South Koreaโ Experiments with Reduced workweeks to Combat Worker Stress and Boost Economy
Seoul, south Korea – Facing โขa stressed workforce and economicโ headwinds, South Korea is โactively piloting reduced workweek models, including four-day โฃworkweeks โคand four-and-a-half-day schedules, in a bid to improve work-life balance and maintain global competitiveness. โฃSeveral companies andโข a major province areโฃ leading teh charge, though concernsโค remain โขabout potential economicโ impacts.
Cafe24,the nation’s leading e-commerce solutions provider,fully implemented a four-day workweek inโ July,building on a previous system of alternating Fridays off. โฃCrucially,โ theโ company maintained employee salaries andโค overall working hours.โ
Gyeonggi Province, surrounding Seoul, โlaunched a more nuanced pilot โขprogram in June,โฃ trialingโฃ a four-and-a-half-day workweek withoutโฃ wage cuts. The initiative,slated to run until โค2027,provides financial support to โขsmall and midsize businessesโ andโ public institutions to offset increased labor costs associated with reduced hours.
The โฃmove towards shorter workweeks isn’t without its critics.โ Kwon Young-sik, director of human resources at Yonsei โUniversity Health System’sโค parentโข organization, โSeverance, estimates a permanent shift to โa four-day workweek could add approximately 100 million won ($720 USD) in labor costs per ward. He revealed that โฃover the past three years,Severance โคhas alreadyโข spent 1.2 billion won on labor costs related to these experiments, speaking at an event where the hospital’s labor union presentedโ pilot program results last โขmonth.
Lee Kang-young, general director โฃof severance, โechoed โคthese concerns, stating that “institutional and financial โsupport wouldโค be absolutely โnecessary” for a four-day workweek to โbe sustainable.
Seoul National University business โprofessor park Nam-gyoo voiced concerns about potential impacts onโ productivity andโ labor โmarket โขdisparities. “South โKorea is an export-led economy.โ It faces an โuncertainโฃ future if it โfails to remain competitive globally,” Park told โAl Jazeera, โadding that the โcountry’s low birthrate, sluggishโฃ economy, and global competitiveness challenges must โฃbe considered.
Despiteโ these reservations,โ workers participating in the โคtrialsโฃ report positive experiences.Go,a participant inโค one of the โขpilot programs,stated,”There were absolutely no drawbacks. The only downside in my โขcase โขwas that,as it is a pilotโ programme,only a few could participate,so I feel sorry โฃforโ my colleagues who โขcouldn’t. โOther than that,โ it ran smoothly without any operational issues.”
Lee, anotherโข worker benefitingโ from the reduced schedule, expressed optimism about the future. “Justโ as the five-day workweek was โฃinitially metโข with โฃconcernโฃ but โฃeventuallyโ settled in, a four-day workweek is expected toโ gradually bring positive changes to society,” he said.
The trials represent a โคmeaningful step for South Korea, a nation known for its demanding work culture, as itโ seeks to address worker well-being and navigate a complex economic landscape.