e-Jan Networks Presentse-Jan!WorkStyleBlog e-Jan Search About
Category Working Telework Living Leisure etc

Why telework(telecommuting) is becoming important to Japan?

The world has witnessed Japan successfully transform herself from a land of ruins after WWII to a prosperous, highly developed country, with an amazing growth rate in her GDP for decades throughout 1960s to 1980s.
null
It once seems to be unthinkable that a super economic power like Japan would be facing several severe problems in her economy, and starting her steps to decline, mainly caused by the ‘burst of bubble’ and worsened by its low birth rate together with a constantly growing population of aging people.
However, Japan, as it has always been so far in the history that trying to get rid of her old way of thinking and adjust herself well to a new situation. In order to further fully utilize Japan’s labour forces and meanwhile enabling them to enjoy their lives more with family, hoping that would help to bring up her low birth rate, Japanese government introduced and has been trying to promote a revolutionary workstyle to Japan, which is teleworking.

Telework might have been quite well-known and accepted among Europeans and Americans yet being quite foreign to Japanese enterprises. Japanese firms tend to value keep the confidential information safe more than many things. Letting employees work outside the office or at home used to be something almost impossible for Japanese companies, however, management teams of Japanese companies have gradually changed their minds.

You may wonder how and why, and those are going to be introduced in my next essay.

--by Z.A.Y (from China, living in Japan since 2010)