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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107334836-17001387862023-11-16t045757z_657805151_rc24e4ay49fs_rtrmadp_0_apec-usa-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-535493" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107334836-17001387862023-11-16t045757z_657805151_rc24e4ay49fs_rtrmadp_0_apec-usa-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107334836-17001387862023-11-16t045757z_657805151_rc24e4ay49fs_rtrmadp_0_apec-usa-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107334836-17001387862023-11-16t045757z_657805151_rc24e4ay49fs_rtrmadp_0_apec-usa-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107334836-17001387862023-11-16t045757z_657805151_rc24e4ay49fs_rtrmadp_0_apec-usa-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107334836-17001387862023-11-16t045757z_657805151_rc24e4ay49fs_rtrmadp_0_apec-usa-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107334836-17001387862023-11-16t045757z_657805151_rc24e4ay49fs_rtrmadp_0_apec-usa.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING — China aims to stop the property slump, top leaders said Thursday in a readout of a high-level meeting published by state media.



Authorities “must work to halt the real estate market decline and spur a stable recovery,” the readout said in Chinese, translated by CNBC. It also called for “responding to concerns of the masses.”



Chinese President Xi Jinping led Thursday’s meeting of the Politburo, the second-highest circle of power in the ruling Chinese Communist Party, state media said.



The readout said leaders called for strengthening fiscal and monetary policy support, and touched on a swath of issues from employment to the aging population. It did not specify the timeframe or scale of any measures.



“I take the messages from this meeting as a positive step,” Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said in an email to CNBC. “It takes time to formulate a comprehensive fiscal package to address the economic challenges, [and] the meeting took one step in that direction.”



Stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong extended gains after the news to close sharply higher on Thursday. An index of Chinese property stocks in Hong Kong surged by nearly 12%.



Real estate once accounted for more than a quarter of China’s economy. The sector has slumped since Beijing’s crackdown in 2020 on developers’ high levels of debt. But the decline has also cut into local government revenue and household wealth.



China’s broader economic growth has slowed, raising concerns about whether it can reach the full-year GDP target of around 5% without additional stimulus. Just days after the U.S. cut interest rates, the People’s Bank of China on Tuesday announced a slew of planned interest rate cuts and real estate support. Stocks rose, but analysts cautioned the economy still needed fiscal support.



Official data shows real estate’s decline has moderated slightly in recent months. The value of new homes sold fell by 23.6% for the year through August, slightly better than the 24.3% drop year-to-date as of July.



Average home prices fell by 6.8% in August from the prior month on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to Goldman Sachs. That was a modest improvement from a 7.6% decline in July.



“Bottom-out stabilization in the housing market will be a prerequisite for households to take action and break the ‘wait-and-see’ cycle,” Yue Su, principal economist China, at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said in a note. “This suggests that the policy priority is not to boost housing prices to create a wealth effect, but to encourage households to make purchases. This real estate policy is aiming at reducing its drag on the economy.”



Thursday’s meeting called for limiting growth in housing supply, increasing loans for whitelisted projects and reducing the interest on existing mortgages. The People’s Bank of China on Tuesday said forthcoming cuts should lower the mortgage payment burden by 150 billion yuan ($21.37 billion) a year.



While Thursday’s meeting did not provide many details, it is significant for a country where policy directives are increasingly determined at the very top.



The high-level meeting reflects the setting of an “overall policy,” as there previously wasn’t a single meeting to sum up the measures, Bank of China’s chief researcher Zong Liang said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.



He noted how the meeting follows the market’s positive response to the policy announcements earlier in the week. Zong expects Beijing to increase support, noting a shift from focus on stability to taking action.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tempering-growth-expectations"><a></a>Tempering growth expectations</h2>



The meeting readout said China would “work hard to complete” the country’s full-year economic targets.



That’s less aggressive than the Politburo meeting in July, when the readout said China would work to achieve those goals “at all costs,” according to Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research for Greater China at JLL.



That shows policymakers are looking for middle ground between short-term growth and longer-term efforts to address structural issues, he said.



Goldman Sachs and other firms have trimmed their growth forecasts in the last few weeks.



The change in tone about the economic targets signals “the government may tolerate growth below 5%,” the EIU’s Su said. “We estimate real economic growth to be around 4.7% in 2024, before slowing down to 4.5% (a moderate upward revision to our previous forecast).”



“The Politburo meetings on economic deployment usually take place in April, July, and October,” she said.



“The fact that this meeting was held earlier, along with the emphasis on stabilizing growth, reflects policymakers’ concerns about the current economic growth trend.”



