Apr 18 (Japan Times) - Major Japanese advertising agency Dentsu Inc. will introduce a uniform monthly day off on a trial basis from June, aiming to improve productivity by allowing more private time for its workers.
The entire company will basically halt operations on one day every month to December under the “input holiday†system, it said on Monday.
The system is outside the statutory-based paid holidays, with the input holiday set on a Wednesday or Friday of the second or third week of the seven months, according to Dentsu. The seven holidays are June 8, July 11, Aug. 8, Sept. 21, Oct. 10, Nov. 9 and Dec. 12, the company said.
Dentsu has informed its clients of the holiday schedule. The company will let employees who have to work on any of these holidays take a substitute day off within the same month.
“Employees are encouraged to take in ‘input’ that is considered to have a positive influence on their ‘output,’ including doing something beneficial for their health or spending time on self-development,†the company said.
In addition, Dentsu will introduce a health self-check system in July. Employees will answer a health-related question that will be displayed on the screens of their office personal computers when they first log in every work day.
The system will help them check their fitness by accumulating their answers.
Dentsu is moving forward with work environment reforms following the overwork-induced suicide of a first-year female employee in 2015.
