‘True balance’: Japan’s quiet telework revolution
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far from home for his job at Japanese conglomerate Hitachi, father of two
Tsutomu Kojima was “really lonely” until he began working remotely during the
pandemic for the first time.
Covid-19 has upended
office routines worldwide, but in Japan — where punishing hours and reliance on
paper files, ink stamps and fax machines has long been the norm — some say the
shake-up was sorely needed.
Pre-pandemic, just nine
percent of the Japanese workforce had ever teleworked, compared with 32 per
cent in the United States and 22 percent in Germany, according to Tokyo-based
consultancy firm Nomura Research Institute.
But a quiet revolution in
the country’s rigid business culture is underway, with firms working to
digitise operations and offer more flexibility to staff who were once expected
to stay late, go drinking with the boss and accept far-flung transfers.
Kojima used to live alone
in accommodation provided by Hitachi near Tokyo, an hour and a half by bullet
train from his family in Nagoya.
Back then he would return
only twice a month, but now the 44-year-old works exclusively from home, and
says he is more productive and closer to his teenage daughters.
“I have more time to help
them with their studies. My youngest told me she hopes things stay like this,”
he told AFP.
“I used to feel really
lonely” in Tokyo, Kojima said, but he has since realised that “true balance
means not giving up on family”.
Old habits
Nearly a third of jobs in
Japan were done remotely during the first Covid wave in spring 2020, the Japan
Productivity Centre says, even though the government never imposed strict
stay-at-home orders.
The rate has since fallen
to 20 percent, but that is still far higher than before the pandemic, according
to quarterly surveys by the non-profit organisation.
To encourage telework, the
government and some companies made efforts to phase out personalised ink
stamps used to certify documents, as well as the ubiquitous fax machine.
Often in Japan, “business
has to be done in person, on paper”, habits dating back to the 1970s and 80s,
when the Japanese economy was booming, said Hiroshi Ono, a professor at
Hitotsubashi University specialising in human resources.
“One of the things Covid
has done is bring those barriers down: work doesn’t have to be done at the
office, men can work at home,” he told AFP.
Companies are realising
that new ways of working can be more efficient, he added.
“Before Covid, it was so
important for employees to show that they’re working hard, instead of actually
producing results.”
New balance
Reflecting trends
elsewhere, people are also fleeing the big city.
A record number of company
headquarters moved out of Tokyo last year, according to Teikoku Databank, while
the capital’s population decreased for the first time in 26 years.
Among those who have upped
sticks are Kazuki and Shizuka Kimura, who left their cramped Tokyo apartment
for a custom-built house near the sea.
The couple now mostly do
their jobs in communication and marketing remotely from Fujisawa, southwest of
the capital, having struggled to both work from home in Tokyo.
“It was really Covid that
made us take this decision,” said Kazuki Kimura, who used to seek out other
places to do meetings — at his parents’ home or in cafes, remote-work boxes
set up in train stations, and even karaoke booths.
“Sometimes you could hear
singing from the booth next door,” which made it difficult to concentrate,
recalls the 33-year-old, who is now learning to surf.
Shizuka Kimura, 29, thinks
“more and more people are now prioritising their wellbeing, rather than their
job”, but questions how quickly things will change on a wider scale.
This is a concern shared
by Hiromi Murata, an expert at Recruit Works Institute, who says smaller
companies may be slower to adapt to new work styles than big firms like
Hitachi, Panasonic or telecoms giant NTT.
Remote work can also pose
a problem for training new recruits, because “you learn on the job”, Murata
said.
“Before, it was so
important to meet in the office… each business must find a new balance, in
their own way and time.”
SOURCE: AFP
Kazuki Kimura works in his house in
Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, in June. PHOTO: AFP
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