Xymax Real Estate Institute

TOPIC REPORT

Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following
the COVID-19 Pandemic
Companies in Greater Tokyo Classified into Five Types Through Clustering

December 1, 2021

As many companies were more or less required to switch to teleworking due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
it seemed that a decentralized work style, which had been aspired to in the work style reforms since before
the pandemic, was finally going to take root among Japanese companies. After nearly two years from thestart of the pandemic, however, differences between companies concerning the spread of the new work
style are becoming apparent.
Against this background, we conducted a clustering*1 of companies that responded to the Greater Tokyo
Company Survey which we carried out in July 2021*2 using response data for nine questions related to work
styles and the workplace. As a result, the companies were grouped into five graded clusters, ranging froma group of companies that are already shifting to a decentralized work style to a group of companies thatare expected to return to the previous work style after the pandemic.
*1 Clustering: A method of creating clusters by grouping similar objects according to the similarity or nonsimilarity between data or clusters.
*2 Greater Tokyo Company Survey on Work Styles and the Workplace | July 2021, released on August 13, 2021
(in Japanese only)
https://soken.xymax.co.jp/2021/08/13/2108-greatertokyo_workstyle_survey_2107/

In this report, we compared the five clusters’ characteristics regarding work styles and the workplace andexamined the current state in which a mixture of companies with various characteristics exists. Based on
this examination, we forecasted the direction of the workplace after the pandemic, with the aim ofpresenting it as an indicator for the future. In particular, we hope that this report will encourage theintermediate group of companies (③ Potential Advocate), which maintain a wait-and-see stance on theback of the ongoing pandemic, to evolve their workplace strategies instead of returning to the previous
work style after the pandemic has ended.

Summary: Major characteristics of the five company types① Advocate
Basic attribute: Large proportion of large companies and manufacturing sector
Companies that have actively promoted telework since before the COVID-19 pandemic withthe aim of decentralizing workplaces and providing an environment where employees canwork autonomously. Has the smallest office space per user* among the five types and thestrongest intention to downsize the main office.
② Wellness-focused
Basic attribute: Large proportion of large companies and information &communications sector
Companies with high interest in employee satisfaction and well-being; views telework moreas a benefit. Has the second smallest office space per user* among the five types. Also hasstrong intentions to improve the environment of the main office while promoting telework,with an inclination toward a hybrid work style that combines telework and coming to the

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness.
This report may not be reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute.
Copyright © 2021 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Instituteoffice.
③ Potential Advocate
Basic attribute: Large proportion of SMEs and information & communications sector
Companies currently with a low degree of telework and slow in changes in workplacestrategies but with future intentions to promote de-centralized work styles. In particular, allcompanies wish to introduce satellite offices, which none of them have currently introduced,
after the pandemic. Has the second strongest intention to downsize the main office.
④ Skeptic
Basic attribute: Large proportion of SMEs and wholesale and retail trade sector
Companies that have introduced work-from-home in response to the pandemic but are
cautious about providing alternative workplaces. Although they will continue to accept workfrom-home after the pandemic has ended, they are more inclined to centralize their offices
in central Tokyo than introducing a decentralized work style.
⑤ ReturnerBasic attribute: Large proportion of construction sector
Companies that place more importance on having their employees come to the office thanteleworking and have strong intentions to return to the office after the pandemic. They havea strong awareness toward cost reduction. They have the largest office space per user*among the five types as well as the strongest intention to expand their main office going
forward.
*User: Employees who are eligible to use the office though may not be using it every day

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness.
This report may not be reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute.
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate InstituteDetails of Clustering
In Chapter 1, we look at the results of each cluster regarding the nine questions used for clustering. The
outline of the analysis is as follows.
Analysis method

Clustering using Ward’s method*3*3 Ward’s method: Defines the distance between clusters by the increment of within-cluster
variance when they are merged. Clusters are merged in ascending orderof cluster distance. It is a type of hierarchical clustering.

