Flexible Commuting and Unlimited Vacation, Increasing Length of Service... 'Virtuous Cycle of Work-Life Balance'

Asia Economy & Seoul City Joint Project [Work-Life Balance 2.0 Era]

'Work-Life Balance Strong Small Business' How Work and Life Have Changed - Protopie Developer 'Studio Seed Korea'
Vacation and Remote Work Notified via Work Messenger Without Attendance Approval

33 Employees Work According to Individual Productivity, Parental Leave Also Flexible

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Around 9 a.m., messages about today's attendance status began to appear on the work messenger 'Slack' of Studio Seed Korea, located in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Some said they would work from home, while others said they would take a day off. No one raised any objections. It seemed natural, like an ordinary day. Under a post from an employee saying they couldn't come in because their child was sick, comments wishing for a speedy recovery were also posted.

At Studio Seed Korea, a startup in its sixth year, flexible working hours are mandatory, and unlimited vacation use is optional. All employees work from anywhere in the world at their preferred place and time. Vacations can be taken without reporting or day limits. Naturally, no separate approval is required. The headquarters is also a shared office. They rented an entire 24-person room. Only about 10 out of 33 employees come to the office daily. Foreign nationals from the Netherlands, Italy, and China work together, and there are employees working from Seattle in the U.S., as well as Daejeon, Chuncheon, and Namyangju.

Studio Seed Korea is an IT company that provides prototyping tools for designers. It helps designers design and prototype mobile applications without the help of developers. About 150 clients from 100 countries use their services.

About 20 employees at the company are developers. Due to the nature of the work, many tasks can be done alone, making the current system possible. As long as team goals are not significantly deviated from, employees can decide their working hours and locations. Upon request, the company also rents shared offices near employees' homes. Fredo Tan (30), a developer who has been working here since 2017, said, "I feel comfortable even when I go to my hometown in the Netherlands because I can see my family while working," adding, "It's hard to visit my hometown once while working in Korea, so I like that I can take unlimited vacations." He added, "I have worked near my girlfriend's house in Songdo and also worked for a month in Bali, Indonesia," emphasizing, "It has value that cannot be measured in money."

CEO Kim Soo also uses the flexible working hours system. Kim, who is often away on overseas business trips for about a third of the year and is a father of two, works from home occasionally. He said, "The company is a place that encourages and provides direction to employees rather than controlling them," adding, "People are naturally motivated to move to enjoy freedom." The culture was created based on the judgment that each person has different times and places where their productivity is best. Kim emphasized, "Trust, responsibility, and communication are the foundation for maintaining an autonomous culture," and added, "This creates a virtuous cycle through work-life balance satisfaction, which further encourages long-term employment."

Studio Seed Korea hires new employees on an ongoing basis as needed. Since many tasks are performed by teams, a sudden increase in personnel could cause confusion. The hiring interview takes as long as five hours. Candidates talk not only with management but also with future team members. The results are announced on the same day. This is to prevent candidates from wasting unnecessary energy waiting for results.

CEO Kim Soo: "Since productivity peaks at different times and places for each person"
The secret to maintaining an autonomous work culture is trust, responsibility, and communication among employees

Parental leave is also flexible. A female employee currently on parental leave said she was married when she joined the company but advanced her plans to have children thanks to the work-life balance culture. After being selected as a Seoul-type small and strong company, the company also received support from the Seoul city government related to substitute personnel for parental leave. Song Young-ho, head of management support, said, "The average age of employees is 33, and they value work-life balance culture," adding, "Since each person's work productivity is different, such a system is absolutely necessary."

Employees of Studio Seed Korea are taking a commemorative photo at a workshop. (Provided by Studio Seed Korea)

So far, there has never been a case where an employee's long absence due to vacation or other reasons caused work disruption or problems. Although team goals are clearly stated, they serve only as a checklist for achieving goals, and no separate individual performance evaluations are conducted. CEO Kim said, "I personally dislike the terms 'staff' or 'employee.' The CEO plays the role of a leader, not someone who tries to control employees."

Even employees who have been with the company for only a month can use flexible working hours and unlimited vacation. Park Sang-jin (29), who joined in January, said, "In a free and unpredictable atmosphere, employees seem to work hard with pride." A downside is that employees have different working and commuting hours, so they don't see each other often. To compensate, the company runs a program called 'Hope to Get Closer' twice a month. It randomly matches 2-3 people to support meal times together. Also, Studio Seed Korea holds a video conference once a week on Thursdays. All employees gather to discuss work-related matters. CEO Kim emphasized, "The various systems we operate are not a matter of 'budget' but of 'decision-making,'" adding, "We will spare no support to help employees demonstrate their capabilities."