‘Leaving Just 2 Minutes Early From Office?’ In Japan, It Means Pay Cut! Govt Staffs Punished for Logging Out Few Minutes Before Departure Time

Working at the office is not easy, and it has its own perks and challenges. But when it comes to finishing your work hours, at times, a few minutes’ early arrival or departure is considered common. But no so in Japan! Recent reports made a shocking revelation of the country, noting how Government staffs were penalised with a pay cut for leaving work two minutes early before they were supposed to. The said action was reportedly done to ‘discipline’ several staffers who left early before their departure time. The revelation has made worldwide headlines, with some criticising the government for such strict rules.

Japan often makes the headlines for its rules that the rest of the world finds bizarre. Be it their strict regulations for school-going children to the latest one—punishing employees for leaving two minutes early, it is quite shocking to see how one of the highly-developed countries set unimaginable rules. Several staff members from the Funabashi City Board of Education in Japan were punished with pay cuts for leaving office just two minutes early.

Sankei News reported that authorities found 316 departures that had taken place between May 2019 and January 2021. When asked by officials, the workers said that they punched out two minutes earlier as they wanted to go home early to catch the 5:17 pm bus. If they missed it, they were forced to catch the next bus at 5:47 pm. In some cases, the company had also found that employees had written false claims on their cards to log out early, and a senior female senior employee took the lead. As a punishment, her one-tenth of the salary will be reportedly deducted for the next three months. More Indians Turn Entrepreneurs as Job Market Still Bleak, Says LinkedIn. 

Meanwhile, the company authorities gave two other senior employees a written warning, and four others received strict notices. The Japanese are known for placing a lot of emphasis on punctuality. The news had garnered strong reactions from social media, with users writing, authorities were being unreasonably harsh on employees.

(The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Mar 17, 2021 08:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).