Analysis targets

651 companies that offered valid responses to the nine questions used forclustering (See end of report for the survey overview)

Questionsusedforclustering(See end of report for
details
includingtheoptions of answers)

・Introduction of work-from-home policy
・Future intention toward introducing work-from-home policy・Introduction of satellite offices
・Future intention toward introducing satellite offices
・Intentions after the pandemic: Theme to focus on going forward
・Intentions after the pandemic: Location of head office functions
・Intentions after the pandemic: Location of workplace other than for head
office functions
・Intentions after the pandemic: Strategy for the main office interested in・Intentions after the pandemic: Office space

Based on the characteristics of the five clusters, we named the types of companies as follows: ①
Advocate, ② Wellness-focused, ③ Potential Advocate, ④ Skeptic and ⑤ Returner. The percentage
of each type is as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Percentages of the Five Types

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute
Figure 2 is a summary of the nine questions that were used for the clustering. This reveals that companies
closer to ① Advocate tend to be more aggressive in introducing a decentralized work style. ① Advocate–③ Potential Advocate tend to be oriented toward a decentralized or hybrid (i.e., combined use of
telework and coming to the office) work style, while the ④ Skeptic and ⑤ Returner tend to be oriented
toward a centralized work style or returning to the office. We can also see that ① and ②, which share adecentralized/hybrid orientation, intend to focus on different themes: “Promote DX” and “Employee
satisfaction & well-being,” respectively, suggesting that the five types also have different characteristics interms of the values and views behind their initiatives.
Figure 2: Result of Questions Used for Clustering(Details Are Provided in the Figures Stated below the Questions)

It should be noted that the survey data analyzed in this report include data of companies subscribing to
ZXY, a satellite office service for corporations, which indicates that telework may be introduced to a greater
degree than the population (all companies in Japan). Furthermore, the above percentages are likely tochange going forward due to rapid changes in companies’ policies as the pandemic heads toward an end.

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness.
This report may not be reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute.
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate InstituteCharacteristics of the Five Company Types
In Chapter 2, we look at the basic attributes of the five company types that were statistically classified
and the trend of responses to work style-related questions that were not used for clustering. We also lookdeeper into the results of the nine questions of Figure 2 as needed to identify the characteristics of eachcompany type.

Basic Attributes and Actual State of Work Styles and the Workplace
Figure 3 shows the basic attributes of each type. Each type has different characteristics in terms ofcompany attributes: large proportions of ① Advocate and ② Wellness-focused tend to be large
companies, those of ③ Potential Advocate SMEs, those of ④ Skeptic wholesale and retail tradecompanies, and those of ⑤ Returner construction companies. The office space per user tends to besmaller among the type of companies that are active toward introducing a decentralized work style.
Figure 3: Basic Attributes(1 tsubo = approx. 3.3 sqm)

We then look at the actual state of work styles and the workplace amid the pandemic. Below, Figure 4
shows the current percentage of employees coming to the office, Figure 5 the rate of introduction of awork-from-home policy and the percentage of users (percentage of employees who actually use the policy),and Figure 6 the rate of introduction of satellite offices and the percentage of users (percentage of
employees who actually use satellite offices), each by type of company.

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute
As for the current percentage of employees coming to the office, ① Advocate was the lowest at 39.5%
and ② Wellness-focused–④ Skeptic also kept it low at around 50–60% (Figure 4). ⑤ Returner had
the highest percentage at 79.2%.
Figure 4: Current Percentage of Employees Coming to the Office

We believe the reason for ①–④ to be able to keep the percentage low is, as we saw in Figure 2, theirhigh rate of introduction of a work-from-home policy. ① Advocate has a 100% introduction rate, with allcompanies having introduced the policy before the pandemic. In addition, more than 80% of thecompanies have enhanced and expanded the policy in response to the pandemic (Figure 5). As for ②
Wellness-focused–④ Skeptic, many companies introduced a work-from-home policy due to thepandemic, leading to a high introduction rate of currently around 90%.
The percentage of users was as much as approximately 60–70% in ①–④, indicating that a work-fromhome policy has not only been introduced at those companies but is also actually being used. Meanwhile,⑤ Returner had a 57.6% introduction rate and a 39.9% percentage of users. The low use of the policy has
likely led to the high percentage of employees coming to the office.
Figure 5: Introduction Rate of Work-from-home Policy (Recap) and Percentage of Users

