Intention of teleworking considering risk perceptions of commuting and ICT use in three major metropolitan areas in Japan

Teleworking has been disseminated throughout the world with the spread of the coronavirus, which has instigated changes in our workstyle. To better understand teleworking, a web-based questionnaire survey was conducted at the end of March 2020. The survey included 3,500 respondents who worked and lived in three metropolitan areas in Japan. In this study, the choice and intention to telework were analyzed while considering the trade-off between commuting and teleworking as well as incorporating the cost and benefit of both commuting and teleworking. The commuting cost includes travel time, travel-related risks (contracting COVID-19), and satisfaction with travel scale. For the cost of teleworking, risks of ICT use were incorporated. The work satisfaction with teleworking compared to office-based work was measured by incorporating social presence as a predictor. Further, socioeconomic attributes such as age, family composition, type of work, and type of industries were considered. The binary probit and ordered probit model were applied to the analysis. The estimation results showed that risk perceptions, travel satisfaction, and work quality of teleworking considerably affected the individual's preference to telework. The findings are expected to provide valuable insight into urban planning and transportation system designs resistant to the risk of infectious diseases.