Xymax Real Estate Institute

TOPIC REPORT

Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
Satellite offices increasingly adopted by the young

March 15, 2023

Introduction
Office workers’ work styles have undergone drastic changes as companies rapidly introduced teleworkin the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2017, Xymax Real Estate Institute (“Xymax REI”) has
continuously conducted the Greater Tokyo Office Worker Survey,*1 an annual survey of office workers
working in the Greater Tokyo area. Against this backdrop, we have decided to quantitatively examine thechanges in workers’ work styles by comparing the data chronologically from before the pandemic to 2022,
the most recent year.
In this report, we use the survey data of five years from the 2018 survey, which are sufficient in survey
content and valid answers. We aim to offer tips for companies’ personnel strategies by chronologicallycomparing figures related to telework, in particular, to explore the reality of workers’ work styles, the impact
of telework, and changes in values. We hope this report will provide companies with food for thought inconsidering what kind of environment they should prepare in order to realize a sustainable work style forboth workers and companies.
*1 Greater Tokyo Office Worker Survey 2022, released on November 30, 2022
https://www.xymax.co.jp/english/research/images/pdf/20221130.pdf

Summary
1.

Changes in work styles compared to before the pandemic

Telework implementation rate rose sharply in 2020 and has remained above 60% in thesubsequent three years. The time allocated to telework has similarly increased, averaging 32.1%(around 1.5 days per week) in the latest 2022 survey.



In terms of the place for telework, the share of satellite offices has been increasing each year, while
the share of the home (working from home) has peaked out.

Dissatisfaction with working from home has not been resolved even after three years since theoutbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The young especially feel productivity-related challenges,
such as “Difficult to concentrate, prone to distraction” and “Prone to long work hours.”

2.

Satellite office utilization rate by attributeThe utilization rate of satellite offices is showing remarkable growth among young people in their
20s and 30s and among the rank-and-file class. By job category, the growth is notable among
technical specialists and corporate planning, while by sector of employer, growth is notable in
information & communications and manufacturing.



While working from home currently accounts for most of the telework time, when we focus on
those who have actually used a satellite office between 2020 and 2022, 18.2% (a little less than 1
day per week) of their time on average was spent working in a satellite office.

3.

Benefits of using satellite officesIn terms of values regarding where to work, the percentage of “[B] Prefer to choose where to work

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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TOPIC REPORT｜ Xymax Real Estate Instituteeach time” rose among all generations in 2020. Among the 30s and 40s, the percentage exceededthat of “[A] Prefer to commute to a fixed office.” Subsequently in 2022, the percentage of [B]exceeded that of [A] among the 20s and 30s. The percentage of [B] has been increasing each year
among the 30s, in particular.
Compared to non-users of satellite offices, satellite office users rate productivity-related benefitsof teleworking, such as “Better work results” and “Can come up with good ideas,” more highly.

Satellite office users feel the effect of being able to choose where to work as the reason for theirheightened performance due to telework. Meanwhile, many of the reasons for a drop in
performance were communication related. There was no gap between satellite office users andnon-users in this regard. In other words, the issue of communication in telework remains difficult
to solve even when using satellite offices.

Changes in work styles compared to before the pandemic
The percentage of those who telework (telework implementation rate) rose sharply in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and has remained above 60% until the latest survey (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Telework Implementation Rate (2018–2022)

In terms of time allocation, the share of telework has increased sharply since 2020 to an average of 30%–
40% of total working hours (Figure 2). This suggests that telework is taking root as a work style option
due to the pandemic. Note that in the 2021 survey, the telework implementation rate and its time allocation
were likely affected by the third state of emergency (April 25 to September 30), which coincided with thesurvey period (September 10 to 12).
Figure 2: Time Allocated to Telework (2018–2022)

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Figure 3 shows the implementation rate of each style of telework. It indicates that, while working fromhome (WFH) had been leading the telework implementation rate, the growth slowed in the latest 2022
survey and may have peaked out. Meanwhile, the utilization rate of satellite offices has continued to riseand is now almost 10 times the rate in the 2018 survey.
Figure 3: Implementation Rate of Initiatives on the Place for Telework (2018–2022)