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute
As for satellite offices, 80% of ① Advocate, who currently has an introduction rate of 100%, hadintroduced them before the pandemic, as had more than 50% of ② Wellness-focused (Figure 6). The
introduction rate of satellite offices differed significantly between company types compared to theintroduction rate of a work-from-home policy, with the rate being 0% among ③ Potential Advocate anda little less than 10% among ④ Skeptic and ⑤ Returner. The percentage of users was low at around 20–
30% even among ① Advocate and ② Wellness-focused, indicating room for growth in companies’ useof satellite offices going forward.
Figure 6: Introduction Rate of Satellite Offices (Recap) and Percentage of Users

Figure 7 shows when the companies intend to begin reconsidering their comprehensive workplacestrategies, including the introduction of telework mentioned above. Companies with a stronger inclination
toward decentralization and a hybrid work style have begun reconsidering their strategies at an early stage,
with 64.0% of ① Advocate “already reconsidering.” Meanwhile, the top reply of ⑤ Returner was “Neither
have begun reconsidering nor plan to” (69.2%). ③ Potential Advocate showed a relatively highpercentage of “Will begin reconsidering at some point but do not know when” (30.1%), indicating they arelikely to start reconsidering their strategies once the end of the pandemic comes into sight.

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute
Figure 7: Timing of Reconsidering Workplace Strategies

These developments seem to affect companies’ productivity. In terms of employees’ performancecompared to before the pandemic, company types with a stronger inclination toward decentralization anda hybrid work style tended to have a high percentage of “Improved (very much/somewhat)” (Figure 8).
However, “Dropped (very much/somewhat)” gained a certain percentage across all company types,
suggesting that companies are still in search for an effective work style on the back of the rapid changes
that have occurred since the start of the pandemic.
Figure 8: Employees’ Performance Compared to before the Pandemic

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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The issues and problems companies faced in implementing telework also showed different
characteristics between company types (Figure 9).
Overall, “Difficulty in communication” and “Difficulty in management (work, attendance, evaluation, etc.)”
were popular issues. ③ Potential Advocate, who does not use telework as much as ① Advocate and ②
Wellness-focused, had an especially high percentage of “Insufficient paperless processes” (46.2%),
suggesting there is significant room for improvement going forward. ⑤ Returner had the highest
percentage of “Drop in employees’ productivity and work efficiency” (46.2%) among the five company
types, which has likely led to their low telework introduction rate.
Figure 9: Issues and Problems in Implementing Telework (Multiple Answer)

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate InstituteViews and Values
The difference in the current initiatives of the five company types is most likely affected by the differencesin the companies’ views and values.
For example, an in-depth examination of the themes ranking second and below of the “Theme to focus
on for after the pandemic” in Figure 2 indicates that “Promote DX,” “Encourage innovation & create new
businesses” and “Strengthen personnel strategies (e.g., diversity)” were popular among ① Advocate–③
Potential Advocate, who are oriented toward decentralization and a hybrid work style, suggesting anawareness toward long-term enhancement of corporate competitiveness (Figure 10). ② Wellnessfocused had the highest percentage of “Employee satisfaction & well-being” (49.3%) among the five types.
This may have led to their adoption of telework as well as to an emphasis on coming to the office, which
we will discuss later. “Strengthen financial base (e.g., cost reduction)” (35.6%) stood out among ⑤
Returner, implying that cost awareness may have led to their unwillingness to reform work styles.
Figure 10: Theme to Focus on for after the Pandemic (Multiple Answer) (Recap)

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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As for companies’ views toward telework, “It is effective for improving employee satisfaction” and “It isbeneficial for recruiting personnel” were popular among ① Advocate–④ Skeptic, indicating that thosecompanies consider the use of telework beneficial to a certain degree. On the other hand, less than 10%of the companies of those types chose “There will be no need to telework once the risk of infection abates”(Figure 11). In particular, ① Advocate had high percentages of “It is effective in promoting diversity”(47.1%) and “It enables employees to work productively” (40.4%), indicating that they value telework as
more than a means of employee benefit.
On the other hand, “It is necessary in order to follow the trend of society” (44.3%) was popular among④ Skeptic, along with improving employee satisfaction. 46.2% of ⑤ Returner thought “There will be noneed to telework once the risk of infection abates.” This may have been affected by the fact that this typedoes not value “It is effective for improving employee satisfaction” (21.2%) and “It enables employees towork productively” (5.8%) as much as other types.
Figure 11: Views toward Telework (Multiple Answer)

