ed Longest working hours

Job-sharing programs to solve polarization

Koreans will enjoy a shortened work week of up to 52 hours. It means overtime should not exceed 12 hours a week. The plan would create additional jobs and stimulate consumption although existing workers would see their income reduced and companies will have to bear additional costs.

Koreans work the longest hours in the world. The country is the only OECD member nation where the average yearly working hours exceed 2,000.

Employees at the five car assemblers work an average of 55 hours per week, 55 percent more than their foreign peers. If the new plan goes into effect, the Hyundai Motor Group would need to hire 6,000 new workers.

Working more than foreign peers has made Korea what it is today. Until the early 2000s, extra work was the pride of the people for nation building.

However, these days, working overtime is frowned upon as the jobless rate has become serious.

A survey shows that Korea can create up to 448,000 new jobs if the overtime cap goes into effect. This should give hope to the one million talented young people waiting for jobs.

Trade unions welcome the move as it will promote a healthy life for employees. But employers are skeptical of the plan, which they said would sap productivity. Individual workers express concern over reduced income, probably by up to one-third.

Companies prefer overtime to hiring new staff as they can make maximum use of highly skilled employees.

The plan will be successful only when companies have flexibility in hiring and firing. In boom times, more workers would be necessary or vice versa. Korea is probably one of the most difficult countries to slash redundancies.

Korea is in the serious throes of social tension as polarization has been deepening. The prime cause is the jobless growth. The jobless rate among young people is in the double-digit range although the official rate is enviable compared to other countries. In particular, high-quality jobs are scarce.

The government must devise multiple options to generate additional jobs.

It must increase taxes on companies going offshore and provide incentives to those returning home. It should renew its campaign to attract foreign investments.

New job-sharing programs would create new jobs and upgrade the quality of life. About 10 million women are now working. Companies can enable workers of childbearing age to share jobs so that they can balance housework and employment.

Companies can devise multiple employment arrangements. For example, two employees can perform a job normally fulfilled by one person. This would increase the birth rate as well as jobs.

However, job sharing should not be confused with featherbedding, namely the deliberate retention of excess workers on the payroll.

Prospering together should be the key concept for the contemporary Korean society. Parents face the dilemma of working overtime at the risk of keeping their children out of the job market.