Flexible Commute Hours for Childcare Teachers Boost Work Efficiency and Self-Esteem

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

Work-Life Balance Strong Small Business_Seoul Dongdaemun-gu Solsol Daycare Center

Flexible Class and Annual Leave Usage Enabled by Hiring Substitute Teachers and Senior Caregivers

Children are maintaining social distancing while having lunch at the public Solsol Daycare Center in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. (Provided by Solsol Daycare Center)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] "I have an appointment today, so I have to leave early. Is there anything else you want to ask? (laughs)"

After the children left, Song Ju-yeon, a teacher working at the Seoul Dongdaemun-gu public Solsol Daycare Center, tidied up her desk on a quiet weekday afternoon at 5 p.m. Before the interview began, Teacher Song requested to schedule it around her clock-out time, mentioning she had a prior engagement. Her working hours that day were from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The daycare employs a total of 11 staff members (including those on parental leave). Among them, five full-time teachers have slightly different start and end times according to their schedules: 7:20 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., and 9:30 a.m. All teachers arrive around 9 a.m., when most children come to the center, but during less crowded times, teachers do not need to be on standby unnecessarily.

Teachers regularly adjust their schedules with one another to fit their personal timetables. Without having to take on excessive workloads, there is one assistant teacher and two 'Senior Caregivers' hired to create jobs for the elderly, allowing teachers to take half-days or full days off whenever they want. Another assistant teacher is currently on parental leave and is expected to return on September 1. Because there are substitute staff, teachers working eight hours can take the mandatory one-hour break. Senior Caregivers also help by preparing meals when the cook is on leave.

Teacher Song said, "Usually, teachers at daycare centers take vacations simultaneously on the same day, but at our center, we can take leave according to the timing we need because there are substitute staff, so coordination is always possible." She added, "My second child has asthma, so I was able to split my annual leave into hours to attend hospital visits lasting one to two hours. Now that my child is healthy, I am grateful to the members of our center who accommodated me."

To avoid work burden after clocking out,
separate extended care teachers are hired

"To minimize career sacrifices,
we have been considering work-life balance policies"

Seoul Solsol Daycare Center is known for all teachers using up their annual leave every year. Most daycare teachers find it difficult to take time off even briefly, making it hard to use annual leave. At Solsol Daycare, teachers can use annual leave not only by the day but also in one-hour increments as needed. Special half-days off are also provided on birthdays, which can be used during the week of their birthday, separate from annual leave.

To accommodate working parents, the center is open until 9:30 p.m., and separate night extended care teachers are hired. These teachers start work at 12:30 p.m. and stay until the children go home. Having separate extended care teachers significantly reduces the burden on full-time teachers. The extended care teacher works alone only for about two hours after the latest full-time teacher leaves at 7:30 p.m.

Teacher Kang Eun-jin, who transferred to the daycare in March this year, has 10 years of experience but had a hard time finding a job. Having worked only at private daycare centers, she wanted to try working at a public daycare center and sent out about 100 resumes but was rejected everywhere. Kang said, "I had been at private daycare centers for a long time, and since I was turning 50, most public daycare centers said the teachers themselves were fine but my salary grade was too high, so they declined. Not a single place invited me, but Solsol Daycare contacted me." The reason Kang had difficulty finding a job is that government support rates differ between infant and toddler teachers. For infant classes, 80% of the salary is government-supported, but for toddler classes, only 30% is supported.

Recruitment of daycare center children who participated in the 'Family Love' Dream Tree Contest to encourage childbirth, hosted by the Dongdaemun-gu District Daycare Center Association last year (Provided by Solsol Daycare Center)

Securing sufficient assistant staff and hiring experienced teachers at daycare centers is not easy. Aside from government support, a significant portion of operating expenses must be spent. According to the 'National Childcare Status Survey - Daycare Center Report (2018)' published by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, the average childcare teacher's work experience was 6 years and 4 months, and the current daycare work experience was 3 years and 1 month. The experience of teachers at private, home, and workplace daycare centers was even less than the overall 3 years and 1 month. Since the 2009 survey, daycare teacher experience increased by 1 year and 7 months, but the average salary grade rose by only one step, so salary increases did not fully reflect work experience.

Director Kim Mi-kyung emphasized that establishing work-life balance policies at daycare centers helps reduce teachers' burdens and simultaneously boosts their self-esteem. This is why they hire staff like Teacher Kang even if it means reducing operating expenses. Based on this belief, Solsol Daycare has a diverse age range of teachers: two in their 30s, three in their 40s, three in their 50s, two in their 60s, and one in their 70s. Director Kim said, "I have seen many excellent teachers give up their careers because of childcare, so to minimize this, we have been considering work-life balance policies." Her philosophy of valuing human resource development is also realized through regular meetings with teachers and support counseling for self-development. Director Kim added, "Through active communication with teachers, we can deliver the same message to parents from the director to frontline teachers."