Hybrid work: What is the ideal number of days to work in the office?

Over 4,800 professionals globally share their work style preferences

Ideal number of days to work in the office: twice per week

Specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Walters surveyed more than 4,800 professionals globally, including 334 in Japan, to understanding their work style preferences and career plans for 2021. Among professionals in Japan, twice per week is the most ideal number of days to work in the office, followed by three days per week. Globally, twice a week was also the most popular response (30%).

19% of respondents in Japan said they prefer to continue working fully remote, slightly higher than the global average of 13%. Among Japanese professionals, 37% said they would reject a job offer if they had to work nearly 100% of the week in person at the office. Commuting (84%), flexible hours (60%), and flexibility on where to live (52%) are the main reasons why professionals are willing to give up the office day-to-day.

Popularity of remote work: only 5% willing to go back to going to the office every day

Only 5% of Japanese professionals affirm that they would like to go back to the old normal of going to the office five times a week. Remote work has been positively accepted, with only 3% saying that they would refuse a job offer that was 100% remote. The top three reasons preventing them from accepting a fully remote role include: having the option to come to the office when you feel like it (54%), feeling more productive in the office (36%), and face-to-face meetings and social interaction with colleagues (25%). Meanwhile, globally, 10% of professionals said they would decline a role that was fully remote.

Over 1 in 5 professionals in Japan concerned about skills relevance, but more than 50% plan to change careers or companies in 2021

With remote work having been an option for most professionals for over a year now, many of them have used this momentum in a positive way and decided to leverage their skills. Globally, professionals in Japan are the least confident about their current skill set, with more than 1 in 5 fearing that their current skills will not be relevant to the labour market in 5 years-time. In comparison, professionals in Africa are the most optimistic—58% responded that they are “very confident” about their current skill sets.

To stay employable in the future, 93% of respondents in Japan are willing to retrain or learn a new skill. For those who want to upskill but have not yet done so, the main reasons are the financial cost (43%), not having the assurance that this investment will result in higher compensation (17%), and no guarantee that this will strengthen job security or progression (33%). 

Despite concerns about skills relevance, professionals in Japan have expressed intentions to switch professions in 2021 (23%) or stay in the same profession but change employers (29%). Less than one-third plan to stay in the same role with the same company.