More NTT employees to be allowed to work remotely

In a strategic move that the Japanese telecommunications group says will serve to attract talented employees, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) has now allowed 43,000 employees to work from home, up 50% from 2022.

Akira Shimada. President and CEO of NTT, told Nikkei Asia, “We will expand remote work in principle and do away with restrictions on where to work.”

NTT’s remote work programme started in July 2022 for 29,000 of the organisation’s 180,000 employees and has expanded to cover 43,000 employees as of April 2023. There are plans to allow more employees to work remotely, NTT revealed.

“From the perspective of hiring talent, remote work is a plus,” Shimada said. In a survey of 75,000 NTT employees who have worked remotely, 35% reported being more productive while only 8% say their productivity declined.

However, remote work has not been without its challenges for NTT. These include the inability to strengthen team building, as well as training and communication. To navigate these challenges, NTT is continuing to examine strategies around the adoption of hybrid work policies, Shimada added.

READ: Why organisations should not dismiss Gen Zs’ desire for remote work

There have also been challenges faced because of remote work, including team building, as well as training and communication, leading NTT to examine the creation and adoption of more effective hybrid work policies, Shimada added.