In recent years, job-seekers increasingly prioritize work hours or days off in choosing companies. The labor ministry’s report, “General Survey on Working Conditions for 2024” (hereinafter, “the Survey,”) offers data about companies’ weekly and annual holidays. The information is helpful for employers to compare their companies’ status with average levels. This article focuses on the situations of weekly holidays and the number of annual holidays.
[1] Weekly holiday system
The report shows 90.9% of the surveyed companies adopted “some kind of five-day workweek system” in 2024, increasing from 85.4% in 2023. The percentage of companies using “a system with two full days off per week” grew from 53.3% in 2023 to 56.7%. The result indicates that firms are reviewing their weekly holiday system as part of measures to secure workers.
Furthermore, 1.6% of the companies said they adopt “some kind of four-day workweek system.”
[2] Average number of annual holidays
The average number of annual holidays was 112.1 in 2024, up 1.4 days from 110.7 in 2023. The trend over the past 10 years from 2024 shows the number of annual holidays is generally on the increase, except for 2021 when the coronavirus pandemic caused various social confusions.
(graph)
[3] Work interval system
The Survey shows 5.7% of the companies have introduced a work interval system. The average length of interval was 10 hours 40 minutes. With the labor ministry clarified its policy to promote work interval systems in the report of the “report of the study group of laws related to labor standards,” law amendments are likely to be made in the near future.
As worker shortage makes hiring increasingly difficult, the trend among companies to increase the number of days off will continue. The Survey report will be helpful for companies considering changes in their holiday system.
[Reference]
The Labour Ministry, “Overview of the result of General Survey on Working Conditions for 2024”
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/itiran/roudou/jikan/syurou/24/index.html
