JLGC staff had been discussing aspects of remote working over recent months with UK colleagues, as well as differences in work culture in this regards, as Japan becomes more receptive to the concept with the advent of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, even before the impact of coronavirus necessitated new strategies.
In recent years, the term “work style reform” has been heard frequently in Japan with the introduction of various initiatives by the government and companies. As a part of the reform, more and more companies are introducing a flexitime system allowing workers to select start and end time, and remote working (commonly referred to as telework in Japan) is perceived as allowing staff to work anywhere regardless of pace or location.
In Japan, the introduction rate of such schemes is comparatively still low, although it is gradually increasing at the local government level. In comparison, such work styles such as flexitime and remote work are already widespread in the UK and are being adopted not only by companies but also by local authorities. One of the factors that has created the UK’s current work style is the enforcement of the Children and Family Act 2014, of which there is currently no equivalent legislation in Japan.
The law gives all employers the right to seek remote work for the purpose of maintaining a work-life balance in their home life. JLGC staff have been discussing with various partners how this works, with one example being Opportunity Peterborough, an arm’s length organisation part of Peterborough City in Eastern England, where JLGC staff noted that the focus was on staff being able to work while taking care of children at home for remote work and joining meetings by videophone.
However, something of particular note, and a different stimulus for changing work culture JLGC, was staff also observed when looking at the background, is not necessarily a growth in such working styles due to the positive policies to maintain a work-life balance.
All 33 councils in London are currently promoting remote work, in part due to the severe finances in local government. Due to austerity, which has not been the same experience of local government in Japan, grants to local governments have been significantly reduced, and local government is required to ensure the quality of services within a limited budget.
By introducing remote work, local government staff in the UK are working to streamline operations and reduce costs. In Exeter one of the two local authority-owned offices are rented out to the private sector in order to secure income for the city’s finances, a financial measure which is not commonly seen in Japan.
As a result of this, and the reduced office space for all, staff work at council offices twice a week, with remote working from home three times. Colleagues at Exeter managing remote working patterns said, which was particularly interesting from a Japanese local government point of view, not only are time and costs of commuting reduced but also CO2 emissions in this region where commuting by car is now the most common method of travel.
An increasing role for Japanese local authorities is supporting local businesses developing their plans for employees and introducing flexible work styles. Kobe City is one example from many of a city hall in Japan promoting ‘teleworking’ within the city (Japanese only link), promoting the benefits of new working styles through a series of workshops and seminars, introducing how to manage change and advice to companies, in particular targeting SMEs to help them consider the merits and benefits to the environment and productivity. Regular sessions are held by Kobe City with IT and consulting experts taking part from the private sector to promote a change in work patterns to help individuals work-life balance and with the costs of running a business.
While this year’s Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were expected to increase the adoption rate of remote working in Japan as well, there still remains a strong culture where people working in the same space is expected and the emphasis on face-to-face communication remains strong, it will be interesting to see how remote work will spread in the future, particularly in the face of the recent pandemic and the expectation of long periods of social distancing.
JLGC staff are all currently working from home and adapting to this new reality, which will now no doubt impact future working styles for all public sector staff both in the UK and in Japan.
