Remote work increases happiness levels among employees in Japan

Japanese workers who work remotely at least once per week are happier than their office counterparts, a government survey has found.

On a scale of one to 10, those who reported to the office daily rated their happiness level as an average of 6.2 (men) and 6.4 (women). This increased to an average of 6.6 and 6.8 respectively for those who worked remotely once per week. For employees who worked remotely two to three times per week, employees of both sexes rated their happiness level at 6.7.

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The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare attributed the rise in happiness levels to reduced stress from commuting to the workplace, the ability to spend more time with their families, and increased sleep, reported Sora News.

The report also found that there is an increase in the number of mental illnesses cases diagnosed among workers, which are linked directly to work-related stress. The number of such diagnosed cases is now at 629, which is the highest ever recorded and almost double from that a decade ago.