The majority of graduates in Japan would prefer coming to the office rather than teleworking, reports The Mainichi, citing research from Gakujo. The survey was conducted in November targeting university students who are graduating in spring 2024, via its job placement website for new college graduates. Broken down, the study, based on nearly 400 respondents, showed that 24.7% chose coming into the office while another 37.1% said they would prefer the office if they had to pick one or the other (teleworking), for a total of 61.8%. It comes as increasing numbers of employees are returning to offices after companies widely adopted remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, 6.1% selected teleworking, and another 15.9% said they would prefer telework over working from home if they had to choose, for a total of 22%. The survey also asked whether respondents would use the telework system if their company has one, to which 54% answered in the affirmative and another 29% said they'd rather do so, for a total of over 80%.

Reasons given for favouring remote work included, "I can effectively use my time given that I don't have to commute," and, "I can concentrate more depending on the nature of work."

When asked how often respondents would like to work remotely, "once or twice a week" was the most common answer, at 42.6%.