Considering Japan has become known for its culture of long working hours, it’s no wonder the introduction of Premium Friday just over a year ago raised a few eyebrows – even beyond nation borders. Initiated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Keidanren (Federation of Economic Organizations) in February 2017, the campaign aimed to kill two birds with one stone: to improve the non-existing work-life balance of the Japanese workforce and boost consumer spending. By encouraging workers to clock out early on the last Friday of every month, the government hoped that people would embrace their new-found, albeit brief, spell of freedom by spending the afternoon shopping and eating out.
However, despite the initial interest, Premium Fridays failed to take hold. When looking at social media conversation volumes, the only considerable spike reflects the buzz generated in the period after the announcement. Although minor peaks occurred each Premium Friday, the overall volume declined throughout the 12-month period.
Aside from the sharing of brands’ Premium Friday coupons and discount offers, most of the conversation discussed the various reasons why the campaign was such a washout.
Where they blame lay: The four main issues
#1: Lack of money
The goal of the campaign was to boost consumer spending, but many people said that, on being granted an early finish from work, they’d rather go home than part with their hard-earned cash on shopping and food.
プレミアムフライデーはお金を持ってる人達が早く退社してお金を使うことに意味がある上流階級のためのキャンペーンで、そもそもお金を持っていない庶民は早く退社しても家に帰るだけでお金を使わないからプレミアムフライデーを導入せずに働かせたほうが得になるという現実に気づいてしまった。
— 小川満鈴✿タワマン民族 (@ogawamina) April 3, 2017
Translation: Premium Friday is a campaign that is only meaningful to the upper-classes who have money to spend when leaving work early. People who don’t have money to begin with, they only leave work early and go home without spending anything. I find that in reality, it would be better to let those people work without introducing Premium Friday.
#2: Employee loyalty
Leaving the office early when you’ve still got a ton of uncompleted tasks is hard for most people, and even more so for workers here in Japan. Some were even quoted to say they were forced by their employer to take Premium Friday against their will, which left them feeling stressed about unfinished work during the weekend.
今週末初めて「プレミアムフライデー」が弊社にて実施されるわけだが、正直仕事が終わりそうにもないので「仕事のことたくさん思い出す土日」になりそうです。
全然プレミアム感なし！！
なんでも効率化！！
「働きやすさ」とは何か！！残業減らせば働きやすさになるのか。
難しいところ。— Shohei (@Shohei_Kohri) February 22, 2017
Translation: This week, Premium Friday will be held for the first time by our company, but to be honest I don’t think I can finish my work which would make me think of work on Saturday and Sunday. No premium feeling at all! They ask for efficiency!! What is a “pleasant working environment”!! Will it be a pleasant working environment if overtime is reduced. This is difficult.
#3: Client comes first
Japan is service-centric nation. We live by the saying ‘the customer is god’. Anything the client asks for becomes our top priority.
市場全体が週休2日が当たり前と理解し、誰も休むことを責めなくなれば週休2日は実現可能。残業無しも実現可能。プレミアムフライデーも実現可能。「休まず働け」というクライアントの圧力と「弊社は働きますから安心ください」という競合の存在が実現を困難にする。
— かえるむ (@caelumst) May 28, 2017
Translation: Having two days off a week is possible if the whole market understands that having two days off is the norm, and if no one blames others for taking days off. Premium Friday is also feasible. The pressure coming from clients “work without rest” attitude and competitors saying “don’t worry, our company works” make it even more difficult.
#4: Lockstep mentality
Growing up, we are taught to do what others are doing. It’s hard to take advantage of Premium Fridays without feeling guilty when our colleagues and friends opt out.
「プレミアムフライデー」が普及しない原因は、「どうせ仕事終わらないし」「どうせ俺らには関係ないし」って言ってる人が多数いることだと思う。みんなが「ヒャホーイ！帰ろ帰ろ」って15時に帰ったら定着するよ。大混乱すると思うけど。 https://t.co/WSFq6SGdPF
— へたうまわかに (@sachiusuwakani) March 3, 2017
Translation: I think that the reason why “Premium Friday” hasn’t become popular is that there are many people saying “I can’t finish my work anyway”, “this has nothing to do with us”. It will be popular if everyone leaves at 3 pm like “Yay!!! Let’s go home”. It may cause absolute chaos though.
