![flextime articles flextime articles](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/da/3f/aa/da3faa82ccdde1a4ee8204a311f7ac3c.png)
When an employee and employer agree on flexible working hours, the employee can extend or reduce the regular daily working hours by a flexible period of maximum three hours (MEEF, 2011). It also specifies that flexible working hours can be agreed on by an employee and employer and that the employee is allowed to determine the beginning and the end of the daily working hours within set limits (MEEF, 2011). In Finland, the Working Hours Act stipulates regular working hours are a maximum of 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week (Ministry of Employment and the Economy, Finland (MEEF), 2011). On the other hand, Ray, Gornick, and Schmitt (2009) indicate that Nordic countries such as Finland and Sweden have childcare-related policies that are very strong both on generosity and on gender equality. Furthermore, one of the most common reasons why female workers leave the workforce after they become pregnant or give birth is that they find it almost impossible to take care of their children due to working hours (MHLW, 2010, p 15). Kobayashi and Usui (2014) indicate that approximately 60 % of female workers quit their jobs due to pregnancy or childbirth and only 27.1 % of mothers go back to the workforce when their first infant is 1 year old. The figures imply that it is difficult for parents to balance work and child care because of working hours.
![flextime articles flextime articles](https://www.wikihow.com/images/e/e5/Work-a-Flextime-Schedule-Step-11.jpg)
Moreover, only 26.8 % of companies have exempted their employees from overtime work (MHLW, 2010, p 14). However, the proportion of companies with a flextime system for parents who need to take care of their children is only 7.8 % (MHLW, 2010, p 14). This revision was significant to promote gender equality in Japanese society in which most men were apt to work overtime at companies. Also, in June 2009, the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law was revised, which emphasised the importance of flexible work styles and short working hours (MHLW, 2010). In addition, in order to adopt a flextime system, companies are required to prescribe in the rules of employment that employees are responsible for deciding their starting and ending time and to prescribe the range of workers who can utilise a flextime system, the length of flextime, and the fixed daily working hours in labour-management agreement (OLB, n.d.). In a flextime system, an employee can determine the start and end time for work if the total working hours for a certain period of a month or shorter meet the stipulation (OLB, n.d.). Through this examination, the Japanese government could enact a law requiring companies to allow both men and women flextime because this new provision would bring benefits to everyone and even companies, regarding equal opportunities, child care, and productivity.Īccording to the Description of Labour Standards Law in Japan, Article 32 indicates that an employer cannot make an employee work for more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week, excluding rest periods (Osaka Labour Bureau, n.d.).
#Flextime articles how to
By examining successful flextime systems in Nordic countries we can learn how to successfully implement them in Japan.
![flextime articles flextime articles](https://www.futurity.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flextime_1170.jpg)
The benefits of introducing a successful flextime system in Japanese society are often overlooked. Given the current situation, it is important for Japanese companies to provide much better working environments. In addition, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW, 2010) indicated that for approximately 35% of female workers the main reason to leave the workforce after pregnancy or around the birth of a child was either the difficulty of balancing work and child, or dismissal or pressure from the employer to leave the workforce. According to the Global Gender Gap Index, which ranks countries according to gender equality, in 2015 Japan ranked 106th out of 145 countries in economic participation and opportunity and 104th in political empowerment (Schwab et al., 2015, p 9). Unfortunately, a significant number of companies are less likely to hire or promote women and do not provide supportive working environments in which parents, both male and female, can have enough time to adequately care for their children. Japan lags behind other developed countries in gender equality in spite of the introduction of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act in 1985 (Estevéz-Abe, 2013).