IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/eti/dpaper/22061.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Productivity Dynamics of Work from Home since the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a panel of firm surveys

Author

Listed:
  • MORIKAWA Masayuki

Abstract

This study documents the adoption, intensity, and productivity of work from home (WFH) practices since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic using panel data from original firm surveys in Japan. According to the results, at the end of 2021, the ratio of WFH-adopting firms and the intensity of WFH decreased substantially compared to when the first state of emergency was declared in 2020. Second, although the mean productivity of WFH improved by a few percentage points, it is still approximately 20% lower than that at the usual workplaces. The firms’ evaluation of remote workers’ productivity at home is similar to the results obtained from a survey of employees engaged in WFH. Third, the majority of firms are planning to discontinue the WFH practice and revert to the conventional workstyle after the end of COVID-19, indicating that there is a large gap between firms’ intentions and the desire of remote workers.

Suggested Citation

  • MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2022. "Productivity Dynamics of Work from Home since the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a panel of firm surveys," Discussion papers 22061, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    • Handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:22061
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/dp/22e061.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daiji Kawaguchi & Sagiri Kitao & Manabu Nose, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on Japanese firms: mobility and resilience via remote work," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(6), pages 1419-1449, December.
    2. Barrero, Jose Maria & Bloom, Nick & Davis, Steven J., 2020. "Why Working From Home Will Stick," SocArXiv wfdbe, Center for Open Science.
    3. FUJII Daisuke & NAKATA Taisuke, 2021. "Covid-19 and Output in Japan," Discussion papers 21004, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    4. Daisuke Fujii & Taisuke Nakata, 2021. "COVID-19 and output in Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 72(4), pages 609-650, October.
    5. Nicholas Bloom & James Liang & John Roberts & Zhichun Jenny Ying, 2015. "Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(1), pages 165-218.
    6. David Atkin & M. Keith Chen & Anton Popov, 2022. "The Returns to Face-to-Face Interactions: Knowledge Spillovers in Silicon Valley," NBER Working Papers 30147, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Kikuchi, Shinnosuke & Kitao, Sagiri & Mikoshiba, Minamo, 2021. "Who suffers from the COVID-19 shocks? Labor market heterogeneity and welfare consequences in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    8. MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2021. "Productivity of Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a Firm Survey," Discussion papers 21002, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    9. Erik Brynjolfsson & John J. Horton & Adam Ozimek & Daniel Rock & Garima Sharma & Hong-Yi TuYe, 2020. "COVID-19 and Remote Work: An Early Look at US Data," NBER Working Papers 27344, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Zimpelmann, Christian & Gaudecker, Hans-Martin von & Holler, Radost & Janys, Lena & Siflinger, Bettina M., 2021. "Drivers of Working Hours and Household Income Dynamics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of the Netherlands," IZA Discussion Papers 14382, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Kouki, Amairisa & Sauer, Robert M., 2022. "Remote Work, Children's Health and the Racial Gap in Female Wages," IZA Discussion Papers 15072, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Janice Eberly & Jonathan Haskel & Paul Mizen, 2021. ""Potential Capital", Working from Home and Economic Resilience," Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) Discussion Papers ESCoE DP-2021-15, Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE).
    13. Callum Jones & Thomas Philippon & Venky Venkateswaran, 2021. "Optimal Mitigation Policies in a Pandemic: Social Distancing and Working from Home [A simple planning problem for covid-19 lockdown]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(11), pages 5188-5223.
    14. Michael Gibbs & Friederike Mengel & Christoph Siemroth, 2023. "Work from Home and Productivity: Evidence from Personnel and Analytics Data on Information Technology Professionals," Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 7-41.