Initial analyst reactions to Thursday’s meeting readout were varied.



HSBC said “the tide has turned; be prepared for more proactive initiatives.” Capital Economics, on the other hand, said Beijing’s hint at stimulus did not make it clear whether it would include large-scale fiscal support.



S&amp;P Global Ratings analysts said in a report earlier this year that fiscal stimulus is losing its effectiveness in China and is more of a strategy to buy time for longer-term goals.



Senior officials in the summer told reporters that the economy needed to endure necessary “pain” as it transitioned to one of higher-quality growth with a bigger high-tech industry.



— CNBC’s Sonia Heng contributed to this report.

107334836-17001387862023-11-16t045757z_657805151_rc24e4ay49fs_rtrmadp_0_apec-usa

China’s Xi and top leaders call for halting real estate decline, responding to public concerns

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/101943216-980643681-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-535129" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/101943216-980643681-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/101943216-980643681-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/101943216-980643681-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/101943216-980643681-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/101943216-980643681-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/101943216-980643681.jpg 1858w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



China’s government announced it will offer a one-time cash allowance to those in extreme poverty, a day after its central bank rolled out a slate of stimulus measures aimed at shoring up the economy.



The handout will be provided to “extremely poor people, orphans and other needy people on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of New China,” China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs reported on Wednesday. That’s according to a Google translation. The subsidies will be doled out before China’s National Day on Oct. 1 to “promptly convey the Party and government’s care and concern for the needy.” The report did not specify the size of the allowance or any further details.



“Xi Jinping and the CPC are laser focused on giving a hand to low- and middle-income Chinese through his common prosperity drive … Xi is focused on building equity in poorer regions,” founder of China Market Research Group Shaun Rein told CNBC when asked about the living subsidies.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The concept of common prosperity, initially introduced by Mao Zedong in the 1950s, was reintroduced by the Chinese government in 2021 to promote moderate wealth for everyone.



As of last November, 40.4 million people in China were covered by subsistence allowances. The average allowance was about 779 yuan ($110.80) per person a month for those staying in urban areas, while rural subsistence was 615 yuan per person.



On Tuesday, China’s vice minister of human resources and social security claimed the country has established the world’s largest social security network. He said the number of people enrolled in basic old-age insurance, unemployment insurance and work-related injury insurance has reached 1.07 billion, 245 million, and 301 million, respectively.



While Chinese President Xi Jinping is a proponent of common prosperity, deploying one-time handouts within such a short time frame is still uncommon.&nbsp;



Even during the Covid pandemic, China did not give out cash subsidies to households and enterprises unlike other governments such as the U.S. and Europe, key member of the Chinese central bank Huang Yiping noted in an August article. 



China’s economy has been pummeled by a raft of weak economic data, as more Chinese opt to save rather than spend leading to lackluster consumption and retail sales figures.

101943216-98064368[1]

China offers one-time cash allowance for those in extreme poverty

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="615" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108038698-1727224394854-OpenAI_Voice-820x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-534792" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108038698-1727224394854-OpenAI_Voice-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108038698-1727224394854-OpenAI_Voice-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108038698-1727224394854-OpenAI_Voice-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108038698-1727224394854-OpenAI_Voice-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108038698-1727224394854-OpenAI_Voice-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108038698-1727224394854-OpenAI_Voice-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">OpenAI has launched advanced voice mode for audio chats with ChatGPT. Jordan Novet, CNBC</figcaption></figure>



ChatGPT is ready for more natural audio chats.



OpenAI said Tuesday that its popular chatbot now has an advanced voice feature for people who pay for the premium service. The tool allows for more fluid conversations.



The release will continue through the week. The company said it’s not yet available in EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland or the U.K.



OpenAI announced the new capability in May. The rollout got plenty of publicity because of a voice called Sky that resembled that of Scarlett Johansson in the 2013 movie “Her.” Legal counsel working on behalf of Johansson sent OpenAI letters claiming the company didn’t have the right to use the near-identical voice, and OpenAI paused using it in its products, CNBC reported.



In the months since, people have been able to configure ChatGPT to talk to them in other voices through a free tier. The advanced version responds more quickly and will stop talking and listen if you interrupt it. There are now nine voices to choose from, and you can enter instructions for voice chats in the Customizations part of the app’s settings.



“Hope you think it was worth the wait,” Sam Altman, OpenAI’s co-founder and CEO, wrote in an X post on Tuesday.



It’s an increasingly competitive space for OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft.



For the past couple weeks, Google has been releasing its own Gemini Live voice feature in English on Android devices. And on Monday, Reuters reported that Meta will introduce celebrity voices later this week that can be accessed through Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.



