While India considers 90-hour workweeks, Japan is leading the way with a four-day workweek to solve its own labor crisis. It was SN Subrahmanyan, Larsen & Toubro Chairman, who initiated the controversy in India. He said workers must work 90 hours a week, including Sunday. This comment invited severe criticism, with several wondering how it would affect work-life balance and workers' health. Industry leaders and public figures emphasized the quality of work above the mere quantity, calling for concerns over stagnant wages, inflation, and economic growth.
Conversely, Japan is adopting a four-day week from April 2025 as part of its 'work style reform' drive. It seeks to fight labor shortages and low birth rates by providing more time for employees' family life, hoping to spur higher birth rates. The government has introduced short-hours promotion programs, flexible work arrangements, and limits on working overtime, in addition to offering consulting and financial aid to companies.
Even with such attempts, uptake has been minimal. Only a paltry 8 percent of Japanese firms provide a four-day week, and company loyalty-based long-hour work cultures are very deeply rooted. For example, Panasonic has so far seen just 150 out of 63,000 suitable workers take up the four-day workweek.
While Japan's strategy is only in its initial stages, it indicates a profound shift towards emphasizing employee welfare and family life. India's ongoing debate, however, highlights the difficulty of balancing economic pressures with the necessity for sustainable work practices.
