JAPAN TODAY

 

At its core, Pokemon is a video game series about obsessive dedication. “Gotta catch ‘em all” isn’t a command so much as a perfectly natural rendering of the inner monologue of the series’ biggest fans.

That said, Game Freak, the company that develops the Pokemon games (Nintendo is just the publisher), realizes that while aspiring Pokemon Masters may have a singular objective in mind, people in the real world have multiple things they need to do, and work is just one of them.

So to increase workplace flexibility, starting this month Game Freak is giving employees the option of a four-day workweek.

The new program was created for workers who have a young child (elementary school age or younger) or other family member who needs living assistance, such as an ill spouse or elderly relative.

Game Freak employees with such a person in their lives can now opt to take an additional day off each week to provide care for that family member.

Employees opting for three days off a week won’t be required to make up the missed hours on their four working days, as their workload will be reduced from 40 to 32 hours per week.

That reduction comes with a proportionate 20-percent base salary reduction, but employees will be allowed to switch between a five or four-day schedule on a monthly basis, allowing them to scale back or ramp up their working hours on a short-term basis to fit their at-home situation.

Game Freak has also already implemented optional staggered start times, telework programs, and use of paid time off in one-hour increments in an effort to improve work style flexibility and employee work-life balance.