Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
POSCO to implement 8-to-5 workday system
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Pedestrians walk past POSCO Center in Seoul in this 2018 file photo. / Yonhap
By Kwak Yeon-soo
POSCO has decided to implement an 8-to-5 workday system to foster productivity and enhance work-life balance, the company said Friday.
The new system, which will take effect starting Monday, comes after the management settled a collective bargaining agreement with the labor union in September, which included advancing working hours to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The union workers called for an adjustment, saying they would prefer to start and end their working day earlier than the previous 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to POSCO.
“This is part of the company's efforts to guarantee a work-life balance, improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary overtime,” a POSCO official said.
The steelmaker said the combined workforce of 11,000 in Seoul, Pohang and Gwangyang will be subject to change.
However, about 6,500 on-site shift workers will not use the new system as they need to work shifts in order to monitor steel mills that operate 24 hours a day, it added.
About 1,200 employees of POSCO International, 2,000 workers of POSCO Engineering & Construction and 2,000 members of POSCO ICT will adopt the new system starting Nov. 18. POSCO Energy will implement the system starting Dec. 2.
“The working conditions of each affiliate are different and it will be difficult to apply the 8-to-5 workday system to a steel mill where many work a 4-team, 2-shift schedule,” the official said.
POSCO's new work system reflects Chairman Choi Jeong-woo's management philosophy of putting employees' happiness first, adding that workers responded positively to the move.
“We will create a workplace where employees can realize a work-life balance. Together we will share the value of corporate citizenship by conducting fair management practices and maintaining stable labor relations,” Choi said at POSCO's Pohang steel plant, Aug. 27.
An employee who works at POSCO Center welcomed the company's new initiative, commenting “My wife and I are expecting a second child next year. The 8-to-5 workday will allow me to spend more time with my children.”
Another POSCO employee, who asked not to be named, said “The fact that I have to wake up earlier than usual in the morning is a bit depressing, but at least I can avoid hellish rush hour commute.”
Meanwhile, the city of Pohang held a meeting to discuss the possible impact of the new system.
“If the 8-to-5 workday system becomes well-established, demand for diverse leisure activities will increase,” the city official said at the meeting.