OpenAI got a head start in the generative AI chatbot market, when it launched ChatGPT in late 2022. In August, OpenAI told media outlets that ChatGPT had over 200 million weekly active users.



The advanced mode is only available to those with subscriptions to OpenAI’s Plus, Team or Enterprise plans. The most affordable option is the Plus tier at $20 per month.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-here-s-what-to-do"><a></a>Here’s what to do</h2>



If you’re paying, it’s easy to get started, assuming OpenAI has granted access to your device.



First, make sure you have the latest version of the app on your phone.



Open the ChatGPT app.



OpenAI says you’ll receive a notification in the app once it’s turned on access to the new feature. Hit the continue button to get started.



Create a new chat by swiping right or tapping the two-line icon in the top left corner and selecting ChatGPT at the top. To the right of the “Message” text field and the microphone icon, you should see a sound wave icon. Tap that and make sure your sound is on.



In a few seconds, you’ll hear a little “bump” sound, and the circle in the middle of the screen will morph into a fluid sky-like blue and white animation. Start speaking. You should receive a response quickly. Don’t be surprised if audio breaks up a bit.



OpenAI said it has improved accents in some foreign languages and has increased the speed of conversations. But if you don’t like what you’re hearing, you can ask ChatGPT to speak differently. You can tell it to speed up, for example, or incorporate a Southern accent.



With advanced voice mode, you can have ChatGPT tell you a bedtime story, help you get ready for a job interview or even work on your foreign language skills.



But even if you’re paying, you won’t have unlimited access to advanced voice mode. After using it for about a half hour on Tuesday, I started seeing “15 minutes left” at the bottom of the screen.



OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for details about the time limit.

108038698-1727224394854-OpenAI_Voice

OpenAI just launched advanced voice mode for audio chats with ChatGPT. Here’s how to use it

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<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" data-id="534062" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107394950-1711983152049-gettyimages-1438254100-asgf02927-820x462.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-534062" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107394950-1711983152049-gettyimages-1438254100-asgf02927-820x462.webp 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107394950-1711983152049-gettyimages-1438254100-asgf02927-300x169.webp 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107394950-1711983152049-gettyimages-1438254100-asgf02927-160x90.webp 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107394950-1711983152049-gettyimages-1438254100-asgf02927-768x432.webp 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107394950-1711983152049-gettyimages-1438254100-asgf02927.webp 1480w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
</figure>



Some young people are splashing out on luxuries like travel and designer clothes instead of saving, in a trend that’s being characterized as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/29/americans-are-doom-spending-heres-why-thats-a-problem.html">“doom spending”</a>&nbsp;on social media.



Doom spending is when a person&nbsp;<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/a-funny-bone-to-pick/202312/27-of-americans-are-doom-spending-due-to-stress" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mindlessly shops</a>&nbsp;to self-soothe because they feel pessimistic about the economy and their future, according to Psychology Today.



The practice is both “unhealthy and fatalistic,” Ylva Baeckström, a senior lecturer in finance at King’s Business School and a former banker, told CNBC Make It.



It’s happening because young people are chronically online and feel like they’re constantly receiving “bad news,” she said. “It makes them feel like Armageddon.”



These young people are then translating these bad feelings into bad spending habits, Baeckström added.



In fact, 96% of Americans are concerned about the current state of the economy and more than a quarter are doom spending to deal with the stress, an Intuit Credit Karma survey of over 1,000 Americans found in November 2023.



And the phenomenon is not exclusive to America.



Stefania Troncoso Fernández, a 28-year-old publicist based in Colombia who lives with her parents, told CNBC Make It that she’s a recovered doom spender, but that high levels of inflation and political uncertainty make it very difficult to rationalize saving money.



“I know for a fact that food [costs] are getting higher and higher every day, and in my house we can’t afford to eat the same way we did maybe a year ago because things are getting more expensive,” Fernández said.



Two years ago, Fernández said she was spending carelessly on clothes and travel despite the fact that she was earning less money than she does now. It was largely because she felt like she couldn’t afford to buy a house.



“We used to have this program by the government that would lend us money to invest in real estate and at a really low rate, but with the change of government, that is not available for us anymore so we will need to pay more,” she said.



And Fernández said she’s not alone in doom spending. “It’s not just me. It’s something that is happening within my circle.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-first-generation-that-s-going-to-be-poorer"><a></a>‘First generation that’s going to be poorer’</h2>



Only 36.5% of adults globally feel like they’re doing better than their parents financially while 42.8% think they’re actually worse off than their parents, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/03/survey-adults-say-theyre-doing-worse-financially-than-their-parents.html">CNBC’s International Your Money Financial Security Survey</a>, conducted by Survey Monkey which questioned 4,342 adults globally.