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute
In terms of the views toward coming to the office, ⑤ Returner was also more positive about coming tothe office than other types, as is evident in the popularity of “It enables employees to work productively”(47.1%) and “It is easier to manage employees” (48.1%) (Figure 12). ① Advocate–③ Potential Advocate,
who are oriented toward decentralization and a hybrid work style, also appreciated the unique values ofthe office, such as “It is easier to communicate” and “It fosters a sense of unity among employees.”
Furthermore, 51.5% of ① Advocate, who highly values the advantages of teleworking as shown in Figure
11, chose “There is work that can only be done at the office,” suggesting that the office will continue to beneeded going forward.
Figure 12: Views toward Coming to the Office (Multiple Answer)

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Direction after the Pandemic
In Chapter 2, we identified the characteristics of each company type in terms of their current initiatives
and views under the pandemic. In Chapter 3, we compare the future intentions of each company type toforecast the direction of work styles and the workplace of Japanese companies after the pandemic.

Intentions toward a Hybrid Work Style
We will first compare companies’ future intentions toward the percentage of employees coming to theoffice and the current percentages, which we examined in Chapter 2, as an indicator of the direction ofwork styles and the workplace. As shown in Figure 13, none of the types intend a significant change fromthe current percentages of employees coming to the office. ① Advocate–④ Skeptic intend to limit thepercentage to around 40–60% even after the pandemic. On the other hand, ⑤ Returner plans to return
to a work style of mainly coming to the office (90.8%).
Figure 13: Percentage of Employees Coming to the Office (Current & Future Intention)

That ① Advocate–④ Skeptic intend to keep the percentage low means that they intend to continue
to adopt telework after the pandemic. Here, we will re-examine companies’ intentions to introduce a workfrom-home policy and satellite offices, which were shown in Figure 2.
We asked companies to choose either “Want to introduce/continue (somewhat)” or “Do not want tointroduce/continue (somewhat)” as their future intention toward a work-from-home policy and satellite
offices. We call the percentage of “Want to introduce/continue (somewhat)” the percentage of companies
wanting to introduce the measure.
With regard to the work-from-home policy, although 57.6% of ⑤ Returner has introduced the policy,
many companies intend to abolish it, with only 1.0% of the companies wanting to continue it (Figure 14).
On the other hand, 100% of ① Advocate has already introduced it as well as want to introduce it, and100% of ② Wellness-focused–④ Skeptic want to introduce it, which lead us to expect the work-fromhome policy to continue to be adopted extensively after the pandemic.

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Figure 14: Current Introduction Rate of and Percentage of Companies Wanting to Introduce a
Work-from-home Policy (Recap)

The percentage of companies wanting to introduce satellite offices differed between company types(Figure 15). The percentage was 100% among ① Advocate–③ Potential Advocate, with ③ Potential
Advocate, in particular, showing a large shift in attitude. 100% of the companies of that type want tointroduce a satellite office after the pandemic, as opposed to the current introduction rate of 0%.
Considering that ③ Potential Advocate has relatively small numbers of employees and small office space(Figure 3), the use of satellite offices is likely to spread beyond certain large companies to SMEs, which
account for a majority of Japanese companies. On the other hand, the percentage of companies wanting
to introduce satellite offices was low among ④ Skeptic and ⑤ Returner, at 0% and 15.4%, respectively,
displaying stark differences in orientation toward a hybrid work style.
Figure 15: Current Introduction Rate of and Percentage of Companies Wanting to Introduce
Satellite Offices (Recap)

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute① Advocate–③ Potential Advocate also had strong intentions to decentralize workplace functions
geographically from central Tokyo to the suburbs, in addition to decentralizing from the conventional officewhere employees congregate (the main office) to employees’ homes and satellite offices (Figure 16). Whileplaces for office work had been concentrated in central Tokyo, if the trend of decentralizing them to thesuburbs triggered by the pandemic accelerates, it would solve social issues such as commuter rush hours
and voids in suburban residential areas, as well as provide large benefits in terms of BCP (business
continuity plans) in times of natural disasters, including earthquakes and pandemics. On the other hand,both ④ Skeptic and ⑤ Returner had strong intentions to “centralize only in head office,” coinciding withthe percentage of employees coming to the office mentioned earlier.
Figure 16: Intention toward Location of Workplace Other Than for Head Office Functions(Multiple Answer) (Recap)

