Xymax Real Estate Institute

RESEARCH REPORT

Metropolitan Areas Office Worker Survey 2023 (2)Evaluation of Work Styles <Summary Report>
Capturing changes in workers’ work styles and values

December 13, 2023

Japan is transitioning to a post-COVID state as it downgraded the categorization of COVID-19 under theInfectious Disease Law to Class 5 in May 2023.
To capture changes in work styles and the workplace from the perspectives of both companies and office
workers, Xymax Real Estate Institute (“Xymax REI”) has conducted a total of 14 Metropolitan Areas Office
Demand Surveys of companies since autumn 2016 and seven Greater Tokyo Office Worker Surveys of office
workers since the end of 2016. This 8th office worker survey was conducted in October 2023 with the additionof regional cities in the survey’s geographical coverage. This summary report is an excerpt of the results of thesurvey concerning the evaluation of the current work styles. “(1) Work Style Reality and Needs,”*1 released on
the same day, summarizes the results of the reality and the needs in work styles.
*1 Metropolitan Areas Office Worker Survey 2023 (1) Work Style Reality and Needs, released on December 13, 2023

https://www.xymax.co.jp/english/research/images/pdf/20231213_1.pdf

Main Findings

Although more than 40% of respondents are “(very/somewhat) satisfied” with their current work
style, this can also be interpreted to mean that the majority are not satisfied (Figure 1-1). In termsof respondents’ performance, engagement with the organization they work for, and stress, by thelevel of satisfaction with their work style, higher levels of satisfaction led to higher ratings for all
items (Figure 1-2).

Among workers who are “(very/somewhat) dissatisfied” with their current work style, their top
specific dissatisfactions or issues were “Stressful commute” (49.8%) and “Must come to the officeeven if the work could be done through telework” (45.1%) (Figure 2-1).

Of respondents’ dissatisfactions and issues with their work styles, those related to the inability totelework freely, such as “Must come to the office even if the work could be done through telework,”“Working from home now prohibited or restricted” and “Difficult to telework due to atmosphere ofworkplace or intention of supervisor,” had a negative correlation with satisfaction. There was also anegative correlation with “Currently coming to the office full time” and a positive correlation with
“Have discretion to choose where to work that day,” suggesting that having the option to teleworkand the discretion to choose where to work affects satisfaction (Figure 2-2). However, in reality,
more than half of the workers replied that they “don’t have (that much)” (51.8%) discretion overwhere to work (Figure 2-3).

When confirming the reality of work styles by whether the respondent has discretion over where towork, we found that workers with discretion spent more time teleworking and had more options ofworkplaces in and outside of the office (Figures 3-1 & 3-2).

Metropolitan Areas Office Worker Survey 2023 (2) Evaluation of Work Styles <Summary Report>
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 © 2024 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

1RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute<Survey Overview>
Survey period:

October 2023

Target respondents:(1) Screening: Men and women between the ages of 20 and 69 whose occupation iscompany manager/executive or company employee and who live in the areas
covered by the survey.
(2) Main survey: Those who answered in the screening that their occupation waseither an officer or staff of a company or organization whose job category wasmanagerial, specialized/technical, clerical or sales and whose regular office waslocated in Greater Tokyo (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures), Osaka
City, Nagoya City or Fukuoka City, whose residence was in Greater Tokyo (Tokyo,Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures), or Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka,Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama, Fukuoka or Saga prefectures and whose current principal
workplace was the office or home.

