Remote working in Japan falls in July amid telework fatigue

The proportion of people in Japan who are teleworking in July fell from that of April’s, showed a survey by the Japan Productivity Centre.

Many workers are finding their work productivity plummet amid a wave of telework fatigue, despite the government’s calls for employees to work from home under Japan’s latest COVID-19 state of emergency, it said, according to The Japan Times.

The proportion of staff who worked remotely at least some of the time over a recent week stood at 20.4%, compared to 19.2% in April, showed the survey, which polled 1,100 workers on July 5 and 6.

The proportion of people working completely remotely in a recent week in July stood at 11.6%, down from 18.5% in April, and is the lowest since the survey began in May 2020. 

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Among workers who practiced remote working, the proportion of those who reported to office for three or four days in a week stood at 34.4%, up from 28.4% in April. Meanwhile, workers who went to the office at least five days a week rose to 23.3%, from 20.4% in April. 

Some 13.4% of respondents who worked remotely also said that their work efficiency deteriorated, an increase from 8.3% in April.