South Korea ditches 69-hour workweek plan after youth revolt

South Korea has backed off a plan to lengthen the workweek to 69 hours after a near-revolt by the country’s young people.

Five years ago, South Korea cut the number of hours that its labor-obsessed people were allowed to work to 52 in total — a regular 40 hours, then 12 hours of paid overtime.

But earlier this month, the nation’s conservative government sought to lift the cap after pressure from business groups who want to boost productivity, according to CNN Business.

Young people were having none of it, the Washington Post reported.

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s popularity immediately tanked among Millennial and Generation Z workers — just four days after his administration announced the plan, his disapproval ratings leapt among those age groups to 79 and 66%, respectively, according to the Washington Post.

The angry backlash has forced the government to reconsider the proposal.


In a photo taken on April 9, 2020 employees at their desks in Seoul.
Young workers torpedoed a plan to boost South Korea’s work cap to 69 hours per week.
AFP via Getty Images

A worker assembles a bean grinder for export to Europe, Japan and South Korea at a factory in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu province, Feb 28, 2023.
South Korea’s work issues mirror those in China and Japan, both of which have had problems with people working themselves to death.
Future Publishing via Getty Images

“The president views workweeks longer than 60 hours as unrealistic, even when including overtime,” said Ahn Sang-hoon, a senior presidential adviser, according to the Washington Post. “The government will listen more carefully to opinions from [Millennials and Generation Z] workers”

South Koreans are already relative workaholics, logging an average of 1,915 hours per worker annually, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.


Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions carry balloons as they march during a rally on International Women's Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. The letters read "Let's protect the trade unions."
Korean trade union members have long rallied to protect worker’s rights in the country.
AP

Labor union members participate in a May Day rally near the Seoul City Hall on May 01, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held the May Day rally to protest against the government's labor policies.
Many in South Korea say they still toil above and beyond the government cap.
Getty Images

Only people in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico toiled more in 2021, the group said. The United States averaged about 1,791 hours per year in comparison.

South Korea began limiting labor hours in 2018 after hundreds died from overwork the year before, according to The Week.


A photo of South Koreans working at their desks.
South Koreans are already relative workaholics, logging an average of 1,915 hours per worker annually, according to data.
AFP via Getty Images

The phenomenon — know in the country as “gwarosa,” or “death by overwork” — included fatalities from heart attacks, strokes, industrial accidents or sleep-deprived driving, The Week reported.

Some South Koreans told the Washington Post that they still go above and beyond the government cap for no compensation. But few were eager to officially return to longer workweeks.

“We’ve already felt the benefits of shorter weeks,” Lee Jong-sun, a professor of labor relations at Korea University’s Graduate School of Labor Studies in Seoul, told the Washington Post. “Why would anyone want to go back?”

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *