"Employee, Where Are You Commuting to Today?"... The Era of 'Nomad Workers' in the Workplace

Determined to Leave the Beloved Office to Work Better...

Timon Euljiro Base Office

#Office worker A has recently been commuting to an office in Euljiro. Although their department and personal desk are located at the headquarters in Gangnam, they do not mind. Depending on the day's schedule, they sometimes work in different locations. The culture of working face-to-face with colleagues in an office now feels unfamiliar to them. What matters more is working efficiently from anywhere. This is what both the company and employees want.

It is the era of the 'Nomad Worker' for office workers. The 'Nomad Worker,' who works without being bound by time or place, is no longer exclusive to freelancers. Unlike the traditional image of office workers who arrive at the office on time, work alongside colleagues during business hours, and head to restaurants together at lunchtime, the office can be anywhere they can work. Not only large corporations but also venture and startup companies are establishing satellite offices in various locations to enable their employees to live as 'Nomad Workers.'

According to Allicon, which operates the distributed office platform 'Jibmusil,' the number of corporate clients using Jibmusil has tripled compared to the previous year, and the actual usage rate among corporate members has increased 3 to 4 times. Additionally, existing corporate clients have increased their usage by 30% year-over-year. This indicates that more companies are building infrastructure that allows employees to work from various locations. Jibmusil currently operates six branches mainly in major residential areas within the metropolitan area, and its service allows all members of client companies to freely use all branches as their workplaces.

Many companies are also establishing their own satellite offices. Large corporations such as Hyundai Construction, Hyundai Motor Company, LG Electronics, SKT, and CJ CheilJedang are actively doing so. Recently, not only large corporations but also venture and startup companies have been setting up satellite offices one after another. For example, TMON recently relocated its headquarters to Garosu-gil in Sinsa-dong but simultaneously changed its work system to allow employees to work autonomously anywhere as long as the work environment is suitable. They have prepared 100 seats at the headquarters and partnered with the shared office provider SparkPlus to operate satellite offices in Jamsil, Seongsu, and Euljiro. Any TMON employee can visit and work in these dedicated spaces. They can also freely use over 30 SparkPlus lounges within the metropolitan area. A TMON representative explained, "Compared to office work, this allows for more efficient time and task management, which is expected to improve productivity and job satisfaction."

Yanolja also allows employees to freely choose their preferred work location among the office, remote work, and satellite offices. To support this, they have established satellite offices in the Gangseo area of Seoul and Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Woowa Brothers, which operates Baedal Minjok, has entrusted the choice of work location entirely to employees. The 'Workplace Autonomy System,' to be implemented from January next year, allows members to choose their work location freely as long as they stay connected and focused during working hours. Besides office attendance and remote work, other suitable locations, including overseas, are acceptable. If there is a time difference, employees only need to comply with working hours that ensure smooth communication based on Korean time.

An industry insider said, "Not only large corporations with infrastructure such as branches that can be used as office spaces but also venture and startup companies are removing restrictions on work locations to create a culture of effective and efficient work. At the same time, this is expected to help secure diverse talent."