日本政府计划推广每周4天工作制，让员工自行选择每周休息三天还是两天，方便员工照顾家庭，改善工作和生活之间的平衡。对此专家们纷纷表达了自己的担忧。

 

Japan's government plans to encourage firms to let their employees choose to work four days a week instead of five, aiming to improve the balance between work and life for people who have family care responsibilities or need more time off to acquire new skills.

日本政府计划鼓励企业让员工选择每周工作四天，目的是为那些有家庭护理责任或需要更多业余时间来学习新技能的人改善工作和生活之间的平衡。

 

The government included the promotion¹ of an optional four-day workweek in its annual economic policy guideline finalized² Friday by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's cabinet.

日本政府在上周五（6月18日）由首相菅义伟的内阁敲定的年度经济政策指导方针中将推广选择性的每周四天工作制包括在内。

 

Experts are divided, however, on whether the new initiative, intended to address challenges posed by the country's labor³ shortage, will be widely accepted, with labor and management both voicing concerns about possible unwanted outcomes.

虽然这项新举措意在解决日本面临的劳动力短缺挑战，但是劳资双方均对该举措可能导致的后果表示担忧，因此，专家对该举措能否被广泛接受也存在分歧。

 

For employers, while people working four days a week may become more motivated, this may not improve their productivity enough to compensate⁴ for the lost workday. Employees, meanwhile, fear pay cuts.

对于雇主来说，虽然每周工作四天会让员工更有动力，但由此提高的生产力可能不足以弥补失去的工作日。与此同时，员工也担心降薪。

 

Among expected advantages are helping⁵ people with family-care responsibilities avoid the need to quit their jobs, promotion of recurrent education, and helping more people take on side jobs, the government said.

日本政府指出，预期好处包括让有家庭护理责任的人可以免于辞职，促进员工再教育，也可以帮助更多的人从事兼职。

 

The coronavirus pandemic has helped the idea of a four-day workweek gain traction⁶ as the health crisis causes people to spend more time at home.

疫情危机导致人们有更多的时间待在家里，因此每周四天工作制的想法也越来越受欢迎。

 

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party said working fewer days is expected to promote "diversified⁷ working styles" and prompt workers with new skills to move to growing industries such as IT.

日本执政的自民党表示，减少工作天数有望促进“多样化的工作方式”，并促使有新技能的员工转入信息技术等增长行业。

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