale has bought world rights to a book about anorexia by Emma Woolf, the writer of the Sunday Times column An Apple a Day. Commissioning editor Jennifer Barclay bought the rights from Sarah Such of Sarah Such Literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary agency


Brent libraries judicial review: day two

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 09:18 Brent council's plan to close six of its 12 libraries was made "with great care and expressed attention to the 1964 Act" and other relevant legislation, the High Court heard yesterday (20th July). The council had faced... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #judicial review #great care #opening day


Brent libraries judicial review: day one

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 20/07/2011 - 09:10 Brent council failed to comply with its legal obligations under the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act when planning the closure of six of its libraries, the High Court was told on the first day of the judicial review... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #high court #museums act #full range


Fathers Day fails to boost June book sales - BRC

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 12/07/2011 - 09:37 Widespread offers and Fathers Day failed to affect book sales falling in June compared to 2010, according to the British Retail Consortium. Figures out today show total sales in the UK were up 1.5% last month in comparison to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #e-book readers #fathers day #year-earlier level #june compared


WHS sales drop 4% like-for-like

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 07/07/2011 - 09:02 WH Smith’s like-for-like sales have dropped 4%, but the bookseller remains "confident" about its final year results, it said today. In the 18 weeks to 2nd July, WHS total group sales decreased by 1% and like-for-like sales... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Donaldson backs National Library Day

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 10/06/2011 - 14:53 The newly crowned children's laureate Julia Donaldson has given her support for National Libraries Day, the new initiative set to carry on the success of last February's Save Our Libraries Day. Donaldson said: "Hooray for... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #author events #book clubs #wonderful things #libraries day


Radio 4 lines up Grossman adaptation

Publication Date: Fri, 27/05/2011 - 14:21 BBC Radio 4 is to broadcast an eight-hour dramatisation of Russian author Vasily Grossman’s epic novel Life and Fate from 18th-24th September. Kenneth Branagh is to star in the adaptation, which will take over every drama slot on the station apart from... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Support for National Libraries Day

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 26/05/2011 - 15:50 An annual National Libraries Day looks set to become a reality after widespread support for the scheme at an early planning meeting held this morning (26th May). read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael O'Mara prescribes An Aspirin a Day

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 14:44 Michael O’Mara has acquired a title about the health benefits of aspirin written by a former GP. MOM commissioning editor Kate Moore acquired world rights in An Aspirin A Day by Dr Keith Souter from Souter’s agent Isabel... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #creative authors #health benefits


World Book Day titles to revert to single books

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 09:05 Jacqueline Wilson and Roald Dahl are among the high-profile authors selected for the 2012 £1 World Book Day books, which will revert to the single-book format for the first time in four years. The teen WBD titles will also go... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld claims first day Madeleine sales of 40,000

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 13:05 Transworld is reporting first day sales of at least 40,000 copies of Madeleine by Kate McCann, about the infamous disappearance of her daughter from their holiday apartment in Portugal four years ago. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paul Jowdy Named Vice President, Publisher of Every Day With Rachael Ray

Paul Jowdy, formerly vice president and publisher at Conde Nast’s Details and Details.com, is now vice president and publisher of Every Day with Rachael Ray. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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National Libraries Day could become a 'week of events'

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 20/04/2011 - 07:27 A first planning meeting is to be held to establish a National Libraries Day, after widespread support for the idea from organisations including the Booksellers Association, the National Union of Teachers, Booktrust, The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publicist by Day, Poet by Night

Melissa Broder, Penguin Group publicity manager, who works on titles from the Berkley, NAL, Riverhead, and Perigee imprints, just signed a contract for her own second book, Meat Heart. The books she works on for Penguin are mostly women's fiction and nonfiction, but her own books are poetry.... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Americans drive "vibrant" first day of LBF

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 09:10 Optimism from across the Atlantic was evident during the opening day of the fair, as UK publishers fret over the effect of digital on physical sales. Agent Luigi Bonomi said the more advanced ebook market in the US was... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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LBF Day 1: rights round-up

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 11/04/2011 - 16:10 A flurry of rights deals have been announced at this year's London Book Fair, with a Condoleeza Rice memoir and four Paullina Simons novels in the works. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Daily Will Release Subscriber Numbers Some Day That's Not Today [MediaMemo]

News Corp.'s Daily tablet newspaper had a high-profile launch in February, but didn't start charging customers until two weeks ago. So how's it selling? "We're happy with where we are," publisher Greg Clayman told the Ad Age Digital conference today. What about that study showing a marked... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales soar in Mother's Day week

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 05/04/2011 - 15:57 Substantial pre-orders and a plethora of half-price offers have lead Jean M Auel's sixth and final Earth's Children installment, The Land of Painted Caves (Hodder), to be the bestselling book in the UK last week, scoring 39,513... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S and Templar among Bologna day one dealmakers

Written By: Caroline Horn and Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 28/03/2011 - 16:07 Simon and Schuster UK and Templar have announced deals on the first day of the Bologna Book Fair, as Walker Books reveals a new digital partnership. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital partnership #schuster uk #caroline horn


Indiebound in Mother's Day push

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 18/03/2011 - 16:25 Posters reminding book buyers that "Mum's The Word" are being made available for indie retailers to encourage Mother's Day sales. The Booksellers Association has produced a series of designs, which can be downloaded and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers association #day sales #indie retailers