POSCO joins Samsung, SK in allowing flextime for 4-day workweek

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POSCO’s non-shift employees, who are expected to work at least 40 hours a week, will be allowed to take a Friday off every two weeks, if they work at least 80 hours during the previous nine weekdays, according to the steelmaker, Sunday.

The new system, which will take effect on Monday, is intended to boost productivity as it allows workers to go on trips or enjoy various activities for refreshment during longer weekends. POSCO’s holding firm and the group’s other affiliates are expected to adopt the same system.

“We have made continuous efforts to guarantee a work-life balance and create a happier workplace for our employees,” the company said in a press release. “Our employees can choose between the new system and the conventional five-day workweek.”

Given that Samsung and SK have already allowed flexible work hours for their employees to take a day off on Friday once or twice a month, attention has been focused on whether POSCO’s latest move will help the trend become the new normal in Korea.

Samsung Electronics’ labor and management agreed last June to give a Friday off once a month to employees who worked longer than their minimum monthly work hours. Some of SK Group’s affiliates implemented a “Happy Friday,” which enables their employees to take a Friday off once or twice a month, after working overtime on previous weekdays.

Although the affiliates of Hyundai Motor and LG have yet to adopt such a system, some of them have also allowed flextime, so that their employees can adjust their start and finish times for work, in contrast to traditional work arrangements that require employees to work from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with an hour-long lunch break.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has sought to pass a law enforcing a four-and-a-half-day workweek, as the Yoon Suk Yeol administration tries to relax the maximum 52-hour workweek for certain business sectors.

“Korea is one of the countries with the longest work hours,” DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung said last November. “Other countries are heading toward a four-day workweek, so it is improper to increase the maximum workweek.”

However, skepticism remains about the feasibility of a four-day workweek in Korea, as the country relies heavily on the manufacturing industry.

Even after POSCO and several other major manufacturers decided to introduce flextime, their blue-collar employees doing shift work at factories running 24 hours a day have had to work as before.

Small and medium-sized manufacturers also claim that it is impossible for them to introduce a four-day workweek, as most of them even ask their employees to work six days a week to supply their products to customers punctually. In addition, small companies say they cannot afford to hire additional employees to fill the vacancy for workers who take a day off once or twice a month.