At least half the Don Quijote shopping experience is desperately needing to sit down after stumbling through the multi-floor maze. Imagine how the employees must feel.

The passage of time is also elusive within the walls of the company's flashy Asakusa Branch in Tokyo's Taito Ward, but something is different.

In late May, a line of a dozen tourists, baskets full of spoils, snaked out from the second-floor duty-free counter.

What stood out as this familiar scene progressed was a cashier sitting down for a breather after finishing ringing up customers. Meanwhile, other clerks opted to stay seated while bagging purchases.

"Just being able to sit down for a while makes me feel much better mentally and physically, leading to better customer service," an employee said.

It's been less than two months since the option to sit was first introduced at this location in early April; the intent was to reduce the burden on workers and prevent turnover.

The employee in her 40s has spent most of her eight-hour shifts standing. Repeat that five days a week for five years and it’s no wonder she deals with back and toe pain on top of having to stretch at home.

Even with cushioned floor mats intended to ease fatigue and foot pain, employee complaints persisted about having to stand for up to eight hours.

The branch introduced chairs on a trial basis at its tax-free counters and is considering expanding them to other areas.

“Employees are happy with the chairs and there’s no complaints from customers,” said manager Akio Hanai. “We need to improve the working environment to retain workers, especially considering the current tight labor market.”

The discount giant, which operates more than 600 stores nationwide, was conducting trials at 11 locations primarily in the Tokyo and Nagoya regions as of May.  

CROSS-INDUSTRY CAMPAIGN

Don Quijote is among a growing number of retailers participating in a campaign to allow employees in customer-facing roles to sit on the job.

On March 28, Mynavi Corp. launched the “Suwatte Iissu” initiative via its Mynavi Baito site that exclusively posts part-time positions. The campaign's name roughly translates to “take a seat” and is a pun that mashes “it’s OK to sit” and “chair” into one phrase.

While the concept may sound silly, the company echoes Hanai’s point that retaining employees is vital. According to the campaign’s site, one hope is this also leads to more job opportunities for disabled, pregnant and elderly individuals.

Mynavi, which oversees various services for job seekers and employers, conducted a survey in March prior to the campaign’s launch. It consisted of 300 employees and 300 workers from the retail and hospitality industries.

The survey found that 44.3 percent of higher-ups either don't allow their employees to sit on the job, or their employees default to standing despite a lack of company policy. Of those who require workers to stand, 33.8 percent said this was to avoid creating a negative impression on customers.

This contrasts sharply with the 23.3 percent of employers who allowed their workers to sit as needed.

Meanwhile, 65 percent of workers wanted to sit at work and 19.7 percent had quit a job due to the physical strain of continually being on their feet.

Cue the project’s specifically designed seat.

Mynavi worked with chair manufacturer Sankei Corp. on the tangerine chair that appears to be a middle ground between tired workers and hesitant bosses.

Without a backrest, it’s more of an angled stool better suited for perching than sprawling. At 40 centimeters wide and a max height of 75 cm, it’s designed to be compact and adjustable.

Around 100 have been sent to 35 locations spanning six businesses as of May. These include drug store chain Tomod’s Inc. and shoe retailer ABC-Mart Inc.

Overall, more than 120 retailers and restaurants have contacted Mynavi about the project, the company said.

The sentiment of allowing workers to rest is spreading beyond Mynavi’s project. Saitama-based supermarket chain operator Belc Co. began offering chairs at three of its stores in December 2023.

Inspired by a similar practice at a major U.S. supermarket chain, Belc took the step to improve employee comfort. The company wants to expand this and offer chairs to more staff.

TAKING IT TO THE TOP

Workers are also standing up for their right to sit down.

Kaede Motegi, 22, a senior at Bunkyo University, has worked part time at a Saitama supermarket for the past three years; he never realized how demanding three- to four-hour shifts at the register could be on his feet and back.

A couple of years ago, Motegi joined a labor union for working students across various industries and, with its help, began negotiating with his employer to provide chairs.

Motegi's advocacy resonated with others and resulted in him collecting an impressive 22,000 signatures in an online petition.

Faced with Motegi's petition and growing worker support, his employer agreed to a trial program that offered chairs in select outlets for a month and a half, starting in September 2023.

However, the trial wasn't adopted as a permanent policy after 30 percent of employees opposed the plan.

Facing the limitations of individual negotiations, Motegi and his fellow union members submitted a request to the labor ministry in May.

Ministerial regulations stipulate that businesses provide chairs when employees have a chance to sit as they work, but they do not detail what types of jobs this applies to.

The students urged the ministry to clarify how the current guidelines regarding seating for workers should be interpreted and requested it determine specific jobs and situations that require employers to provide seating.

In response, the ministry will conduct interviews with retail industry groups to learn more about the working conditions of employees who stand for long periods.

In countries such as Britain, Germany and South Korea, it is common for cashiers to have stools at their registers.

"I want to challenge this norm in Japan to improve the working environment for retail workers," said Motegi.