RIEB Discussion Paper Series No.2024-02

Title

Backgrounds and Effectiveness of Remote Work during the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan

Abstract

The proliferation of remote work in Japan rapidly advanced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines the tendencies of workers to use remote work and how implementation of remote work affects psychological and behavioral outcomes during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzing responses from over 3,000 participants in a survey revealed that many factors, such as employers' COVID-19 response, workers' proficiency with online tools, and job autonomy, encouraged workers' implementation of remote work. Subsequently, the number of remote work days during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a reduction in working hours of workers but did not significantly impact psychological or behavioral outcomes such as perception of isolation, work engagement, or the creation of change. These outcomes are more positively influenced by employers' continuous COVID-19 response based on long-term business prospects, job autonomy, clarity of roles and outcomes, workers' hope self-confidence, self-efficacy, employability, and personal network. The effectiveness of remote work is enhanced by employers' continuous COVID-19 responses based on long-term business prospects, but can be diminished by deficiencies at the place of residence in terms of online communication devices, workspace and furniture.

Keywords

COVID-19; Remote work; Working hours; Work environment; Individual characteristics

Inquiries

Ikutaro ENATSU
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration,
Kobe University
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