Number of valid answers: 4,120
Allocated according to the location of the respondent’s regular office.
(Greater Tokyo: 2,060; Osaka City: 1,030; Nagoya City: 515; Fukuoka City: 515)
Geographical coverage:

Greater Tokyo (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures) and Gifu, Aichi, Mie,Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama, Fukuoka and Saga prefectures

Survey method:

Online<Related survey>
・Greater Tokyo Office Worker Survey 2022, released on November 30, 2022
https://www.xymax.co.jp/english/research/images/pdf/20221130.pdf

Metropolitan Areas Office Worker Survey 2023 (2) Evaluation of Work Styles <Summary Report>
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 © 2024 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institutetopic 1
Although more than 40% of respondents are “(very/somewhat) satisfied” with theircurrent work style, this can also be interpreted to mean that the majority are notsatisfied (Figure 1-1). In terms of respondents’ performance, engagement with theorganization they work for, and stress, by the level of satisfaction with their workstyle, higher levels of satisfaction led to higher ratings for all items (Figure 1-2).
Figure 1-1: Satisfaction with Current Work Style

Metropolitan Areas Office Worker Survey 2023 (2) Evaluation of Work Styles <Summary Report>
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 © 2024 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute
Figure 1-2: Current Performance, Engagement, Stress – By Satisfaction in Work Style

Metropolitan Areas Office Worker Survey 2023 (2) Evaluation of Work Styles <Summary Report>
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 © 2024 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institutetopic 2
Among workers who are “(very/somewhat) dissatisfied” with their current work style,their top specific dissatisfactions or issues were “Stressful commute” (49.8%) and“Must come to the office even if the work could be done through telework” (45.1%)(Figure 2-1).
Of respondents’ dissatisfactions and issues with their work styles, those related to theinability to telework freely, such as “Must come to the office even if the work could bedone through telework,” “Working from home now prohibited or restricted” and“Difficult to telework due to atmosphere of workplace or intention of supervisor,” hada negative correlation with satisfaction. There was also a negative correlation with“Currently coming to the office full time” and a positive correlation with “Havediscretion to choose where to work that day,” suggesting that having the option totelework and the discretion to choose where to work affects satisfaction (Figure 2-2).
However, in reality, more than half of the workers replied that they “don’t have (thatmuch)” (51.8%) discretion over where to work (Figure 2-3).
Figure 2-1: Dissatisfaction or Issue with Current Work Style

Metropolitan Areas Office Worker Survey 2023 (2) Evaluation of Work Styles <Summary Report>
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 © 2024 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute
Figure 2-2: Correlation between Current Work Style and Satisfaction

Figure 2-3: Discretion over Where to Work

Metropolitan Areas Office Worker Survey 2023 (2) Evaluation of Work Styles <Summary Report>
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 © 2024 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institutetopic 3
When confirming the reality of work styles by whether the respondent has discretionover where to work, we found that workers with discretion spent more timeteleworking and had more options of workplaces in and outside of the office.
In terms of the utilization of layouts within the office by discretionary status, workers
with discretion over where to work tended to have higher utilization rates of alllayouts except for fixed desks, including “open meeting space,” “booth or privateroom for remote meetings” and “space for refreshing,” indicating they are engaged in
Activity Based Working (ABW), where one chooses where to work within the officeaccording to the purpose (Figure 3-1).
In terms of the implementation rate of the telework initiatives of satellite offices andworking from home, more than 80% of the group of workers with no discretion overwhere to work replied “Neither,” while as much as about 20% of the group of workers
with discretion used a satellite office (the sum of “Both from SO and from home” and“Only from SO”) (Figure 3-2).
Figure 3-1: Utilization of Layouts within the Office – By Discretionary Status

Metropolitan Areas Office Worker Survey 2023 (2) Evaluation of Work Styles <Summary Report>
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 © 2024 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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RESEARCH REPORT｜Xymax Real Estate Institute
Figure 3-2: Implementation Rate of Initiatives on the Place for Telework – By Discretionary Status

The percentage mix in the charts contained in this report is rounded to the first decimal place and, therefore, may not add up to 100%.
Note: The contents of this report are as of the time of writing. Xymax Real Estate Institute does not guarantee their accuracy orcompleteness.
This report may not be reproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real EstateInstitute.

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

Metropolitan Areas Office Worker Survey 2023 (2) Evaluation of Work Styles <Summary Report>
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 bereproduced, cited, transmitted, distributed, or reprinted without prior permission of Xymax Real Estate Institute.
Copyright © 2024 Xymax Real Estate Institute Corporation. All rights reserved.

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