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate InstituteIntentions toward the Main Office
If a decentralized work style, such as teleworking, spreads, the conventional office where employees
congregate (the main office) will be forced to change. According to the results of companies’ interest inmeasures for their main office, ① Advocate–③ Potential Advocate showed interest in measures basedon a hybrid strategy that combines telework and coming to the office, including “Place emphasis oncommunication and functions for congregating” and “Increase private rooms and booths for remotemeetings” (Figure 17). ② Wellness-focused, in particular, was interested in various measures, suggesting
their intention to promote telework as well as enhance their office environment. ④ Skeptic and ⑤
Returner had strong intentions to “Maintain the status quo.”
Figure 17: Measures for the Main Office Companies are Interested in (Multiple Answer) (Recap)

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute
Changes in the use of the main office are likely to have an effect on office space. In terms of companies’
intentions toward office space going forward, ① Advocate had the strongest intention to downsize(41.9%), while a certain percentage of ② Wellness-focused–④ Skeptic also had such intentions,indicating that they are considering improving office space efficiency at the same time as adopting
telework (Figure 18). On the other hand, ⑤ Returner, who has strong intentions to centralize offices, hadrelatively strong intentions to expand the office (10.6%), indicating that they may play a role of supporting
office demand depending on the economic situation going forward.
Figure 18: Office Space (Recap)

Conclusion
In this report, we classified companies into five types using data that indicate initiatives in work styles
and the workplace, and found that the details of the companies’ initiatives, the views behind the initiatives,
and their future intentions were not uniform even if they had introduced a work-from-home policy in thesame manner. In particular, we found that the intermediate group (③ Potential Advocate), which has not
yet undergone major changes in their current initiatives, differed from ④ Skeptic and ⑤ Returner, who
are inclined toward maintaining the status quo, as it intends to embrace a hybrid work style, such as
introducing satellite offices, going forward.
The rapid spread of telework caused by the pandemic has triggered companies to rethink the meaningof the office. As a result, many companies have recognized the importance of workplace strategies as amanagerial issue. It is safe to assume that the post-pandemic workplace strategy will be to decentralize
workplaces or provide alternative workplaces and shift to a hybrid strategy of combining telework andcoming to the office. In the July 2021 survey that was used in the clustering for this report, 70.9% of
responding companies intended not to return to the office 100% after the pandemic.*1 As companies
reconsider the work style that requires all employees to congregate in the same office every day, thetraditional office is unlikely to be able to respond to post-pandemic work styles. The rethinking ofworkplace strategies has become an urgent managerial issue for companies.
At the individual company level, it goes without saying that not all companies will embrace both telework

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Instituteand coming to the office. As is evident from Japan’s situation during the pandemic, companies’ views
toward the workplace are highly individualized depending on the attributes and characteristics of eachcompany (e.g., company size, sector, culture, intentions of top management) and range from returning tothe office completely and abolishing the office. In the post-pandemic world where there is no longer thecommon goal of preventing infection, the individuality will become even more prominent, with workplacestrategies strongly reflecting the company’s characteristics.
Because there is no absolute answer for all companies, each company will have to continue searchingfor a better workplace strategy based on their respective management strategies. In terms of the fivecompany types of this report, the two decentralizing types (① and ②) will be required to determine theoptimal balance between teleworking and coming to the office, aim to leverage telework further (e.g.,
formulate guidelines for raising the currently low percentage of users of satellite offices), and redefine theroles of the main office from the perspective of long-term productivity and innovation. The two types withstrong intentions to return to the office after the pandemic (④ and ⑤) may be required to reconsider andenhance the functions and positioning of the main office. The intermediate group (③ Potential Advocate)will be undergoing trial and error in their efforts, starting from scratch, to optimize the allocation of places
for telework and raise awareness of their employees as they promote a decentralized work style.
In any case, all companies must recognize the common fact that simply returning to the pre-pandemic
ways of using the office will no longer work. For many workers, who experienced new work styles due tothe pandemic, a return to the office due to lack of strategy would lead to a sense of distrust of theorganization and a decline in the organization’s cohesiveness. It will also have a negative impact not only
on securing personnel but also on labor productivity and innovation. These will directly result in a drop in
the company’s competitiveness. While there is no need for companies to introduce a hybrid work styleacross the board, if they choose to have their employees congregate in the office, it will be essential forthem to convey to their employees that the choice is based on the intention of creating value by working
together in the same place.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has finally started to show signs of abating, the outlook remains
difficult to foresee. The five types in this report only reflect the current situation and are temporary, butthey should work as a guide for formulating strategies during times when companies are required theagility to address rapid changes in the business environment. Workplace strategies are becoming
increasingly important as a managerial issue that should be considered continuously for the sustainabilityof companies. Xymax Real Estate Institute will continue to provide information that will serve as a guide.