According to data released by the Premium Friday Committee, 800 companies had implemented the Premium Fridays benefit a year after its launch. While, given the lukewarm response, this may seem higher than expected, the reality is that even at companies that are seen to support the campaign, Premium Fridays is far from unconditional.
弊社、プレミアムフライデーを推進してる会社だけど、
取りたくても会社行事で潰されるし、今月も翌月のクソ行事とクソ研修で日程圧迫されて取れない。
今月で3ヶ月連続で取れてない。訴訟。— ふぁんどりぃ@△+フレ (@FANDORY_1923) May 25, 2017
Translation: My work place is promoting Premium Friday, but even when I want to use an early leave, it gets crushed by some company event, and I can’t use it this month or next month as I’ll be busy due to event and training. I haven’t been able to use it for three consecutive months. Lawsuit.
Some companies decided not to promote the campaign as they realised that employees would have to stay late on other days to make up for the hours lost on Premium Friday.
ホワイト企業として名高い某社の人とメシ食ったとき、「御社でもプレミアムフライデーやるんですか？」と聞いたら、「いや」。「金曜に早く帰るために他の日の残業が増えちゃったら本末転倒でしょ？ だったら毎日ちゃんと定時に帰れるよう調整した方がいい」と言われて後光で目が潰れそうになった。
— カタールの猫 (@Qatar_Cat) February 25, 2017
Translation: When I had lunch with a person from a famous good-standing company, I asked, “does your company promote Premium Fridays?” and they said no. “If the overtime increases on other days to leave early on Friday, isn’t it like putting the cart before the horse? It would be better to adjust the workload every day to be able to go home on time on a regular basis” they said. I thought I would go blind from their halo.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. There were some positive mentions which, among other things, covered employers doing their outmost to encourage staff members to make use of the initiative, no strings attached.
GW中にいちばん凹んだのは某大企業に勤めてる友人の待遇に関する話を聞いた時で、プレミアムフライデーには3時に上がれる上に会社から一人1万円支給されるらしい。本来のプレミアムフライデーのために尽力する素晴らしい企業だけど、弊社との差に泣いたよ。
— 罪 (@tsumikunn) May 7, 2017
Translation: During Golden Week [Holiday season in May], what got me depressed the most was when I heard about the benefits my friend gets from the big company they work for. They can leave at 3pm on Premium Friday, on top of that the company gives 10,000 yen to each employee. It’s a wonderful firm that works hard for the original idea of Premium Friday, but I cried when comparing it to my own workplace.
This business owner made a public announcement to inform customers that all his employees were leaving early on a Premium Friday.
ASCジャパン株式会社は明日プレミアムフライデー（Premium Friday）を実施いたします。その為16時に全員退社させて頂きます！もちろん、障害・カスタマーサポートは受けつけます。営業やご相談は早めにお願いします。社員一同。https://t.co/JTBVwfq90Q
— takeshi koga 古賀剛 (@DancerKoga) March 30, 2017
Translation: ASC Japan is doing Premium Friday tomorrow. For this reason, we will be leaving the office at 4pm! Of course, we will deal with any issues and customer inquiries. Please contact us early for sales and consultations.
Yet, 12 months post launch, it seems safe to conclude the Premium Friday campaign hasn’t been quite the success METI and Federation of Economic Organisation had hoped for.
But then the ‘Cool Biz‘ initiative, led by the Ministry of the Environment, was anything but an instant hit when it kicked off in 2005. Introduced in a bid to cut down on energy use, the campaign called for limited air con use in offices during the warmer months, which meant men were suddenly allowed to give up on formal jackets and ties in favour of lighter attire to stay comfortable. Work ethics, traditions and norms won’t change overnight. Who knows? Give it a few years and clocking out at 3pm on the last Friday each month might be considered as normal as Cool Biz made chinos in the office on a hot summer’s day.
Should that fail, there’s always the Purple Embarrassment Capes shaming strategy. While unlikely to help the slowdown of economic growth, they reportedly contribute to a healthier work/life balance. Now, which one would you prefer?
