Work-life balance comes first for millennial workers

By Bahk Eun-ji

For young workers, the balance between work and life is more important than a high salary, a survey showed, Thursday.

Millennial generation think that balance between work and life is more important than a high salary, a survey showed, Thursday. /gettyimagesbank

Job Korea, a recruitment portal site, recently surveyed 507 workers of the millennial generation ― those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s ― asking what makes a good company.

When multiple answers were allowed, 49.9 percent picked a company providing work-life balance.

The second-most important factor for a good company was the employees' financial satisfaction such as salary and incentives, at 48.9 percent, followed by quality welfare programs at 30.6 percent, a non-hierarchical and liberal working environment at 20.3 percent, and job stability at 12 percent.

The reality, however, is different from hope, as 48.3 percent of the respondents said “there is no good company in this country.”

In order to create good companies, 40.6 percent of the millennials surveyed said corporate culture and executives' outdated mindsets need to be changed, while 38.3 percent cited the necessity of implementing systems related to work-life balance, such as the 52-hour workweek.

According to the survey, millennials do not appear to have a great desire for promotion.

More than 51 percent said they are fine if they get promoted at a similar pace to their peers, while only 31.6 percent said they want to get promoted as fast as possible, and 7.7 percent said they didn't want promotions.