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness.
This report may not be reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute.
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Survey Overview
Greater Tokyo Company Survey on Work Styles and the Workplace | July 2021 (in Japanese only)
Survey title

Details of findings:
https://soken.xymax.co.jp/2021/08/13/2108-greatertokyo_workstyle_survey_2107/

Survey period

Targetrespondents

July 6–18, 2021
40,688 companies in total that include:・Client companies of XYMAX INFONISTA Corporation
・Companies subscribing to ZXY, a satellite office service for corporations

Number of valid
answers

926 companies; response rate: 2.3%

Geographicalcoverage

Greater Tokyo (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba Prefectures)

Survey method

Email

Questions and Choices Used for Clustering
・Introduction of work-from-home policy
Had introduced from before the pandemic
Had introduced from before the pandemic and enhanced/expanded due to the pandemic
Had introduced from before the pandemic and continuing (incl. temporarily suspended but resumed)
Had introduced from before the pandemic but abolished
Have never introduced
・Introduction of satellite offices
Had introduced from before the pandemic
Had introduced from before the pandemic and enhanced/expanded due to the pandemic
Had introduced from before the pandemic and continuing (incl. temporarily suspended but resumed
and temporarily restricting use)
Had introduced from before the pandemic but abolished
Have never introduced
・Future intention toward introducing work-from-home policy
・Future intention toward introducing satellite offices
Want to introduce/continue
Want to introduce/continue somewhat)

Do not want to introduce/continue somewhat
Do not want to introduce/continue
Don’t know
・Intentions after the pandemic: Theme to focus on going forward (Multiple answer)

Encourage innovation & create new businesses; employee satisfaction & well-being; enhanceinternational competitiveness; strengthen personnel strategies (e.g., personnel system, diversity);

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness.
This report may not be reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute.
Copyright © 2021 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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TOPIC REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institutepromote DX; strengthen financial base (e.g., cost reduction); address SDGs; BCP measures (business
continuity plan in times of infectious diseases and disasters); other; none in particular/don’t know
・Intentions after the pandemic: Location of head office functions
Central Tokyo
Suburb or provinces
Will not have offices
Don’t know
・Intentions after the pandemic: Location of workplace other than for head office functions (Multiple
answer)Enable employees to work in Central Tokyo (e.g., satellite office); enable employees to work in suburb(e.g., satellite office, work-from-home); enable employees to work in provinces or resorts (e.g.,
workation); centralize only in head office; don’t know
・Intentions after the pandemic: Strategy for the main office interested in (Multiple answer)

Place emphasis on creating a place for communication and functions for congregating; increaseprivate rooms and booths for remote meetings; transform the office to a flexible layout (e.g., hotdesking); reconsider number of desks; reconsider office operation to take into accountemployees’ health and infection control (e.g., hygiene management); maintain status quo;
embrace digitalization and IoT in the office (e.g., face recognition system, tracking); grasp
employees’ status of coming to the office (e.g., require reservation of desks); reduce or abolishlarge meeting rooms; don’t know
・Intentions after the pandemic: Office space
Want to expand
Will not change
Want to downsize
Don’t know

The percentage mix in the charts contained in this report are rounded to the first decimal place and therefore may not add up to 100%.

For further inquiries please contact below:
Xymax Real Estate Institutehttps://soken.xymax.co.jp | E-MAIL: info-rei@xymax.co.jp

TOPIC REPORT: Companies’ Workplace Strategies Identified Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness.
This report may not be reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute.
Copyright © 2021 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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