Japan’s 2020 remote work target

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to improve their climate literacy so as to understand the projected impacts from the expanding climate crisis and how to adapt their workplaces in the face of these impacts.

The Japanese government has a target to have remote work adopted by 34.5% of companies in the country and they are prepared to legislate this if necessary.

The reason for the initiative?

1️⃣ To ease congestion on roads and public transport infrastructure. (Pictured)
2️⃣ As a Business Continuity Plan for disaster preparedness*
3️⃣ Talent acquisition and retention.

It is estimated that “if the ratio of remote workers at each company accounts for 15.4% of its total workforce in line with the government’s 2020 target, Japan’s gross domestic product would be pushed up by some ¥430 billion“ as a result of productivity gains from not commuting!

Forcing, especially knowledge workers, to commute into an office is no longer the most efficient way for teams to work. This year and in the coming decade smart companies will be adopting modern digital workplaces that enable anywhere work, and will become more productive and efficient as a result.

How far is your company down this track?

(*Extreme weather events, whether that be intense heatwaves or extreme perception events require businesses to have a plan in place for when movement is severely restricted. These events are set to increase.)