Possible backgrounds to the sluggish growth of WFH implementation rates include the failure to solve
issues in WFH, which has been pointed out since the initial stages of the pandemic.
In three surveys (2020, 2021 and 2022) of this survey series, we asked respondents their dissatisfaction
with WFH, the result of which is shown in Figure 4. When we examine the trends over time, we find that
dissatisfactions in terms of the work environment, including “Lack of equipment such as monitors andphotocopiers” and “Lack of space or appliances suited for work,” were being resolved over the past three
years. On the other hand, dissatisfactions such as “Prone to lack exercise or become unhealthy” and“Difficult to switch on and off from work” still ranked high in the latest 2022 survey, which suggests thatthese issues are hard to solve even if workers become accustomed to working from home.
According to the 2022 survey, WFH accounts for more than 90% of the current total telework hours,*1
indicating that WFH has become almost synonymous with telework. If telework continues to take root, it
may be necessary to provide workplace options other than the home, which still poses some issues, inorder to guarantee workers’ productivity and well-being.

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Figure 4: Dissatisfaction with Working from Home (2020–2022)

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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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In Figure 5 we compared the dissatisfactions with WFH in 2020 and 2022 by age group and extracted
three dissatisfactions that showed different characteristics by age group.
We found that “Difficult to concentrate; prone to distraction” was gaining popularity as a dissatisfaction
among the relatively young age groups (20s, 30s, 40s) and that “Prone to work long hours” was becoming
more common among the 20s. Continued work-from-home by the young may have a negative effect in
the long run in terms of productivity and well-being.
On the other hand, “Cost burden (e.g., for utility, communications)” rose in popularity among all age
groups except for the 20s. Young adults, who have less working experience, may tend to feel challenges intheir own work performance, while the older age groups may tend to have frustration in external factors
such as their company’s support.
Figure 5: Dissatisfaction with Working from Home – By Age Group (2020, 2022)
0%

10%

費用負担

集中しづらい・気が散る

2020: Difficult to

長時間労働になりやすい

concentrate

Prone to work long
hours

50%

27.0%
32.8%（n=241）

40s

25.9%
29.7%（n=397）
24.3%
27.3%（n=480）
18.9%
23.6%（n=203）

60s or above

25.7%
32.0%（n=125）

20s

Difficult to concentrate;

40%

30s

50s

prone to distraction

30%

27.9%
24.8%（n=125）

20s

Cost burden(e.g., for utility,communications)

20%

23.4%
27.0%（n=241）

30s

17.1%
22.9%（n=397）

40s
50s

15.6%
15.0%（n=480）

60s or above

14.0%
14.8%（n=203）

20s

7.4%

12.8%（n=125）

30s

18.2%
15.8%（n=241）

40s

20.2%
15.1%（n=397）

50s
60s or above2020 (n=1,532)
2022 (n=1,446)

20.5%
18.3%（n=480）
17.1%
9.4%（n=203）(Workers with work-from-home experience; MA; excerpt of choices)

The different wording for answer choices in the 2020 survey is indicated within the chart.

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Satellite office utilization rate by attributeAs shown in Figure 3, the utilization rate of satellite offices has been rising each year. Here we examine
the attributes of workers among whom the use of satellite offices has been spreading.
By age group, there was no significant difference in the use of satellite offices until 2020, but the userose among the 40s and 50s in 2021 before growing sharply among the 20s and 30s in 2022 (Figure 6).
By job position, the utilization rate among officers and managers grew ahead of others until 2021, but in
2022 the rate rose among full-time and non-full-time employees (Figure 7). These results suggest that theofficer and manager class and those in their 40s or above used satellite offices ahead of other groups inthe initial stages of the pandemic, after which, since around 2022, the use has been spreading to the young
and the rank-and-file class.
Figure 6: Satellite Office Utilization Rate – By Age Group (2018–2022)

Figure 7: Satellite Office Utilization Rate – By Job Position (2018–2022)

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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In terms of job category, all categories show a growth in the utilization rate compared to before thepandemic, with the rate reaching the 20% level in all job categories except for “General office work;
reception; secretary” (13.1%) (Figure 8). The rate is especially high among “Technical specialist” (25.3%)
and “Corporate planning” (25.0%). The rise among technical specialists, whose work efficiency is affectedby their equipment environment, might be related to the fact that satellite offices’ facilities are being put
in place.
Figure 8: Satellite Office Utilization Rate – By Job Category (2018–2022)

