Remember the survey conducted last year that showed that the Japanese have the least amount of sex in the world? Well, the government decided that 12-hour work days have a lot to do with it—so much, in fact, that companies like Canon are encouraging employees to go home early to procreate. Canon made it company-wide policy for its workers to go home early twice a week to make babies at the encouragement of Keidanren, a corporate group including 1300 companies. The birthrate in Japan is 1.34, way lower than what's needed to sustain population numbers:
The 5:30 p.m. lights-out program is one simple step toward helping address the population problem. It also has an added benefit: Amid the global economic downturn the company can slash overtime across the board twice a week.
Link (Thanks, Jess!)
I Seriously doubt Cannon was concerned about the birthrate, as this could have been implemented long ago. It's simply a spin for cutting costs, but better to go home early twice a week and people keep their jobs.
Posted by: vagrant | January 28, 2009 at 11:49 AM