Survey of Tokyo Companies Show Employees Returning to Office

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, February 8, 2023

Company workers in Tokyo have been increasingly returning to work in the office rather than teleworking, according to a recent survey of companies located in the capital’s 23 wards.

Of the companies surveyed, 49% said that over 80% of their employees were working in the office in 2022, up from last year’s figure of 36%.

The survey, conducted by Mori Building Co. to assess office demand, also found that 24% of companies intended to rent new office space, the same as the previous year. Of these, 49% said they plan to expand their space, an increase of nine percentage points. 30% said they were planning to reduce the size, a fall of five points.

Asked for reasons to rent new offices, with multiple responses allowed, the highest number at 29% cited the spaces were either in a good location or low rent, followed by 27% who said they rented to cope with work-style changes, such as introducing a free-seating system that allows employees to choose their working area.

Shinji Takeda of Mori’s Office Business Department said, “Offices are being built to accommodate new work styles,” such as with online conferencing in mind.

The survey was conducted last October, and received replies from 1,677 of the 10,000 companies contacted.