Ministry of Employment Announces 'Survey Results on the Use of Remote Work'
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been revealed that half of domestic companies have adopted remote work. Corporate HR managers' evaluations of remote work were positive, and employee satisfaction was very high.
According to the "Survey Results on the Utilization of Remote Work" released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 24th, 48.8% of domestic companies were operating remote work as of last July. Nearly half have introduced remote work.
This survey was commissioned by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to the job information company "Job Planet" and was conducted last month targeting 400 HR managers from companies with five or more employees and 878 workers.
Looking at the adoption rate of remote work by company size, it was 54.0% for companies with 100?299 employees, 51.5% for those with 300 or more employees, 43.9% for 10?29 employees, and 42.7% for 30?99 employees. The Ministry explained that "there was not much variation by company size."
There were some differences by industry.
Industries with a high percentage of companies operating remote work included finance and insurance (66.7%), arts, sports, and leisure-related services (66.7%), educational services (62.5%), and information and communication (61.5%).
On the other hand, industries such as accommodation and food services (14.3%), manufacturing (34.0%), and wholesale and retail trade (36.2%) had low adoption rates of remote work.
Among companies operating remote work, the most common response regarding the proportion of employees eligible for remote work was less than 10% (40.0%). However, 28.7% responded that 50% or more of their employees were eligible.
When asked whether work efficiency improved due to remote work, 59.5% of HR managers responded "somewhat yes," and 7.2% answered "very much so." Negative responses such as "somewhat no" (29.2%) and "not at all" (4.1%) were few.
Minister Lee Jae-gap of the Ministry of Employment and Labor is speaking at the "Outstanding Companies Utilizing Remote Work Meeting" held on the 16th at the Employment and Labor Office in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
Regarding the positive effects of remote work, many respondents cited enhanced infectious disease crisis response capability (71.8%) and increased employee job satisfaction (58.5%).
The biggest difficulty in implementing remote work was "communication difficulties" (62.6%). This was followed by "equity issues with jobs difficult to perform remotely" (44.1%), "difficulty in performance management and evaluation" (40.0%), "concerns about corporate information leakage" (14.9%), and "burden of infrastructure costs for remote work" (9.0%).
More than half (51.8%) of HR managers said they would continue to implement remote work partially even after the end of COVID-19. The Ministry interpreted this as indicating the possibility of remote work becoming a regular working method.
In the survey targeting employees, the most common response regarding satisfaction with remote work was "generally satisfied" (60.5%), followed by "very satisfied" (30.8%). A total of 91.3% of employees expressed satisfaction.
Responses indicating improved work efficiency due to remote work also accounted for 73.9%. The Ministry analyzed that "positive effects such as reduced commuting time and improved work concentration outweigh side effects like communication difficulties."
Regarding the positive effects of remote work, the most common response was "relief from commuting stress" (86.0%), followed by "improved quality of life through leisure time" (36.5%).
Regarding government policies needed to promote remote work, many responses included "establishment of labor law guidelines" (48.9%), "support for infrastructure construction and costs" (44.2%), and "spread of social atmosphere" (41.3%).
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