在以加班和过劳死闻名的日本，微软今年8月在当地尝试了一周4天工作制，最近该公司发布了试验阶段性结果：虽然工作时间下降，但生产力却提高了40%。真是别人家的公司呀~
Microsoft tried a 4-day workweek in Japan. Productivity jumped 40%
微软日本尝试一周四天工作制，生产力提高40%
A growing number of smaller companies are adopting a four-day workweek. Now the results of a recent trial at Microsoft (MSFT) suggest it could work even for the biggest businesses.
越来越多的小企业开始采用每周四天工作制。而微软最近的尝试结果表明这项制度对大企业来说也是可行的。
The company introduced a program this summer in Japan called the "Work Life Choice Challenge," which shut down its offices every Friday in August and gave all employees an extra day off each week.
微软今年夏天在日本引入了一个名为“工作生活抉择挑战”的项目，规定该公司在8月份时每周五不用上班，给所有员工每周多一天的休息。
The results were promising: While the amount of time spent at work was cut dramatically, productivity — measured by sales per employee — went up by almost 40% compared to the same period the previous year, the company said in a statement last week.
根据该公司上周发布的声明来看，结果还是很令人满意的：虽然每周工作时长明显降低，但按人均销售额计算的生产效率却与去年同期相比增长了将近40%
In addition to reducing working hours, managers urged staff to cut down on the time they spent in meetings and responding to emails.
They suggested that meetings should last no longer than 30 minutes. Employees were also encouraged to cut down on meetings altogether by using an online messaging app (Microsoft's, of course).
除了减少工时，经理们还要求员工降低花在开会及回复邮件上的时间。他们建议会议市场不得超过30分钟。此外，还鼓励员工使用即时通讯应用来代替会议（当然使用微软自家的应用）。
The effects were widespread. More than 90% of Microsoft's 2,280 employees in Japan later said they were impacted by the new measures, according to the company.
这项决定的影响是广泛的。根据公司透露，微软日本的2280名员工中有超过90%的人认为他们受到了新决定的影响。
By shutting down earlier each week, the company was also able to save on other resources, such as electricity.
每周提前停止工作，该公司还能够节约其它成本，例如电费。
The initiative is timely. Japan has long grappled with a grim — and in some cases, fatal — culture of overwork. The problem is so severe, the country has even coined a term for it: karoshi means death by overwork from stress-induced illnesses or severe depression.
这个倡议可以说是一场及时雨，因为日本一直以来都试图与其残酷甚至是致命的加班文化斗争。这个问题严重到该国甚至发明了一个新词——过劳死，意思是因为加班压力引起的疾病或抑郁导致的死亡。
The issue attracted international attention in 2015, when an employee at Japanese advertising giant Dentsu died by suicide on Christmas Day. Tokyo officials later said that the staffer had worked excessive amounts of overtime.
2015年，日本广告界巨头Dentsu电通集团一名员工在圣诞节选择自杀，也让这个问题引起了国际关注。东京的官员之后宣称这名员工生前曾有大量的加班记录。
Two years later, a reporter at a Japanese broadcaster died after working punishing long hours. Her employer said she had clocked in 159 hours of overtime the month before her death.
两年后，日本的一名播音员也在长时间精疲力竭的工作后死亡。她的雇主说她死前那个月加班了159个小时。
That has led businesses to start searching for solutions. Some companies have begun offering employees more flexibility, and the government has launched a campaign called "Premium Friday," which encourages workers to leave early every last Friday of the month.
这些事件让商界开始寻找解决方案。一些公司开始给予员工更多自由度，政府也启动了一项名为“超值星期五”的宣传活动，鼓励员工们在每个月的最后一个星期五提前下班。
Microsoft, for its part, says it will conduct another experiment in Japan later this year. It plans to ask employees to come up with new measures to improve work-life balance and efficiency, and will also ask other companies to join the initiative.
微软则说他们今年会在日本启动另一项试验。该公司计划要求员工提出改善工作生活平衡以及提高工作效率的措施，也建议其它公司一起加入这项行动来。
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