Part-timers too deserve a work-life balance

All working people need to strike a good balance between work and personal life. The idea is a recent concept in Japan, leading pundits to create the acronym WLB - work-life balance - to describe it. WLB is an especially hot topic among corporate management, labor unions and government officials.

In December 2007, the government adopted its WLB Charter. This aims at a society where people (1) can reach financial independence through employment; (2) have enough private time to lead healthy and affluent lives; and (3) choose from diverse working and living styles.

The charter also set up numerical targets, including a national percentage of telecommuters - people who work from home via networked computers - and for workers taking child-care leave.