A few years ago, on a business trip to Japan, while walking on the streets of Tokyo, I saw the windows of offices still brightly lit, with people working busily, even though it was almost 9 p.m. When I asked the tour guide, who had been in Japan for many years, I received the answer: “That’s how Japanese people work, here few people leave early according to company regulations. They feel guilty towards their colleagues, guilty towards the company when they return while everyone is still working. Therefore, many people, even though they have finished their work, do not dare to leave early, waiting for everyone to go home together.”
The Japanese attitude of working without time and full of sacrifice for decades has created a working style and Japan has succeeded from this working awareness.
The Miyagi Prefecture government in northeastern Japan has announced plans to expand the four-day workweek option to all employees from fiscal 2026, the first initiative of its kind in the northeastern region of Japan. Currently, employees in Miyagi Prefecture work a standard 38 hours and 45 minutes per week, with shifts of 7 hours and 45 minutes from Monday to Friday. Under the new plan, employees will be allowed to make up for four days of work to have a three-day weekend, subject to approval from their supervisor. Previously, this option was only available to those with childcare or elderly care responsibilities, but the new plan will make it available to all public administration employees in Miyagi.
“I want people to see Miyagi Prefecture as a unique workplace that has evolved over time and is an attractive place to work,” Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai told reporters.
Have the Japanese changed? In Vietnam, especially in companies and private enterprises, the habit of “reluctant to go home early” has begun to form for two reasons. First, they are afraid of traffic jams, and second, they are afraid that colleagues and bosses will judge them for being unprofessional and lacking effort in their work.
Someone said: "It's true, even though the work is over and it's time for the company to let me go home, when everyone is still staying to work, I don't dare to go home because I'm afraid of being judged and especially I feel that my colleagues' looks at me when I leave early are not sympathetic." That obsession also has a good thing: it motivates everyone to participate in the work. However, if you have had an effective and productive day at work, going home early is necessary to take care of your family, enjoy your hobbies, and life. Moreover, going home early will save the company money on electricity, water, air conditioning, etc.
The issue is productivity and efficiency, not the obsession with leaving work earlier than your colleagues every day.
