Yahoo Japan to allow employees to work anywhere

[thomas]

Yahoo Japan, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp.'s Z Holdings, will allow its employees to work from anywhere in Japan as of 1 April. The company will even pay for flight tickets should there be the need to attend a meeting. A policy that will hopefully convince more Japanese companies to loosen the reins.

Yahoo is setting a commuting budget of ¥150,000 ($1,300) per month per worker and lifting its previous daily cap. In-person communication will still be encouraged as the initiative is also aimed at bolstering morale and well-being, with social gatherings to be subsidized by ¥5,000 per employee a month. The company has had an "office anywhere" remote work system in place since 2014, however it had capped the number of work-from-home days before the virus took hold to five days a month. Japanese companies have responded to the pandemic by embracing flexible work arrangements, which were rare before 2020 in a culture that once prided itself on direct interaction in the office and long working hours. Panasonic Corp. last week unveiled plans for a four-day workweek, an initiative Mizuho Financial Group Inc. already has under way.

Yahoo tells Japan employees they can work anywhere and commute by plane when necessary

According to President Kentaro Kawabe, 90% of the company’s employees are now working remotely, and their performance has held steady or improved at home.

www.japantimes.co.jp

 

[mdchachi]

Yahoo Japan, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp.'s Z Holdings, will allow its employees to work from anywhere in Japan as of 1 April. The company will even pay for flight tickets should there be the need to attend a meeting. A policy that will hopefully convince more Japanese companies to loosen the reins.

I interviewed at Yahoo Japan in the 90s. They were incredulous as to why I would be interested to work there as I had a good job at a big financial corporation. But I was itching for a change and new challenges. They were just a little back office startup. It didn't work out and I stayed where I was but I was right, they had a big future ahead of them. Of course in those days Yahoo was dominant in the U.S. and Google was not yet a thing. I'm glad Yahoo Japan has survived and thrived.

 

[Petaris]

I saw something the other day that Panasonic was considering a four day work week in Japan. Its amazing how many changes Japanese companies are starting to embrace and how many are very far from the traditional way of doing things. This is just my take as an outsider though, maybe the common worker at these companies would have a different, perhaps very different, view.

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

As for this way of working, communication environment should be maintained.