35 of 47 Prefectural govt’s using teleworking

February 16, 2018

Tokyo- Teleworking is used at 35 of Japan's 47 prefectural governments, a Jiji Press survey showed Thursday.

The survey result suggests that many prefectures view teleworking as a flexible working system at a time when debates on work style reforms are going on in Japan, including at the Diet, the country's parliament.

The survey, conducted in November-December last year, asked the prefectural governments whether they have introduced any of the three types of teleworking--homeworking, working at satellite offices and working with mobile devices at places away from their workplaces.

Valid responses came from all 47 prefectures.

The survey found that four prefectures--Kanagawa, Hyogo, Hiroshima and Saga--have introduced all three types and that 31 others have adopted at least one of the three fully or on a trial basis.

Teleworking at satellite offices has been introduced by 24 prefectures, teleworking with mobile devices by 23 and homeworking by 18.

Many prefectures said that they decided to introduce teleworking to improve operational efficiency and help employees reduce their burdens of child-rearing and nursing care and shorten their commute times.

As challenges, some prefectures cited the need to ensure appropriate labor management or change the mindset of managerial employees for the promotion of teleworking.

"Administrative bodies have more constraints than private companies in introducing teleworking," said Tokyo Institute of Technology Prof. Kunihiko Higa, who researches teleworking as an organizational strategy.

"I'm surprised that the number of prefectural governments with teleworking is higher than I thought although it has so far firmly taken root at only a few prefectures," he added. Jiji Press