Mar 25, 2020
Working from home?
Unless the corona situation gets worse, I doubt that many workers in Japan will be asked if they would like to work from home. Is anyone working from home? Did you ask for permission? If yes, how? How is working from home different for you?
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on Mar 25
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on Mar 25
Oddly enough, I've just started working from home today. It's been an option (or rather a "recommendation") at work for a few weeks now but not one that I was able to take for whatever reason. That said, everyone was having to change working hours to avoid peak train times. So far then, working from home has been fine. I like being able to play a bit of music or have a podcast on while I work. It's also nice to be able to roll out of bed and into work, so to speak and I'm really happy to avoid taking the trains (because I live on a really busy line, more than anything). I guess the best thing at the moment though is just the change of environment. It freshens things up a bit but if this drags on then maybe I'll get bored of it and look forward to going back into the office. I suppose the main challenge will be when it comes to communicating with other members of staff, particularly in Japanese -- all the webcams and apps can't beat the clarity and speed of face-to-face communication -- so we'll see how that goes.
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on Mar 25
I was already working from home, since the company I work for has their office premises in Tokyo, but I'm out in the boonies. We use several different programs to coordinate work stuff which are remotely accessible, so my work life doesn't change much. I am glad that it seems like some other workplaces are also making the option available to their employees. For the people working in the Tokyo office, my boss has given them the option to work from home if they feel more comfortable doing so. I'm glad that they also have that flexibility.
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on Mar 25
I have been working from home for about a year now. At that time I had pretty bad back problems until the point that I couldn't go to work anymore. My company already had a home office system for some employees so I asked whether I could do it too, so I could get a desk and chair which fit my height better. Back problems have gotten better a lot since then. It is different in that I have a lot more free time because I don't commute anymore, I can listen to music while working, wear sweatpants, can work more relaxed because there are no colleagues sitting very close to me. On the other hand, I have less social contacts and it can get a bit lonely at times. For my company, the most important point to introduce home office was a financial aspect. With most employees working from home they could have to a smaller officer and save rent cost.
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on Mar 26
I have been thinking of asking a few of my students if they like to have classes online at least for a little while with the birds in our town. Otherwise it's either no class no money or just letting going like normal. My husband works in a factory so he had to physically be there. If h his work gets shut off we won't be able to afford anything.
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on Mar 26
My husband and I have actually been talking quite a bit about how this is going to impact workplaces well into the future. A lot of jobs that seemingly weren't able to be done from home have been transformed into work-at-home okay in recent weeks. Wonder how it's going to play out when this eventually subsides - will working from home be the way of the future? I guess time will tell...
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on Mar 26
@genkidesu I am really hoping that it will affect the future and allow more working from home opportunities. It would really help people have more work life balance I think. Plus, I would like the benefit myself, of course.
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on Mar 26
@ReishiiTravels agreed! I think some people may rather work in an office, some may rather work from home, or even a combo of the two. I think sometimes change only happens when a situation forces it to happen, and this may be the big defining change to the way we do things during our lifetimes. Kind of crazy when you think of it like that!
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on Mar 26
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on Mar 26
My workplace, a private high school, has not indicated moving to online coursework. However, our programs do use online supplements, so there is a precedent. I've attended the staff room meetings sporadically since PM Abe requested schools be closed in early March, and have been working from home to put course content into apps and formats that would be easily put online, such as Keynote/PowerPoint presentations, videos, and Google Docs. I'm ready to go online if the government constrains our movement.
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on Mar 26
@genkidesu - I think if there is anything good to come out of this, one thing could be that more people will have the choice to work from home. And I do think we'll see an increase in it compared to pre-Covid19 days. For the record I think I'd work best with a combo of the two -- maybe Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the office during a Mon - Fri week?
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on Mar 27
@ReishiiTravels I work at a small company and could probably work from home without it affecting my work output. I don't have to ride any crowded trains to get to work, so I wouldn't benefit as much from home office as other people might. I still wouldn't mind having a choice. I guess for teachers the situation must be really difficult. Getting used to teaching online probably needs a lot of effort. And no teaching - no salary is not a nice option. Getting paid for sitting around empty schools also doesn't seem like the most rewarding job to me. I hope the situation will improve soon, maybe with more people being able to choose working from home even after things go back to normal, like @Tomuu suggests.
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on Mar 27
At the still-open Eikaiwa where I work, there are a handful of online only students that the owner teaches. He just got some more webcams and they're testing out apps to include online lessons as needed. Not sure if I will be asked to teach online or just not have work (as a part-timer) if the school closes up. I haven't really gotten into the idea of teaching online for my independent work although in the past I worked from home in a different industry. It seems like a good chance to start online businesses, for people who suddenly have free time and no work at least.
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on Mar 28
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on Mar 31
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on May 23
As an update, I am teaching one of my independent lessons online, and it's so nice to have that option. If there's a 'second wave' in the fall, it's nice to know that I'm prepared to transition back to online if community centers close again. Schools on the other hand... are starting up in an every other day or morning / afternoon schedule that seems so confusing. I wish they would use the online option for teaching when possible. My husband normally works from home, so I kind of want to get out of the house most days, haha.
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on Nov 25
17 Answers