Japan’s biggest and most austere banking group, Mitsubishi UFJ, is telling its staff to knock off early. In a round-robin e-mail for its employees, the bank said the national birthrate is low, so let’s all enjoy “family time”.
“The company is constantly telling us to do things, but I think this is the first time the corporate agenda has made its way to the bedroom,” a woman, who works on the bank’s Tokyo trading floor, was quoted as saying by The Times on Thursday.
“I’m not sure how many more babies will be conceived this week, but the bar next door to the headquarters should do well,” she added.
The management’s idea, the woman said, seemed to be that by getting everyone out of the office by 5.10 pm, rather than the 7 pm that most staff were used to, couples would be reunited earlier after work.
At only 1.3 per cent in 2007, Japan’s fertility rate is among the lowest in the world.
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