I know several shroushi (certified social insurance labor consultant)s. They all say the number of requests from their clients to reform shugyo-kisoku (labor contracts) has been soaring in the last few years.
Their clients assert that maximum period of leave of absence (normally set at 2 years in the conventional shugyo-kisoku) is too long and that period of keeping depressed employees in the leave of absence must be as short as a few months.
So the content of the article matches my “windchill factor” at least.