"Closed on the Third Friday"... SK Hynix Employees' Happy Friday

Evolving Employee Welfare in Large Corporations

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] As more people prioritize 'work-life balance,' large corporations are actively ensuring employees' right to rest by granting holidays without using vacation days.

According to industry sources on the 15th, SK Hynix employees experienced their first 'Happy Friday' on this day. 'Happy Friday' is a system implemented this month that allows employees who have worked more than 80 hours over two weeks to take a recharge break once a month (on the third Friday) without using their vacation days. This system reflects SK Hynix's commitment to innovating work methods by optimizing working hours and establishing a family-friendly corporate culture.

SK Hynix logo

Although it does not apply to production workers who require shift work, it is applied without exception to general technical and office staff. Approximately 16,000 employees are expected to benefit from Happy Friday. This system was first implemented at some SK affiliates, including SK Telecom, where employee satisfaction was high, and SK Hynix decided to introduce it by actively reflecting the demands of its members.

In addition to guaranteed rest on the third Friday of every month, the system includes rights to rest that support work-life balance, such as ▲ three months of childcare leave for children entering elementary school ▲ extension of reduced working hours during pregnancy to cover the entire pregnancy period ▲ establishment of medical expense and leave systems related to infertility. On the 31st of last month, SK Hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho delivered a message at the 10th anniversary event of joining SK Group, stating, “We will establish a family-friendly corporate culture and become a global top-tier company that grows together with employees' families.”

Samsung Electronics, which resumed labor-management practical negotiations after three months of silence, also brought up 'three days of paid leave' as a negotiation card. Samsung Electronics proposed to union members an additional three days of paid leave that can be used after exhausting the existing mandatory 15 days of annual leave, and both labor and management are continuing practical negotiation discussions on this matter until today.

The union initially demanded a wage system reform including basic salary increases and changes to performance bonus payment criteria, as well as the guarantee of rest rights through five additional paid holidays, one paid day for the company’s founding day, and one paid day for the union’s founding day. Although the management’s proposal of three paid holidays falls far short of these demands, the union views the fact that a proposal was made positively. Last year, Samsung Electronics also significantly expanded reward leave for long-term employees.