Until a few weeks ago Tsutomu Okada never imagined he would be working within earshot of his wife and daughter or talking to colleagues via his laptop.

But in Japan, as in other parts of the world, the coronavirus pandemic has forced even the most conservative companies to rethink the way they do business in a country that has been reluctant to embrace the idea of working from home.

“I used to commute for an hour in either direction, so I’m glad I don’t have to do that for the time being,” Okada, who is in his late 40s, told the Guardian. “And holding meetings online hasn’t been a problem.”

Okada, an employee of a major company in Tokyo, started working from home two days a week from late February, but has been working remotely full-time since the end of March, amid a sharp rise in reported Covid-19 infections in the capital.

Ironically his firm, which employs more than 40,000 people, had already made plans for staff to work from home several times a month to ease congestion during the Tokyo Olympics, now postponed for a year due to the outbreak.

“Of course there are times when I have to be in the office, but I can see us continuing with telework for, say, two days a week,” he said, adding that about 80% of his colleagues were now working remotely.

The pandemic has forced companies to implement changes the government has been encouraging for several years, in the hope that less demanding office hours would enable more women to return to work after giving birth and men to be more involved in housework and childcare.

But few companies followed the government’s advice. A survey last year found that 19% had given staff the option of teleworking, but just 8.5% had taken it up.

Resistance to working from home stems from a corporate culture that values employees being present in the workplace, often for punishingly long hours, to demonstrate their loyalty.

“The Japanese still have this image that telework isn’t real work, because you’re not physically in the office,” said Haruka Kazama, an economist at the Mizuho research institute.

While Japan has so far avoided the large number of infections and deaths seen in the US, Europe and China, the outbreak is challenging the traditional image of besuited, exhausted salaryman falling asleep on packed commuter trains following after-hours drinks with colleagues.

“The situation has put companies’ backs against the wall,” Kazama said. “They’ve been forced to give their employees the choice to telework.”

Shortly after the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, called for staggered commutes and teleworking at the end of February, a poll by Keidanren, a business lobby representing about 400 major firms, found that almost 70% had either implemented teleworking or were planning to do so.

Hitachi has introduced teleworking for 50,000 employees of its group companies in Tokyo, while the advertising agency Dentsu closed its Tokyo headquarters and ordered its 5,000 staff to work from home after an employee tested positive for the virus. Daiwa Securities, with about 10,000 employees, introduced home-based teleworking for staff with small children.

A man wearing a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease, walks at Ginza shopping and amusement district in Tokyo

Photograph: Issei Kato/Reuters

The pandemic also enabled employees to experiment with a healthier work-life balance. Yuki Sato, an employee of a start-up in Tokyo, has set up a small office at the home he shares with his wife and two children. Teleworking means he no longer has to endure a long commute and has more time for his daughters, whose schools are closed due to the outbreak.

“I can also give them their bath in the evening, something I could never do before because I was never home before 8pm,” Sato, who has been working from home since February, told Agence France-Presse. “This experience has completely changed my image of teleworking.”

Teleworking has sparked a boost in sales of items such as web cameras and headphones, but some old analogue habits die hard. In an age of electronic contracts, many Japanese companies still require employees to print out documents that are then stamped with official hanko seals, often by several people.

Mariko Kitano, who works for a TV production company, believes the last few weeks have proved that more flexible working practices should continue long after the coronavirus crisis has subsided.

“There are times when you have to go into the office, but about 80% of my colleagues have been working from home since late February,” she told the Guardian. “I live alone, so I’ve found teleworking really useful. I meet my deadlines, of course, but I can take a break now and then to do things like hang out the laundry.”

There are times, though, when teleworking is no substitute for face-to-face contact, Kitano added. “I’m mentoring junior colleagues and it’s sometimes frustrating not to be able to see what they’re doing and offer advice in person.

“But I don’t think we can go back to the way things were, despite the traditional view in Japan that you can only prove your worth by working hard in front of your boss. The past few weeks have proved that teleworking has too many advantages to be ditched.”

*Okada and Kitano’s names have been changed at their request.

Agence France-Presse contributed reporting.