Is Remote Working a Magic Wand? Geographic Differences in the Feasibility of Working from Home and Women's Employment

Abstract

This study finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the number of jobs on offer while causing a slight reduction in employment and wage rates in Japan. In particular, the high feasibility of working from home has positively affected the number of offered part-time jobs and negatively affected the offered wages for full-time jobs. Work-from-home culture gained popularity across Japan during the pandemic; it was expected to have a positive impact on women-friendly work environments and curb women’s migration from rural to urban areas. However, jobs with greater feasibility of working from home are offered in urban areas than in rural areas. Furthermore, municipalities that offer more jobs that women tend to work and municipalities that offer a limited variety of occupations provide less opportunities of working from home. In Japan, hybrid working has become more popular than full remote work. Therefore, solely promoting a remote work environment is excessive expectation; we need to ensure its effectiveness.

Keywords: remote working, geographic differences, feasibility of working from home, women’s employment, COVID-19

JEL Classification: J23, J61, J63, J81, R12