JOB MARKET PAPER

Due to an increase in the adoption of the “work-from-home” policy in many organisations worldwide, including Japan, this study investigated the causal relationship between remote work, work hours, and household production among workers in Japan. Revisiting the Milgram experiments, this study hypothesised that remote work could provide significant psychological distance between employee and their physical workplace, which hinder employer and peer pressure on employees. As a result, employees may reduce unnecessary work hours and increase household production. I performed panel data analysis on post-pandemic datasets from Osaka University’s Preference Parameter Study and found that remote work reduces work hours among workers in Japan. However, only men with remote work reduced their unpaid work hours. Furthermore, the effects of remote work on household production are statistically insignificant.