Uniqlo employees may soon be making a lot more weekend plans.
Around 10,000 full-time employees in Uniqlo's Japan stores will be allowed to work four 10-hour days in exchange for a three-day weekend, parent company Fast Retailing confirmed to Bloomberg.
The trial program, which is being offered to roughly a fifth of the Japanese retail giant's workforce, is aimed at boosting employee retention. The company told Bloomberg that too many of its in-store workers downgrade to part-time, in order to spend time with families or care for their elderly parents.
If the trial proves successful, the company will consider expanding the shorter week to workers at its headquarters and across more stores. Fast Retailing also owns clothing brands Theory and J Brand.
Japan's work weeks tend to be more punishing than other developed countries, according to data compiled by the Japanese government. About 22% of the country's employees spend more than 49 hours per week at work, compared with 16% in the U.S. and 11% in France and Germany.
About 43% of U.S. companies -- most of them smaller startups -- offer three-day weekends, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. But the perk is usually reserved for select groups, usually consisting of white-collar employees. Only 10% of those companies let all employees take a shortened schedule.
Uniqlo has come under fire in the past for the working conditions in its Chinese factories, revealed in detail in journalist Masuo Yokota's 2011 book The Glory and Disgrace of Uniqlo. Yokata also claimed that some store managers in Japan were overworked.
The book prompted an internal investigation; the company vowed to ensure "appropriate working conditions." Uniqlo also tried to sue the book's publisher, but was unsuccessful.