“The generation growing up now is the first generation that’s going to be poorer than its parents for a very long time,” Baeckström said. “There’s that feeling that you might never be able to achieve what your parents achieved.”



As a result, doom spending creates the illusion of control in what feels like an out-of-control world, according to Baeckström.



“But what happens really, is that it gives you less control in the future, because if you save that money instead and invest it and do all of those things, you might actually be able to buy a house,” she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-sense-of-trying-to-escape"><a></a>‘The sense of trying to escape’</h2>



Daivik Goel, a 25-year-old startup founder living in Silicon Valley, said he was a doom spender when he worked as a product manager at a biotech startup.



The habit originated from a sense of dissatisfaction with his work as well as peer pressure, he said. “It’s just all the sense of trying to escape.”



Goel, who used to spend lavishly on designer clothes, the latest technology products and going out for drinks, says doom spending is very common in Silicon Valley.



He said people will buy two of three brand-new cars, “and the reason why is because they realize that saving up for a house is going to take a very long time &#8230; so they will spend on other different items instead.”



San Francisco has some of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/11/us-cities-most-million-dollar-homes.html">highest property prices in the U.S.</a>, according to a 2023 analysis by real estate website Point2. It found that 62% of properties listed in San Francisco cost over $1 million. &nbsp;



Goel says that since starting his fintech company Intrepid in 2023, his doom spending habit has “completely gone” because he’s found happiness in his work. “My whole mindset shifted.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-get-to-know-your-relationship-with-money"><a></a>Get to know your relationship with money</h2>



Finance lecturer Baeckström stressed the importance of understanding your relationship with money if you want to overcome doom spending.



She said a relationship with money is like a relationship with people: it starts during childhood and sees people form different types of attachments.



“If you feel like you have a secure attachment with money, you can make a sound evaluation of something. You gather knowledge and you can evaluate [it] &#8230; But if you are insecure, or if you’re avoidant, then you’re more likely to get lured into this unhealthy spending behavior.”



These attitudes stem from a person’s upbringing: whether they were rich or poor, for example, how their family managed money, and who controlled it, Baeckström said.



Fernández said part of the reason she had felt compelled to doom spend was a lack of financial literacy. She said her dad grew up poor and nobody had ever encouraged her to save.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-increase-the-pain-of-paying"><a></a>‘Increase the pain of paying’</h2>



Making a transaction more visceral and difficult can make people think twice about doom spending, Samantha Rosenberg, co-founder and COO of Belong, a wealth-building platform, told CNBC Make It.



Rosenberg explained that online shopping aggravates the doom spending issue, but looking at items in-person may prevent impulse purchases.



“The extra decision points like choosing the store, traveling there, evaluating the item in the flesh, and then having to stand in line to buy it will help you slow down and think more critically about your purchases,” she said.



Additionally setting up mobile banking notifications creates an “extra pinch of pain” when you see the transaction authorizations coming through.



Rosenberg also recommended maybe going back to using cash. Seamless payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay “increase the risk of mindless spending,” she said, because it’s so quick and easy. &nbsp;



“They bypass the emotion associated with the purchasing decision process. They also eliminate the pain of handing over money,” Rosenberg said. You have to “increase the pain of paying,” she added.

107394950-1711983152049-gettyimages-1438254100-asgf02927

Gen Z and millennials are increasingly ‘doom spending.’ Here’s what it is and how to stop it

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/JAPAN-820x462.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-533991" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/JAPAN-820x462.webp 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/JAPAN-300x169.webp 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/JAPAN-160x90.webp 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/JAPAN-768x432.webp 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/JAPAN.webp 1480w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An office worker studying electronic diagrams on a computer at control-panel maker in Japan. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Japan has ramped up its push for companies to adopt a four-day workweek, but those efforts face steep challenges in a country famous for its workaholic culture.



The Japanese government recently&nbsp;<a href="https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/shiga-roudoukyoku/hourei_seido_tetsuzuki/_119416/consultant.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">initiated a “work style reform” campaign</a>&nbsp;aimed at promoting flexible work arrangements, shorter hours and overtime limits. To further encourage this initiative, the labor ministry has also begun&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000120692.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">providing subsidies</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/shiga-roudoukyoku/hourei_seido_tetsuzuki/hatarkikata-kaikaku.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">free consulting services</a>.&nbsp;



The move marks a more concerted effort after the government first floated support for a shorter workweek in 2021 when lawmakers endorsed the idea. But the concept has not been mandated, and has been slow to gain traction.



