The four-day workweek is gaining momentum, with the government promoting it for businesses. A recent survey found that 51% of people support the idea. Microsoft Japan adopted the four-day week and saw a 40% increase in sales activity, along with significant savings in electricity and paper consumption. However, challenges remain, particularly in service industries where customer demands must be met, and in public services such as nursing and teaching. Businesses should consider the benefits and

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So here at YourBigPic, one of the Wicked Challenges that we've been talking about revolves around finance, and the one that we are discussing today is the four-day week. What are the economics or the momentum of the four-day week? It's in the news again, and the government is talking about how they are going to promote this for more businesses. So what we are doing is trying to let you know whether or not this is going to significantly help your business.

Now, a recent survey done by the Government tells us that 51% of people are now in favor of us having a four-day week. In fact, Microsoft Japan has had a Friday holiday since 2019. So, I wonder how that has been going. When they adopted it, Microsoft Japan had some new measures. They significantly spent less time on meetings, and they also used online platforms for collaboration. Obviously, with the increase in the use of Zoom and Teams, and of course, with the COVID pandemic having been over the last two years, this will have helped Microsoft Japan to adopt this way of conducting their business.

So, how has that worked out for them? Well, the result is that as a company, their sales activity was up by 40%. Something that a lot of companies don't take into consideration is the impact on the environment. I remember doing an ROI for a company in the Middle East way back in 2005, and I included energy consumption, electricity consumption, and the printing of documents as part of the ROI. They were quite stunned to see it, but this company, Microsoft Japan, found out that their electricity consumption was down by 23% as a result of the four-day week. The printing of documents was down by 59%, a significant saving on both accounts for the business.

However, there are still some challenges, and one of the challenges that we have in this country, of course, is in service industries where it is required for the customers' demands to continue to be met, and in public services like nursing and teaching. What approach are you going to take to keep them satisfied with the new approach? These are some of the challenges.

So, here is YourBigPic's call to action. How can we help you with a four-day week discussion? Let us know what you think of the points that we've passed over to you today. We'll be delighted to hear from you.