Asia Pacific Remote Work 2025: Data, Trends, and What Employers Should Do

The definitive 2025 guide to remote and hybrid work in Asia Pacific. Current statistics by country, office market signals, policy moves in Singapore, Japan, Australia, South Korea, India, New Zealand, and the Philippines, plus benchmarks, playbooks, and scenario planning. Fully cited.

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Table of contents

1. What the new data says about APAC in 2025
2. Core country statistics at a glance
3. Trends shaping APAC in 2025
4. Sector lens
5. Policy and regulation snapshot
6. Office and real‑estate signals
7. Talent, pay, and productivity
8. Benchmarks leaders actually use
9. 2025 to 2027 outlook
10. What good looks like
11. Country notes and context
12. Sources

1) What the new data says about APAC in 2025

APAC shows the widest dispersion globally in remote work adoption. Global survey evidence indicates English‑speaking economies sustain the most WFH, while Asia sits at the low end of the distribution. That contrast persists into early 2025, with global averages stabilizing at about one WFH day per week among college‑educated workers. (PNAS, Hoover Institution)

Within APAC, Australia and New Zealand maintain elevated hybrid norms, Singapore normalizes flexibility through process‑based guidelines rather than a legal right to WFH, Japan and South Korea remain predominantly office‑centric albeit with selective telework in large firms, and the Philippines is codifying hybrid within incentives regimes for IT‑BPM ecozone firms. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Stats NZ, Ministry of Manpower Singapore, Rieti, Asia News Network, Inquirer Business)

2) Core country statistics at a glance

Australia

• 36 percent of employed people usually worked from home in August 2024. Down slightly from 37 percent in 2023, still well above pre‑pandemic. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)

New Zealand

• 33.2 percent of employed people worked from home at least some of the reference week in the September 2024 quarter. Public servants average 0.9 WFH days per week and one to two WFH days is the most common pattern. (Stats NZ, publicservice.govt.nz)

Singapore

• Tripartite Guidelines for Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG‑FWAR) effective 1 December 2024 set a standard process to request FWAs. 72.7 percent of firms reportedly offered FWAs in 2024 per parliamentary remarks. (Ministry of Manpower Singapore, The Straits Times)

Japan

• Using national microdata, telework implementation rate is under 20 percent and accounts for about 7 percent of total labor input. (Rieti)

South Korea

• G‑SWA 2024 to 2025 finds the lowest WFH time among 40 countries at roughly 0.5 days per week for college‑educated workers. (PNAS, Asia News Network)

India

• Remote demand is rising. Nearly one in nine jobseeker searches target remote roles on Indeed, and 8.7 percent of postings include WFH or hybrid terms in recent monthly snapshots. (Indeed Hiring Lab, Sakshi Post)

Philippines

• PEZA has announced forthcoming rules to allow up to 50 percent WFH for registered ecozone firms without losing incentives under CREATE MORE, with draft guidance flagged in mid 2025. (Inquirer Business, Manila Standard)

3) Trends shaping APAC in 2025

1. Hybrid is sticky where commutes are long and digital work is dense. Australia and New Zealand sustain elevated WFH shares relative to Asia overall. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Stats NZ, PNAS)
2. Policy steers practice. Singapore’s TG‑FWAR does not grant a universal right to WFH, yet it sets clear request‑and‑response processes that raise the floor on flexibility. (Ministry of Manpower Singapore)
3. Office‑centric cultures persist in East Asia. Japan’s telework utilization remains under 20 percent in recent national analyses, and Korea sits at the bottom of global WFH time distributions. (Rieti, PNAS, Asia News Network)
4. Talent and time zone arbitrage. Interest in remote roles is expanding in India, especially for knowledge work linked to global teams. (Indeed Hiring Lab)
5. Executives are re‑tuning hybrid. A cross‑country literature in 2025 highlights that hybrid models underperform when managed like fully onsite teams, and details what to fix. (Harvard Business Review)
6. WFH has stabilized globally, not vanished. G‑SWA and SIEPR summarize a steady state around one WFH day per week for college‑educated workers, with big cross‑country gaps. (PNAS, SIEPR)

