第2318期:Japan Considers Four-day Work Weeks(2)

Government reports expect that, at the current rate, the working age population will drop by 40 percent to 45 million by 2065. 

政府报告预计，按照目前的速度，到 2065 年，劳动年龄人口将减少 40%，达到 4500 万。 

Supporters of the three-days-off model say it helps people remain in the workforce longer. It would give them more time to raise children and care for older relatives. For retirees living on retirement pensions, it would provide additional income. 

三天休假模式的支持者表示，这有助于人们在工作岗位上停留更长时间。 这将使他们有更多时间抚养孩子和照顾年长的亲戚。 对于依靠退休金生活的退休人员来说，这将提供额外的收入。

Akiko Yokohama works at Spelldata, a technology company that lets employees work a four-day work week. She takes Wednesdays off along with Saturdays and Sundays. The extra day off allows her to get her hair done, go to other appointments or go shopping. 

Akiko Yokohama 在 Spelldata 工作，这是一家允许员工每周工作四天的技术公司。 她周三以及周六和周日都休息。 额外的一天休息让她可以做头发、去参加其他约会或去购物。 

Her husband works in real estate. He also gets Wednesdays off but works weekends, which is common in his industry. Yokohama said that it lets her and her husband go on midweek family outings with their elementary-school age child. 

她的丈夫从事房地产工作。 他周三休息，但周末工作，这在他的行业中很常见。 横滨说，这让她和她的丈夫可以带着小学年龄的孩子在周中进行家庭郊游。 

But there are signs of change. A few companies, including Uniqlo, Ricoh and Hitachi have begun offering a four-day workweek. 

但有变化的迹象。 包括优衣库、理光和日立在内的一些公司已经开始提供每周四天的工作制。 

A recent Gallup public opinion study measured employee engagement. Gallup said Japan has among the least engaged workers of all nationalities it has studied. Only six percent of the Japanese who answered described themselves as engaged at work compared to the worldwide average of 23 percent. 

盖洛普最近的一项民意研究衡量了员工敬业度。 盖洛普表示，在其研究的所有国家中，日本工人是敬业度最低的国家之一。 只有 6% 的日本受访者表示自己工作积极，而全球平均水平为 23%。 

That means relatively few Japanese workers felt happy and highly involved in their workplace. Most were putting in their hours without investing passion or energy. 

这意味着相对较少的日本工人感到快乐并高度参与工作场所。 大多数人只是投入了时间，却没有投入热情或精力。

Kanako Ogino is president of Tokyo-based NS Group. She thinks offering flexible hours is needed for filling jobs in the service industry, where women are most of the work force. The company offers 30 different scheduling patterns, including a four-day workweek, but also taking long periods off in between work. 

荻野佳奈子 (Kanako Ogino) 是东京 NS 集团的总裁。 她认为，服务行业需要提供灵活的工作时间来填补职位空缺，而服务行业的劳动力中女性占大多数。 该公司提供 30 种不同的日程安排模式，包括每周工作四天，而且还提供工作间隙的长时间休息。 

To ensure none of the NS Group's workers feel out of place for choosing a different schedule, Ogino asks each of her 4,000 employees twice a year how they want to work. Voicing your own needs is disapproved in Japan, where you are expected to sacrifice for the common good. 

为了确保 NS 集团的员工不会因选择不同的时间表而感到不自在，荻野每年两次询问 4,000 名员工的每一位员工希望如何工作。 在日本，表达自己的需求是不被允许的，在那里你应该为了共同利益而做出牺牲。 

"The view in Japan was: You are cool the more hours you work, putting in free overtime," Ogino said with a laugh. "But there is no dream in such a life."

“日本的观点是：工作时间越长，免费加班就越酷，”荻野笑着说。 “但这样的生活是没有梦想的。”