vacation
A working person in Japan could spent up to 13 hours a day on the job, sandwiched in between a long commute. This sometimes leads to what they call karoshi, or "death by overwork." So, in an attempt to combat this, the Japanese government is considering implementing a new law that forces workers to take vacations. The new law would make it mandatory to take five days of paid vacation a year.
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In addition to the already long hours, a Japanese philosophy referred to as kaizen, which means continuous improvement, asks that workers eliminate every moment of downtime while on the job. This means no breaks, skipped meals and and overall unhealthy lifestyle.
While five days might not seem like much, it's a step in the right direction toward getting people to realize that there is life outside of work, and how harmful overworking can actually be to your health. Hopefully this will also encourage companies to make employee wellbeing a bigger priority.
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