Nowadays, the words “Telework”, “Zaitaku-kinmu”, and “remote work” have become popular all over Japan due to the influence of coronavirus. At GTalent, a recruitment agency for foreigners, there is an increasing need for registrants to work in telework.
In this article, We would like to introduce you to what kind of work you can do in telework or working from home in Japan. If you are a foreigner who wants to work from home or other teleowork in Japan, please use this article as a reference.
Contents
What is “Telework” or “Zaitaku-kinmu” in Japan
Currently, it is a word that is often used in news and SNS, but what is “telework”? Let us explain it first. “Telework” by the Japan Telework Association is made up of a combination of two English words, “Tele” and “work”.
It means working from a place other than the office such as a home, cafe, or a rental space using information and communication technology.
Reference – Japan Telework Association/Meaning of Telework
Also, it is sometimes called “remote work” instead of “telework”, but there is no significant difference in meaning. In Japan, the word telework is the word that has been used by governments since ancient times.
The word “Zaitaku-kinmu” means working from home, so it is included in “telework”.
Telework situation in Japan and Overseas
Telewrok situation in Japan
We will inform you of the situation of telework in Japan based on a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Reference:Survery results on the introduction and effects of telework
In Japan, Telework is being introduced depending on the industry, but according to the results of these surveys, the number of companies that have introduced telework in Japan from 2013 to 2019 has increased from 9.3% to 19.1%.
Due to the spread of coronavirus infection, the declaration of emergency was announced in April 2020, and the number of companies whose employees stop working in an office has increased significantly since then.
According to a survey conducted by the Persol Institute, the number of companies conducting telework in early April increased to 27.9%.
Reference:Survey conducted by Persol Institute
Telework situation at Overseas
According to the report from MIC of Japan, the penetration rate of telework overseas is high in North America (such as the United States and Canada) and is still in the process of developing in Asia.
Reference:Telework overseas diffusion trends/MIC
In the United States and other countries where telework was introduced at an early stage, working at home has become a common practice.
Conditions for jobs that are suitable for telework and that are not
Subtable jobs for telework
In recent years, the number of companies introducing telework is increasing in Japan, but not all companies can introduce telework. In general, telework can be introduced if the job meets the following conditions.
- Jobs that can be completed on a computer
- Jobs that can be completed by one person
- Security background is arranged or security-safe jobs
- Fewer opportunities to interact with external customers
Jobs not suitable for telework
On the other hand, the conditions of work that do not apply to the introduction of telework are as follows.
- Jobs that are done by multiple people
- Jobs that requires a specific machine
- Jobs that require face-to-face communication with customers
For example, sales, hospitality business, medical care/welfare business, etc., which have many opportunities to interact with customers, so these jobs would be difficult to introduce a telework. Also, it is considered difficult to perform telework in the manufacturing industry, which uses specialized machines.
What kind of jobs can we work in telework and working from home?
We would like to introduce a lot of telework jobs in Japan from now.
Telework is the most pervasive industry for IT industry. Telework has been introduced in several jobs, but the typical jobs are as follows.
System engineers
Most of the work of a system engineer goes to a computer by himself, and most of the work can be managed and performed online. we can say this is a typical job proper for telework because internal meetings and client needs are completed by video conferencing.
Web designer
As with system engineers, WEB designers mainly work on PCs. It is a job to build a website, etc. We can say it is proper for telework because customer requests and consultations can be handled by video conferencing.
We can say that sales-related jobs are the jobs that telework is increasing most. So far, sales jobs had been a style of visiting customers, but many companies are updating the style of sales, and telework is the most common in the following two jobs.
Inside sales
Lately, the number of cases where the sales organization is divided into outside sales and inside sales is increasing in Japanese companies. The purpose of inside sales is mainly to develop new customers by phone or email and connect them to outside sales. It is proper for telework because the basic work is to make calls, emails, inputting customer information into the system etc.
Customer support
In customer support, the job is to follow up with customers who already have a contract, and most of the time it is done through telephone or email rather than face-to-face communication. There is some customer support that need to go to the customer’s office, but in most cases, this is a work that can be done at home if you have a computer, telephone, and internet connection.
When it comes to creative-related jobs, it can be said that there are many cases where you can work from telework originally. It can be said that the style of working at home and a cafe rather than the office is major in creative related jobs such as writers, designers, and producers. It causes of that there are many outsourced jobs which not need an office.
It can be said that most of the clerical work is suitable for telework because it is often done by one person in a computer. However, about clerical work, there are many companies have not yet introduced telework. Since uch companies may still have paper documents, you should work at office in the case. Also, since general affairs and others need to receive postal items, there are cases where they have to come to the office, so you must be careful in advance when looking for a telework job related to clerical work.
Others
In addition to the IT-related, sales-related, creative-related, and clerical-related jobs that have been introduced so far, the introduction of telework is rising for the following jobs.
Teacher
Speaking of teachers, the image of teaching directly to students is strong, but since the number of online learning services such as English conversation has increased in recent years, the number of cases where people can work from home is increasing.
Planning / Management Operations
Telework is also expanding in planning and management operations due to the penetration of communication tools and business-IT tools. In general image, management positions have to go to the office because they are responsible for the organization, but recently, in order to spread the telework for staffs, the number of cases in which managers take the lead in telework is increasing.
Conclusion
Compared to a few years ago, more and more companies have introduced telework in Japan. For companies, by introducing telework, it is possible to hire human resources who can only work at home and to improve the efficient work style and work-life balance of employees, which will reduce the turnover rate.
If you are a foreigner who is interested in a company that has introduced telework at this opportunity in IT-related jobs in Japan, please register with GTalent, a recruitment agency specializing in foreign IT engineers. A professional consultant will support you in changing jobs for free.
