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While in previous years the market was still debating whether remote work was feasible, today, due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a considerable number of employers are rapidly digitizing their work processes and adopting remote work, either voluntarily or out of necessity. When it comes to \"remote work,\" it is generally associated with IT companies, while large-scale implementation is less common in traditional manufacturing industries such as the chemical sector. Mitsubishi Chemical, Japan’s largest chemical company, announced that around 10% of its employees will adopt a permanent \"fully remote work arrangement\". According to a recent report by Nikkei Chinese Network, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings in Japan has introduced a permanent \"fully remote work system\" that does not require employees to come to the office; this system applies to 4,200 people, accounting for 10% of the total workforce. Due to the special nature of the chemical industry, remote work is applicable to employees who work at Mitsubishi Chemical’s headquarters and its surrounding areas, primarily engaging in administrative, sales, system development, and similar tasks; it is not suitable for factories that operate on a 24/7 shift system to ensure continuous production. Mitsubishi Chemical states that remote work is not mandatory, but rather an additional option that allows employees to work easily if they wish. To this end, Mitsubishi Chemical has renovated its headquarters office to make it more convenient for holding remote meetings. To counter the impact of fully remote work, which may lead to a significant reduction in internal communication within the company, Mitsubishi Chemical plans to increase the frequency of meetings between supervisors and subordinates. In addition, it is also recommended to hold informal meetings online to address the issue of reduced communication. Mitsubishi Chemical used to stipulate that employees must be present at work at least once a week. In the spring of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, Mitsubishi Chemical granted its employees the option to work entirely from home on a special basis. At the office in Tokyo that operates under a fully remote work system, around 70% of employees are currently working from home or from satellite offices, and this system has been made permanent since April of this year. In fiscal year 2021, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings achieved sales revenue of 3,976.948 billion yen (approximately $31 billion), a 22.1% increase compared to the previous year. This placed it at the top of Japan’s chemical industry, with a lead of $9.4 billion over its closest rival, Sumitomo Chemical. A Brief History of Remote Work: In 1973, American rocket expert Jack Niels introduced the concept of remote work. At that time, the first global oil crisis broke out, with soaring oil prices causing a severe shortage of fuel in the United States. Under such conditions of fuel scarcity, driving to and from work over long distances would undoubtedly increase commuting costs. Jack Niles, who was working at the University of Southern California at that time, began research on \"telecommuting\" and \"telework\" with the support of the National Science Foundation; these terms were coined by him in 1973. IBM and CDC Control Data were pioneers in adopting remote work; at that time, to address the shortage of software engineers, IBM used remote work as a way to attract IT professionals. The company that practices remote work to the greatest extent in the world is famous for its website building system, WordPress. Its founder, Matt Mullenweg, is a strong advocate of remote work, and the company has adhered to this approach since its inception. Automattic currently has 1,986 employees working in 96 locations; they speak 119 different languages, and all employees are free to choose their own workplace. Although remote work is becoming increasingly common, its effectiveness and impact on performance have also given rise to many doubts and controversies. The most significant move was Yahoo’s decision in 2013 to eliminate remote work across the entire company, with the aim of fostering collaboration and a creative working environment. Many companies followed suit: HP, IBM, and even Best Buy brought their remote teams back to the office. The pace of the remote work revolution has slowed down significantly. However, with the spread of the coronavirus, the trend toward remote work has resurged.