    15. Alexander W. Bartik & Zoe B. Cullen & Edward L. Glaeser & Michael Luca & Christopher T. Stanton, 2020. "What Jobs are Being Done at Home During the Covid-19 Crisis? Evidence from Firm-Level Surveys," NBER Working Papers 27422, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Zimpelmann, Christian & Gaudecker, Hans-Martin von & Holler, Radost & Janys, Lena & Siflinger, Bettina, 2021. "Hours and income dynamics during the Covid-19 pandemic: The case of the Netherlands," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    17. MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2021. "Productivity of Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Panel Data Analysis," Discussion papers 21078, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    18. Kawaguchi, Daiji & Motegi, Hiroyuki, 2021. "Who can work from home? The roles of job tasks and HRM practices," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    19. Kisho Hoshi & Hiroyuki Kasahara & Ryo Makioka & Michio Suzuki & Satoshi Tanaka, 2021. "Trade-off between job losses and the spread of COVID-19 in Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 72(4), pages 683-716, October.
    20. Toshihiro Okubo & Atsushi Inoue & Kozue Sekijima, 2021. "Teleworker Performance in the COVID-19 Era in  Japan," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 20(2), pages 175-192, Summer.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Masayuki Morikawa, 2023. "Productivity dynamics of remote work during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(3), pages 317-331, July.
    2. MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2021. "Productivity of Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Panel Data Analysis," Discussion papers 21078, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    3. Tanaka, Kiyoyasu, 2023. "What hinders digital communication? Evidence from foreign firms in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2023. "The remote work revolution: Impact on real estate values and the urban environment: 2023 AREUEA Presidential Address," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 51(1), pages 7-48, January.
    5. Gavoille, Nicolas & Hazans, Mihails, 2022. "Personality Traits, Remote Work and Productivity," IZA Discussion Papers 15486, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Morikawa, Masayuki, 2021. "Work-from-Home Productivity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Surveys of Employees and Employers," SSPJ Discussion Paper Series DP20-007, Service Sector Productivity in Japan: Determinants and Policies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    7. Julia Darby & Stuart McIntyre & Graeme Roy, 2022. "What can analysis of 47 million job advertisements tell us about how opportunities for homeworking are evolving in the United Kingdom?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 281-302, July.
    8. Christian Kagerl & Julia Starzetz, 2023. "Working from home for good? Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and what this means for the future of work," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 229-265, January.
    9. Hansen, Stephen & Lambert, Peter John & Bloom, Nicholas & Davis, Steven J. & Sadun, Raffaella & Taska, Bledi, 2023. "Remote Work across Jobs, Companies, and Space," IZA Discussion Papers 15980, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Mathias Dolls & Pablo Zarate, 2022. "Working from Home Around the World," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 53(2 (Fall)), pages 281-360.
    11. Jun Hyung Kim & Yu Kyung Koh & Jinseong Park, 2023. "Mental Health Consequences of Working from Home during the Pandemic," Global Economic Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(1), pages 18-50, January.
    12. Maria Barrero, Jose & Bloom, Nicholas & Davis, Steven J., 2021. "Internet access and its implications for productivity, inequality and resilience," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113869, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Daiji Kawaguchi & Sagiri Kitao & Manabu Nose, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on Japanese firms: mobility and resilience via remote work," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(6), pages 1419-1449, December.
    14. Allstrin, Susanna & Grafström, Jonas & Stern, Charlotta & Weidenstedt, Linda, 2022. "Managing Work from Anywhere: Six Points to Consider for HR Professionals," Ratio Working Papers 357, The Ratio Institute.
    15. Lee, Zeewan & Tan, Poh Lin & Tan-Soo, Jie-Sheng, 2023. "Unequal Gains from Remote Work during COVID-19 between Spouses: Evidence from Longitudinal Data in Singapore," EconStor Preprints 270941, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    16. Okubo, Toshihiro, 2022. "Telework in the spread of COVID-19," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    17. Erdsiek, Daniel, 2021. "Working from home during COVID-19 and beyond: Survey evidence from employers," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-051, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    18. Andrew L. Kun & Raffaella Sadun & Orit Shaer & Thomaz Teodorovicz, 2022. "How does working from home during COVID-19 affect what managers do? Evidence from time-use studies," POID Working Papers 029, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    19. Shen, Lucas, 2023. "Does working from home work? A natural experiment from lockdowns," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    20. Liu, Sitian & Su, Yichen, 2022. "The Effect of Working from Home on the Agglomeration Economies of Cities: Evidence from Advertised Wages," MPRA Paper 114429, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:22061. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: TANIMOTO, Toko (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rietijp.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.