4) Sector lens

• Tech and professional services. High WFH compatibility, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India, and Japan’s large firms. National and firm surveys show higher telework frequency in IT and knowledge roles. (パーソル総合研究所)
• Financial services. Hybrid standardizes around fixed in‑office days while retaining flexibility for focused work and global calls. Singapore’s CBD Grade A market remains tight despite selective rent softening across the region. (Cushman & Wakefield, The Business Times)
• Public sector. New Zealand public service averages 0.9 WFH days weekly across agencies. Singapore embeds process‑based flexibility, and Japan’s ministries monitor telework as part of broader workstyle reforms. (publicservice.govt.nz, Ministry of Manpower Singapore)
• IT‑BPM and global services. The Philippines is aligning incentives with hybrid operations for ecozone firms. (Inquirer Business)

5) Policy and regulation snapshot

• Singapore. TG‑FWAR launched April 2024 and in effect since 1 December 2024 outlines how employees request FWAs and how employers should respond. Parliamentary statements indicate 72.7 percent of firms offered FWAs in 2024. (Ministry of Manpower Singapore, The Straits Times)
• Japan. National analysis of telework using the 2022 Employment Status Survey published in 2025 quantifies limited but persistent telework. (Rieti)
• Philippines. PEZA signaled rules in 2025 to allow up to 50 percent WFH for registered firms under CREATE MORE while retaining fiscal incentives. (Inquirer Business)
• Regional narrative. The return‑to‑office debate continues alongside flexibility as a talent imperative in WEF’s 2025 labor market roundups. (World Economic Forum)

6) Office and real‑estate signals

• Tokyo. Grade A vacancy about 1.4 to 2.4 percent in Q2 2025 depending on series, with tight submarkets under 1 percent. This reflects strong office demand despite relatively low WFH. (cbre.co.jp, JLL)
• Singapore. URA data show Q2 2025 office rental index for the Central Region dipped 0.3 percent quarter on quarter, while some Grade A CBD metrics stayed firm and core vacancy looks tight in select assets. (The Business Times, Cushman & Wakefield)
• Australia. National CBD office vacancy around the mid‑teens in early 2025 per PCA’s twice‑yearly survey, reflecting supply, a flight to quality, and hybrid demand patterns. (Property Council Australia)

7) Talent, pay, and productivity

• Preferences. In lower‑WFH countries, worker desire for some flexibility still surfaces, but practices are bounded by culture, urban form, and management norms. Global evidence emphasizes that hybrid underperforms when managed like onsite work and requires redesigned coordination, meetings, and performance systems. (Harvard Business Review)
• Job postings and search. In India, remote jobseeker interest hit a new high and remote terminology appears in a meaningful share of postings. Australia saw notable remote keywords in postings through 2024. (Indeed Hiring Lab, Sakshi Post, Forbes)

8) Benchmarks leaders actually use

Use these anchoring metrics to calibrate policies by country:

• WFH prevalence among employed persons or households (ABS, Stats NZ)
• WFH days per week among college‑educated workers (G‑SWA)
• Telework implementation rate and share of labor input (Japan national data)
• Office vacancy and Grade A conditions (PCA, URA‑referenced analyses, JLL or CBRE country reports)
• Policy process metrics (Singapore TG‑FWAR compliance and usage)
  Citations for each are embedded above. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Stats NZ, PNAS, Rieti, Property Council Australia, The Business Times, cbre.co.jp, Ministry of Manpower Singapore)

9) 2025 to 2027 outlook

Base case

• Australia and New Zealand remain hybrid‑forward. Singapore sustains process‑led flexibility. Japan and South Korea continue gradual, firm‑size specific telework use. India and the Philippines expand remote‑compatible roles tied to global teams. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Stats NZ, Ministry of Manpower Singapore, Rieti, Asia News Network, Indeed Hiring Lab, Inquirer Business)

Upside case

• Tight tech and analytics labor pushes more teams in Japan, Korea, and Singapore to codify structured hybrid with measured autonomy and asynchronous norms. WFH days increase where commute costs are high and Grade A space is tight. (cbre.co.jp, Cushman & Wakefield)

Downside case

• Cyclical weakness and policy pressure raise onsite days without redesigning hybrid practices, triggering engagement and retention risks highlighted in 2025 management research. (Harvard Business Review)