“The reasons Japanese work long hours are cultural and social; those things don’t change quickly,” said&nbsp;Tim Craig, who spent over&nbsp;<a href="https://blueskyacademic.net/welcome-to-bluesky/about-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">20 years teaching and conducting research&nbsp;</a>in top business schools in Japan.



According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.e-stat.go.jp/en/stat-search/files?page=1&amp;amp;query=week&amp;amp;layout=dataset&amp;amp;toukei=00200531&amp;amp;tstat=000000110001&amp;amp;tclass1=000001215302&amp;amp;stat_infid=000040169039&amp;amp;metadata=1&amp;amp;data=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">only about 8% of companies</a>&nbsp;in Japan permit employees to take three or more days off each week.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
If they go home early, then their colleagues will (a) look askance at them, and (b) have to work more to cover for them.



Tim Craig &#8211; Founder of BlueSky Academic Services
</blockquote>



Craig, who also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.sg/Cool-Japan-Cultural-Creative-Industries/dp/4990982215" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote a book on Japanese popular and traditional culture</a>, explained that the Japanese place a high premium on work because they tend to view it as a “positive part of life,” but social pressure also plays a role.



“If they go home early, then their colleagues will (a) look askance at them, and (b) have to work more to cover for them. Either way, it’s not a good feeling,” Craig elaborated.&nbsp;



The workplace is also where most Japanese have most of their social interactions, where employees are often willing to stay around longer to help the team and attend long company dinners, observed Martin Schulz, chief policy economist at Fujitsu.



“Being part of a company is almost part of a community, and this results often in longer work hours, not as efficient work hours,” he told CNBC.



Last October, the health ministry&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/wp/hakusyo/karoushi/23/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published its annual white paper</a>&nbsp;addressing Japan’s excessively long working hours and their connection to depression and karoshi, or death from overwork. In 2022, 2,968 people in Japan died by suicide attributed to karoshi, an increase from 1,935 in 2021. Japan has not released its white paper for 2023′s statistics yet.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
I think that it’s going to take time [for the four-day workweek] to penetrate… we’re not used to being flexible.



Hiroshi Ono &#8211; Professor at Hitotsubashi University
</blockquote>



The report highlighted that 10.1% of men and 4.2% of women work over 60 hours a week, linking these long hours to the incidence of karoshi.



“I think that it’s going to take time [for the four-day work week] to penetrate… we’re not used to being flexible,” said Hiroshi Ono, professor of human resources at Hitotsubashi University.



“It’s still pretty rare in other countries as well. So I think that Japan especially will take some time to do that,” he added.



The small number of companies implementing a four-day workweek are also generally not traditional Japanese companies, Ono also observed,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/four-day-week-work-life-balance-trial/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">citing the example of Microsoft Japan</a>.&nbsp;



“So for the traditional Japanese companies, it might even take longer,” he said.



One of Japan’s largest companies,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/6752.T-JP/">Panasonic</a>, rolled out the four-day workweek option for employees in 2022, but&nbsp;<a href="https://4dayweek.io/country/japan" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">only about 150 of 63,000 eligible workers</a>&nbsp;opted in.&nbsp;



Brokerage firm&nbsp;<a href="https://work-holiday.mhlw.go.jp/detail/11010.html#:~:text=%E9%80%B1%EF%BC%94%E6%97%A5%E5%8B%A4%E5%8B%99%E3%81%AE,%E9%81%B8%E6%8A%9E%E3%81%A7%E3%81%8D%E3%82%8B%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%E3%80%82" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SMBC has also offered employees a four-day workweek</a>&nbsp;option since 2020. But it has limited eligibility to workers aged 40 years or older for either family care or “autonomous career development.” The option is also only available from the fourth year of employment.&nbsp;



While the adoption rates are slim, the initiative is not all moot.



“The overall flexibility helps, definitely,” said Fujitsu’s Schulz, adding that the government has been pushing companies harder on work-life balance such that endless overtime hours are not allowed anymore.&nbsp;



Additionally, experts told CNBC that the concept of karoshi is not a phenomenon unique to Japan. In 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.arbetarskydd.se/arbetsmiljo-stress/over-770-svenskar-dor-av-stress-varje-ar/1486737" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more than 770 workers reportedly died due to work stress in Sweden</a>.



“The only thing that’s unique to Japan is that the ministry actually collects data on karoshi,” said Ono.

An office worker studying electronic diagrams on a computer at control-panel maker in Japan. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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