[Exclusive] SK Hynix Begins Experiment Today to Establish Flexible Work System

Major Shift in Work Patterns Since COVID-19 Spread
Mandatory 4-Hour Onsite Work per Day...Working Hours from 6 AM to 3 PM
SK Hynix Conducts 6-Week Pilot with 10% of Employees "To Improve Employee Welfare and Prevent COVID Spread"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Amid the major shift in work styles following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), SK Hynix has launched an experiment to abolish the core time system to establish a flexible working hours policy.

According to industry sources on the 7th, SK Hynix will conduct a six-week pilot program starting today targeting 10% of its office workers company-wide to eliminate core time.

Core time refers to the designated hours during which all employees must work in a flexible working hours system that otherwise allows employees to manage their own working hours. SK Hynix’s existing core time is from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Except for lunch breaks, employees are required to be present at the company during these hours. Internally, there have been voices that the 40-hour workweek and the core time system conflict with each other, reducing the effectiveness of flexible work arrangements. This is because even if employees complete their 40 hours by Thursday afternoon, they must still be present at the office on Friday afternoon to comply with core time.

The company’s decision to protect employees amid the spread of COVID-19 also accelerated the introduction of this pilot. An SK Hynix official explained, “This decision was made by comprehensively considering the improvement of employees’ work welfare and the COVID-19 situation,” adding, “Remote work will soon be implemented for pregnant employees and some vulnerable health groups who are susceptible to COVID-19.”

The pilot will be conducted similarly to a flextime system, which allows flexible management of working hours. For the pilot, SK Hynix changed the mandatory in-office working hours to a system where employees must complete four hours of work between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays without specifying a fixed time slot. Employees can choose their start time between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. As a result, employees can work on Friday morning and leave in the afternoon, enabling a 4.5-day workweek. SK Hynix plans to evaluate work efficiency and participant satisfaction within departments before deciding whether to abolish the core time system.

Following the COVID-19 crisis, as work paradigms have shifted, other major domestic companies are also introducing and refining various flexible work systems such as remote work. According to the Korea Economic Research Institute, 29.2% of large companies newly introduced flexible working hours systems after the COVID-19 outbreak, and 45.8% supplemented or expanded existing systems.

For example, Samsung Electronics implemented a flexible working hours system until May, allowing employees to fulfill monthly working hours, and is currently operating remote work for the Consumer Electronics (CE) and IT & Mobile (IM) divisions throughout September. SK Group, which proactively introduced remote work, has decided to expand it due to the resurgence of COVID-19. Currently, SK Inc., SK Innovation, SK Telecom, and SK E&S have all been conducting remote work for all employees except essential personnel since mid-last month. LG Electronics has also decided to operate remote work for 30% of its office workers company-wide. LG Display is already conducting rotational remote work. Hanwha Group started implementing alternating remote work for 70% of its domestic employees across all group affiliates from the 1st of this month in response to social distancing measures and has expanded its existing flexible working hours system to include early arrival and early departure policies.