Amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, telework (remote work) has become a widespread practice adopted by companies worldwide. However, Japan has notably maintained a low rate of telework implementation, suggesting cultural factors hindering its adoption. This study aimed to elucidate the antecedents and consequences of teleworking in Japan. Leveraging the natural experiment created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we addressed two key questions: (1) What socio-psychological factors in Japanese workplaces were important for implementing telework in the first place? and (2) How did the implementation of telework subsequently influence socio-psychological factors in these workplaces? Employees from various Japanese companies completed three waves of an online survey before and during the pandemic. Results showed that telework was more likely to be implemented in organizations characterized by a meritocracy. Results also showed that the implementation of telework demonstrated no measurable negative effects but instead increased levels of independence, organizational commitment, and perceived hierarchy mutability.

在全球新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 大流行期间，远程办公（远程工作）已成为全球企业广泛采用的做法。然而，日本的远程办公实施率明显较低，这表明文化因素阻碍了其采用。本研究旨在阐明日本远程办公的前因和后果。利用 COVID-19 大流行创造的自然实验，我们解决了两个关键问题：(1) 日本工作场所中的哪些社会心理因素对于实施远程办公至关重要？(2) 远程办公的实施随后如何影响这些工作场所的社会心理因素？日本多家公司的员工在疫情爆发前和疫情期间完成了三轮在线调查。结果表明，远程办公更有可能在以精英为特征的组织中实施。结果还表明，远程办公的实施没有表现出可测量的负面影响，反而提高了独立性、组织承诺和感知层次结构的可变性。