テレワーク

• Reading: テレワーク
• Romaji: tere wāku
• Kanji breakdown: From English 'tele' (テレ, distant) + 'work' (ワーク)
• Pronunciation: /te.ɾe waː.ku/

Meaning

Telework — the official and governmental term for working remotely, often used in formal or policy contexts.

テレワーク is the more formal counterpart to リモートワーク. It's the preferred term in government announcements, corporate policies, and news broadcasts. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications officially promotes テレワーク as part of Japan's work-style reform. In casual conversation, most people use リモートワーク or just リモート instead.

Examples

1. 政府がテレワーク推進のガイドラインを発表した。 The government released new guidelines to promote telework.
2. テレワーク手当が月5000円出るようになったよ。 We started getting a 5,000 yen monthly telework allowance.
3. テレワークの導入率って業界によってかなり差があるよね。 The adoption rate for telework varies a lot depending on the industry, right?

Usage Guide

Context: workplace, government, news media, formal documents

Tone: formal, official

Do Say

• 弊社ではテレワーク制度を導入しております。 (Our company has implemented a telework system.)
• テレワークと出社のハイブリッド型が増えてるよね。 (Hybrid models combining telework and office days are increasing.)

Don't Say

• カジュアルな場で「テレワーク」はやや堅い印象 (Using テレワーク in casual conversation sounds a bit stiff — リモート is more natural among friends)

Common Mistakes

• Thinking テレワーク and リモートワーク are different things — they mean the same thing, テレワーク is just more formal

Origin & History

From English 'tele' (distant) + 'work.' Adopted by the Japanese government as the official term for remote work, predating the pandemic but gaining massive usage from 2020 onward.

Cultural Context

Era: Pre-pandemic coinage, mainstream from 2020

Generation: All working-age adults

Social background: Used in government, corporate, and media contexts

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. The government's preferred term, but リモートワーク dominates casual usage.