CNN and multiple other news agencies around the world have reported that Microsoft introduced a program this summer in Japan called the "Work Life Choice Challenge." Microsoft shut down its offices every Friday in August. Managers also urged staff to cut down on the time spent in meetings, suggesting that these last no longer than 30 minutes.
The results were a bit counterintuitive as productivity, which is measured by sales per employee, rose by almost 40% compared to the same period the previous year. According to Microsoft, the effects were felt across the company. More than 90% of its 2,280 employees in Japan later said they were impacted by the new measures. By shutting down earlier each week, the company was also able to save on other resources, such as electricity.
The initiative comes at a time when Japan is grappling with a grim, and sometimes fatal, culture of overwork. The problem is so severe that there is even a term for it: karoshi means death by overwork from stress-induced illnesses or severe depression.
Microsoft says it plans to ask employees to come up with further measures to improve work-life balance and efficiency, and will also ask other companies to join the initiative.