Work from home pros and cons during summer in Japan

Recently, I shared the results of a survey about summer working conditions in Japan, which saw nearly 75% of workers planning to head into the office during summer. The rationale was taking advantage of their employer's A/C to lessen the load on bills at home, but there's also a flip side about going in to the office when it's a sauna outside.

There are pros and cons for both WFH and working at an office at this time of year.

There's the risk of getting to and from work in the heat, and this article via the Mainichi mentioned a company in Saitama who has taken steps to allow employees to WFH when the heat index is 33c or above, which is the same temperature that the Ministry of the Environment follows when putting out heatstroke alerts.

I think whether it's better to WFH or work from an office is probably pretty dependent on the individual. For instance, if your route to work is on a really busy subway line, or you've got a bit of a walk from the closest station to your employer, then it might make more sense to work from home -- I think those crowded, hot conditions are really going to ramp up any likelihood of heatstroke.

In saying that, there might be benefits from going to the office if you're not risking your health to get there! Cutting down on my A/C bill sounds appealing, which is why sometimes I opt to do some stuff from local cafes. It also helps with providing a change of scenery and not making me feel like I never really leave my own home.