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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In terms of gender, while the utilization rate among men is higher than women in all of the survey years,
the rate grew among women in 2022, bringing it almost equivalent to that of men (Figure 9). In terms ofwhether the respondents have children or not, the utilization rate among those without children rose in
2022 to roughly the same level as those with children (Figure 10). This is likely related to the trend
described earlier of a rise in use among those in their 40s or above and the officer and manager classahead of other groups, followed by the spread of use among the young and the rank-and-file class in 2022.
Figure 9: Satellite Office Utilization Rate – By Gender (2018–2022)

Figure 10: Satellite Office Utilization Rate – By Existence of Children (2018–2022)

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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In terms of the number of employees of the employer, while the utilization rate is higher among large
companies in all of the survey years, the rate has been rising steadily among medium-sized companies
with 100–999 employees (Figure 11). By sector, the utilization rate and growth rate are high among the
manufacturing and information & communications sectors (Figure 12).
Figure 11: Satellite Office Utilization Rate – By Number of Employees of Employer (2018–2022)

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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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Figure 12: Satellite Office Utilization Rate – By Sector of Employer (2018–2022)

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute.
Copyright © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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TOPIC REPORT｜ Xymax Real Estate Institute<PICK UP> Utilization (time-based) by satellite office users
Thus far we have examined the characteristics of satellite office users. However, the aggregation
targets of the satellite office utilization rate in this report include those who only use satellite offices
occasionally. These users include people who use satellite offices as an emergency measure for when
they are on a business trip or when they cannot work from home due to family circumstances.
Therefore, here we focused on “users who actually work in a satellite office for more than 0% of their
total weekly working hours”*2 and examined the time allocated to satellite offices. Since it is difficult toobtain a sufficient number of samples for the analysis on a single-year basis, we aggregated the data forthe three years since the outbreak of the pandemic (2020, 2021 and 2022) and distributed the time spentusing satellite offices as a percentage of weekly working hours. The result is shown in Figure 13.
*2 We will refer to these users as “satellite office users (time-based)” as opposed to “satellite office users(authority-based),” who are the basis of calculation of satellite office utilization rates in this report.

First of all, the average figure of 18.2% indicates that a little less than one day a week is spent insatellite offices among all target respondents (20% is equivalent to one day a week in a five-day workweek). Secondly, 25.5% of the target respondents work in a satellite office for more than one day a week
(more than 20%).
As confirmed in Figure 3, the satellite office utilization rate has been rising steadily each year. If theuse of satellite offices continues to spread, the time spent using a satellite office as a percentage ofworking hours is also likely to continue to grow.
Figure 13: Time Spent Using Satellite Office as a Percentage of Weekly Working Hours

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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TOPIC REPORT｜ Xymax Real Estate InstituteBenefits of using a satellite office
Lastly, we explore the ideal place of work for workers and companies going forward. When focusing on
the values of the young, we see the need for workplace options.
Between 2018 and 2022 of this series of surveys, we asked respondents their values regarding work on
a five-point scale. Figure 14 compares by age group the result of which of the following two workplacevalues was closer to the respondent’s values: “[A] Prefer to commute to a fixed office” and “[B] Prefer tochoose where to work each time.”
In 2018 and 2019, “[A] Prefer to commute to a fixed office” was more popular among all age groups, but
in 2020, the year of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, “[B] Prefer to choose where to work eachtime” rose in popularity, becoming more popular than [A] among the 30s and 40s.
Subsequently in 2022, the popularity of [B] exceeded that of [A] among the 20s and 30s, with the 30s, inparticular, increasingly shifting toward [B] year after year. On the other hand, [A] became more popularthan [B] once again among the 40s, which indicates that the orientation toward being able to choose where
to work has becoming especially strong among young people in their 20s and 30s. Forcing the young tocome to the office or only offering them a WFH option may be a factor that leads to a drop in engagementwith the organization or a decline in productivity.