10) What good looks like in APAC

1. Policy clarity plus team‑level design. Adopt request‑and‑response processes similar to Singapore’s TG‑FWAR, plus team charters that specify coordination windows, response SLAs, documentation, and meeting hygiene. (Ministry of Manpower Singapore)
2. Role‑based eligibility. Use task analysis to map onsite, field, hybrid, and remote bands. In low‑WFH cultures, start with 1 to 2 fixed WFH days and measure outcomes. (Rieti)
3. Office as a product. In markets like Tokyo and Singapore CBD, prioritize high‑utilization days for collaboration and coaching. Tie seat counts to observed occupancy and calendar data. (cbre.co.jp, Cushman & Wakefield)
4. Cross‑border talent playbooks. For India and the Philippines, standardize security, payroll, and compliance for distributed teams and watch incentives rules that govern WFH ratios in ecozones. (Indeed Hiring Lab, Inquirer Business)
5. Management rewiring. Apply the 2025 guidance on hybrid execution to avoid the “onsite management of remote teams” trap. (Harvard Business Review)

11) Country notes and context

Australia

• 36 percent usually WFH in August 2024. Remote‑capable roles remain plentiful and hybrid is entrenched in knowledge sectors. Office vacancy sits in the mid‑teens nationally due to supply and flight to quality. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Property Council Australia)

New Zealand

• One third worked from home in the reference week in Q3 2024. Public service averages 0.9 WFH days. Policy signals seek more in‑office presence, yet mixed models persist across agencies. (Stats NZ, publicservice.govt.nz)

Singapore

• TG‑FWAR effective since December 2024 sets a procedural right to request FWAs. Nearly three in four firms reported offering FWAs in 2024. CBD Grade A vacancy remains tight in prime stock even as islandwide metrics soften marginally. (Ministry of Manpower Singapore, The Straits Times, Cushman & Wakefield, The Business Times)

Japan

• Telework implementation under 20 percent and about 7 percent of labor input in national analyses, while Tokyo Grade A vacancy is among the world’s lowest, evidencing durable office demand. (Rieti, cbre.co.jp)

South Korea

• Lowest WFH time in the 40‑country G‑SWA sample at roughly 0.5 days per week among college‑educated workers. Expect selective telework growth in large tech and global firms. (PNAS, Asia News Network)

India

• Rising remote interest and meaningful but minority remote or hybrid postings. Growth is concentrated in software, data, and global capability centers. (Indeed Hiring Lab, Sakshi Post)

Philippines

• PEZA preparing rules to allow up to 50 percent WFH for registered ecozone firms under CREATE MORE. This formalizes hybrid norms for IT‑BPM and related services. (Inquirer Business)

12) Sources and further reading

TLDR

• APAC is bimodal. Australia and New Zealand sustain relatively high work‑from‑home prevalence. Much of East Asia remains office‑centric with limited WFH days. (PNAS, Hoover Institution)
• Australia. 36 percent of employed people usually worked from home in August 2024 per ABS. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
• New Zealand. 33.2 percent of employed people worked from home in the reference week in Q3 2024; public servants average 0.9 WFH days per week. (Stats NZ, publicservice.govt.nz)
• Singapore. New Tripartite Guidelines for Flexible Work Arrangement Requests took effect 1 December 2024. 72.7 percent of firms offered some form of FWA in 2024, according to parliamentary remarks. (Ministry of Manpower Singapore, The Straits Times)
• Japan. Telework implementation rate is under 20 percent in recent national data, with WFH roughly 7 percent of total labor input. Tokyo Grade A office vacancy is exceptionally low. (Rieti, cbre.co.jp)
• South Korea. Among college‑educated workers in 40 countries, Korea ranks last for WFH time at about 0.5 days per week. (PNAS, Asia News Network)
• India. Worker interest in remote jobs is rising. Nearly one in nine searches on Indeed target remote roles, and around 8.7 percent of postings include WFH or hybrid terms. (Indeed Hiring Lab, Sakshi Post)
• Philippines. PEZA is finalizing rules expected to allow up to 50 percent WFH for ecozone firms under the new incentives framework. (Inquirer Business, Manila Standard)

Notes on interpretation and comparability

• Some metrics reflect “usually worked from home” shares in annual labor force supplements (ABS), others capture “worked from home in the last week” (Stats NZ), and still others report average WFH days among college‑educated employees (G‑SWA). Where possible, we say exactly which concept is used. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Stats NZ, PNAS)
• Office vacancy statistics represent space unlet and are not the same as worker attendance. Use vacancy to read structural demand, not daily occupancy. Singapore and Tokyo figures referenced here come from official or broker sources aligned to URA and Grade A market coverage. (The Business Times, cbre.co.jp)