Japan was famous for its marathon work days. Toyota may be the first major company to reduce the workweek to four days

Working fewer hours to be more productiveThis theory was successfully applied by Henry Ford in 1926, when he established the five-day work week (instead of six) and eight hours a day. The result: fewer repetitive motion injuries, less employee turnover and greater productivity.

A debate that has been on the table for decades and that It’s hot in Spain now and in countries with such rigid work culture as Japan. In fact Toyota is considering implementing a four-day work week.

Avoiding burnout syndrome, or the “Karoshi” effect

As detailed Autonews EuropeToyota and its Japanese union are in talks to reduce workers’ working hours amid a companywide review of labor practices after the world’s largest carmaker hit record sales and production levels in 2023.

The aim, according to a spokesperson for the Japanese firm, is to “develop systems and mechanisms to improve the working environment, with the aim of creating a workplace where everyone can feel a sense of growth.” All of this so that the brand can become a mobility company within a decade.

If the talks come to a successful conclusion could be implemented by the end of this yearbut perhaps with alternative formulas to the four-day work week around the flexible schedule system that exists in the company. “The overwork brought with it unexpected setbacks: employees were overworked, suppliers were overburdened and Toyota and its subsidiaries were involved in embarrassing quality problems,” details the newspaper.

What he is referring to is the recent scandal affecting the Japanese automotive industry: Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha are being investigated by the Japanese Ministry of Transport after Toyota raised the hare: all have admitted to having submitted erroneous or manipulated data when applying for vehicle homologation, including safety tests.

The truth is that Japan has a suicide rate which is well above the world average, and one of the causes is work. So much so that they have coined their own term: “karoshi” or death from overworkIt has been a social phenomenon since the late 1980s, when statistics began to be compiled, and it includes suicides but also deaths due to physical overload, and here heart attacks play a decisive role.

“Karoshi” is not exclusive to Japan: it is already present throughout the world and is fueled by the idea of ​​pretending to work long hours in front of the computer even though we are being unproductive. What we commonly know as warming the chair.