Service workers struggle with holiday shifts, fight for rest
Citizens enjoy a ride on the Hangang Bus while taking in views of the Han River in Seoul, Saturday. For workers who must labor every weekend, holidays with family remain out of reach. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
Many service workers in retail, hospitality and health care can still not rest on weekends or even during major holidays such as Chuseok, even though Korea adopted a five-day workweek in 2004.
Employees in these sectors say that weekend and holiday work has become normalized, yet their right to rest with family and friends should be guaranteed. While some are offered substitute days off during the week, they rarely get two consecutive days of rest, making it difficult to recover and recharge.
Take the example of a 45-year-old cosmetics saleswoman at a department store who is a mother of three children aged 11, 9 and 2. Her day begins early, taking her youngest to day care before working until 8 p.m. at the store.
She said she often misses weekends and holidays with her children. “Even if I get a weekday off in exchange, it is meaningless when I cannot spend time with my family. To be with my children, I need to rest on the same weekends as everyone else,” she said.
Others working in wedding halls face similar problems. With most weddings held on weekends, they often miss their own friends’ ceremonies. One veteran employee testified at a National Assembly hearing that in her 26 years in the business, the only weddings she had attended were her own and those of her siblings.
Workers say conflicts sometimes arise when colleagues compete for limited weekend leave. Another cosmetics store manager with two children said disputes are common during peak wedding or vacation seasons.
“When family events clash, it is inevitable that colleagues argue over who gets to rest on meaningful days like holidays or Christmas,” she said.
A notice at the E-mart Yangjae branch in Seocho District, Seoul, informs customers that the store is open every Sunday and displays monthly closure days. Yonhap
Calls for social rest rights
According to a survey by the Korea Institute of Labor Safety and Health, service workers work an average of 5.57 weekends per month. Most do not get two consecutive days off, leading to what they call “fragmented rest.”
Many spend their weekdays off watching TV or streaming platforms alone, while opportunities for social activities remain limited.
The issue has also drawn attention abroad. In Germany, labor unions launched the campaign “Sunday must remain Sunday” more than a decade ago, stressing that weekends are vital for social, cultural and family life.
Despite laws limiting Sunday retail operations here, tensions continue to rise as businesses increasingly seek to expand weekend hours, further straining workers’ already limited opportunities for meaningful rest.
Cosmetics sales employees at a department store work on weekends and holidays, making it difficult to spend time with family. The photo shows a department store cosmetics section in Seoul and is not directly related to the article. Yonhap
Labor unions in Korea are calling for guaranteed social rest rights — the ability for workers to rest on weekends and holidays, along with the wider public, and consecutive days off for recovery.
Some propose expanding mandatory weekend closures for retail sectors such as department stores, on top of existing rules that apply to large supermarkets.
Policy experts also suggest government subsidies to support substitute staffing in essential industries such as weddings and health care, similar to subsidies provided to firms hiring replacements for employees on parental leave. However, questions remain over cost and fairness across industries.
Kim Jong-jin, head of the Korea Worker Institute-Union Center, said, “It is essential to guarantee proper rest rights for holiday workers. The system must be reinforced through complementary laws such as the Labor Standards Act and the Distribution Industry Development Act.”
But he cautioned that “policies to fund substitute workers could spark conflict depending on industry and company size. A tripartite discussion among labor, management and government is necessary.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.