Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp will begin implementing remote work for roughly 30,000 of its domestic employees in July, classifying attendance as a business trip and permitting work and commuting from anywhere in Japan, even by air.
After the company, like many others, implemented alternate working styles as part of efforts against the coronavirus pandemic, the telecom giant will have no limit on transportation charges and will pay for lodgings when employees commute to work, according to a source.
The new program is part of the company’s aim to keep brilliant employees in the face of labor shortages by providing a flexible work environment. Other Japanese firms are experimenting with different working patterns as well.
Similar plans were implemented by flea market app operator Mercari Inc and portal site operator Yahoo Japan Corp, enabling its staff to live and work anywhere in the nation.
Nonetheless, several prominent corporations are pressuring staff to return to work. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc, stated in an email to administrative employees that if office workers do not return to work for a minimum of 40 hours per week, they will be dismissed.
In addition, Honda Motor Co and e-commerce giant Rakuten Group Inc have apparently ceased or decreased teleworking days, indicating that the outbreak is improving.
In Japan, NTT employs around 180,000 employees, of whom 30,000 will be eligible for the new plan. The telecommunications corporation has stated that it is considering letting all of the NTT group’s 320,000 workers to work remotely.
By April of next year, NTT wants to begin decentralising its headquarters and management departments from Tokyo to key cities in regional areas, and to expand the number of satellite offices from the present 400.
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