Remote work and well-being in the post-COVID-19 era.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably affected people’s lives worldwide. For example, although Japan’s unemployment rate did not remarkably rise during the pandemic, the number of employed individuals not at work temporarily increased, peaking in April 2020. The expansion of remote work was a characteristic phenomenon of the pandemic. The implementation rate of remote work increased remarkably in April 2020, when the national government declared its first state of emergency in response to the pandemic’s first wave; however, remote work was often not continued after that declaration was lifted1–3). Furthermore, not everyone switched to remote work during the pandemic, and there were disparities in remote work rates depending on the industry, occupation, company size, and region of residence2, 3). Therefore, methods to evaluate such work style changes regarding people’s well-being became essential. Under the spread of infection, reducing commuting via remote work could be positively evaluated for people’s health as contributing to a reduced risk of infection. Furthermore, well-being can be assessed in terms of health and diverse aspects, such as daily time use, quality of work, and subjective well-being4). From this perspective, we offer a few thoughts on the following. First, we examine how remote work could be evaluated regarding its impact on people’s time use and worklife balance. Concerning the time allocation in daily life, changes in housework/childcare, and leisure hours during the pandemic were confirmed in several studies5–7). Some studies noted the increased burden of housework/childcare for women5); however, other studies indicated increased involvement in housework and childcare among men who work remotely6, 7). Time constraints are one of the primary reasons why Japanese men are less likely to share housework and childcare responsibilities; therefore, this change can be positively evaluated for work-life balance. The heavy workload inherent in remote work should be avoided to balance work and life. As suggested before the pandemic, the temporal boundaries between work and nonwork can quickly become blurred in remote work, leading to overworking where work interferes with the sphere of daily life8). Evidence shows that remote work during the pandemic increased life satisfaction, but not when working longer hours7). Next, we investigate how remote work might be evaluated in terms of quality of work. During the pandemic, the application of remote work resulted in reduced productivity due to inadequate remote work set-ups and communication difficulties9). Furthermore, the reduction in face-to-face communication with supervisors and colleagues through remote work generally leads to isolation and loneliness among employees. It has been speculated that the psychological impacts of remote work, such as satisfaction and anxiety, are not uniform and may vary depending on workers’ personality characteristics. An empirical study showed that changes in work style due to remote work reduce job satisfaction for workers who value close relationships with others, such as socializing and intimacy10). Conversely, remote work could bring psychological benefits to those who prefer to work independently or are prone to interpersonal stress. The Japanese workplace has been described as a collectivist environment that requires teamwork; workers with certain personality traits have tended to achieve occupational success in such work environments11). However, with the changes in the working environment due to remote work, the advantage/ disadvantage of such personality traits may change if the conventional teamwork element becomes less critical as remote work becomes a normal way of working. The pandemic triggered irreversible changes in global norms; therefore, the workplace, work style, and psychological rewards need to be explored in terms of the quality of work. We must ask if workers want to continue working remotely in the post-COVID-19 era. A survey in June 2021 determined that about 40% of respondents wanted to continue remote work even after the pandemic; conversely, about 56% of respondents wanted to work in the office12). These findings indicate a clear division between those who prefer remote work and those who do not. To promote remote work in the post-COVID-19 era, companies and Industrial Health 2023, 61, 171–172