Land of the long weekend: workers in two Chinese cities told to take Friday afternoon off twice a month
Compulsory arrangements to boost tourism but employees might have to make up the time later
Government employees from two small mainland cities have been told to take two Friday afternoons off each month under a new scheme to boost local tourism.
But the compulsory longer weekends might not mean less time at the office as the afternoons might be deducted from annual leave or employees could be told to make the time up later.
The arrangements started on April 1 and apply to government employees in Jinzhong, Shanxi province, and Jian, Jiangxi province.
But they end on October 31 because the aim of the long weekends is to encourage people to make short-haul trips.
Private businesses enterprises can choose whether to follow suit.
The two cities are among the first to make the weekends mandatory for the public sector. Similar pilot schemes took place last year in Shangrao in Jiangxi and Ningxiang county in Changsha, Hunan province.