General News

Poll: Only 15％ of Japan Firms Have Work-From-Home Policies

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
A company employee works from home in Tachikawa, Tokyo.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:33 JST, August 11, 2023

Companies implementing work-from-home policies fell in July to 15.5%, a significant drop compared to a peak of 31.5% in May 2020 during the pandemic, according to a survey by the Japan Productivity Center.

“The attitudes of employees have been changing since COVID-19 was downgraded to Category V under the Infectious Diseases Law,” said an official at the center.

According to the survey, which was conducted on July 10 and 11, the percentage of companies that have implemented work-from-home policies dropped by 1.3 percentage points compared to the previous survey conducted in January.

The decline was particularly drastic among large companies. The July figure showed that 22.7% of large firms have work-from-home policies in place, down 11.3 percentage points compared to the previous survey.

Meanwhile, more than 80% of respondents who work from home said they were satisfied with their situation.

The center has conducted 13 similar surveys since May 2020. The online poll surveyed 1,100 workers aged 20 or older.