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Figure 14: Values Regarding Where to Work – By Age Group (2018–2022) *Not surveyed in 2021

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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TOPIC REPORT｜ Xymax Real Estate InstituteThen, what are the specific advantages of having options other than WFH, i.e., using a satellite office?
Figure 15 shows the results of the 2022 survey on the benefits of teleworking, compared between users
and non-users of satellite offices and listed in order of the largest point difference between users and nonusers.
The benefit with the largest point difference was “Better work results,” followed by “Can come up withgood ideas,” “Less physical burden (health improvement, less fatigue),” “Alleviation of stress” and “Canconcentrate on work,” indicating that satellite office users tend to rate benefits that are considered to relate
to productivity more highly.
Figure 15: Benefits of Teleworking – By Use or Non-use of Satellite Office (2022)

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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TOPIC REPORT｜ Xymax Real Estate InstituteFurthermore, we compared the results of respondents’ current work performance between users andnon-users of satellite offices compared to when coming to the office full time. Although there were no
statistically significant differences, there were clear characteristics of satellite office users in their freedescription of the reason for improved performance. The following are some excerpts.

Satellite office users’ reasons for change in performance(Free description, excerpt)
Reasons for performance improvement
 It has become easier to manage schedules and tasks. (20s female, full-time employee, sales) The ability to choose the workplace according to the work improves efficiency. (40s male, manager,
corporate planning) I think my work performance has improved, since the ability to choose where to work creates a goodbalance, enabling me to take a reasonable amount of rest despite the heavy workload. (40s female,manager, admin/HR/accounting) Because I can work with a fresh mind in a different environment. (50s male, manager, other job
category) Because I feel I can balance work and private life better in physical and mental terms by having
multiple workplaces. (50s male, manager, technical specialist)

Reasons for performance decline
 I don’t feel my work results have changed significantly, since a lot of my work involves working withforeign countries and I have few opportunities for “direct” communication, but the inability to checkthe status of or instruct subordinates is a negative. (50s male, manager, sales) Work performance drops since the materials are in paper and not digitized. It takes time to teachsubordinates what they don’t know. (50s male, manager, technical specialist) Although communication within the team is good, it is very difficult to communicate with groups
outside the team. (50s male, full-time employee, technical specialist)
 I don’t see the point of coming to the office when my work can be teleworked. (50s male, manager,
sales)As described above, satellite office users cite the effects of being able to choose where to work as thereason for their improved performance. This characteristic is not found among teleworkers who only workfrom home.
As for the reason for a drop in performance, on the other hand, many were related to communication,
which was the same between users and non-users of satellite offices. In other words, the issue ofcommunication when teleworking is still a difficult issue to solve even when using a satellite office.
Therefore, hybrid work, which combines coming to the office and teleworking, can be considered moredesirable than full-time telework. The last comment indicates the negative impact of forcing employees tocome to the office when the work can be teleworked. In promoting hybrid work, it will be important to give
workers discretion to choose where to work.

TOPIC REPORT: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Conclusion
By comparing the data from before the pandemic to the present, we were able to reconfirm how office
workers’ work styles have been transformed due to the pandemic. In particular, it has highlighted how thesatellite office utilization rate has risen each year, especially among the young, who support future business.
At the same time, we have also found that many young people still feel productivity-related challenges
in working from home, which accounts for a majority of the time spent teleworking, and that they are
increasingly preferring to choose where to work each time since the outbreak of the pandemic. Our analysis
has also revealed that satellite office users rate productivity-related benefits of teleworking, such as “Better
work results” and “Can come up with good ideas,” more highly than non-users regardless of age group.
When taking these results into account comprehensively, providing options for the place of telework
other than the home should be effective in promoting hybrid work going forward especially in terms of
securing young human resources and maintaining productivity. The use of satellite offices is one solution,
which is exactly why the utilization rate and supply of satellite offices are increasing every year.*3 Indeed,satellite office users whose work performance has improved due to teleworking feel the effect of being
able to choose where to work.
*3 Flexible Office Market Survey 2023, released on February 7, 2023
https://www.xymax.co.jp/english/research/images/pdf/20230207.pdf

With the business environment changing at a dizzying pace recently, it has become more important thanever for companies to improve productivity and secure human resources. Having workers work
continuously and productively has become an extremely important management issue. Xymax REI willcontinue to provide food for thought for examining the issue.

Survey Overview

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: Changes in Office Workers’ Workplace
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 © 2023 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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