[Real Beat] Work-from-Home Collapse of Leaving Work on Time... "Work-Life Balance Needed" [Office Shift]⑥

Blurred Boundaries Between Work and Life Due to Remote Work
Rights to Disconnect Bills Emerging Worldwide

Editor's Note[Jjinbit] is a shortened form of 'Jung Hyunjin's Business Trend' and 'Real Business Trend,' a segment that showcases trends in changes in work. The segment within Jjinbit called 'Office Shift' carefully examines changes in offices triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to establish a foundation to seek answers to work styles through experiments we have experienced together. It will be delivered to you every Saturday and Sunday morning. After 40 installments, it will also be available as a book.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jung Hyunjin] # Mr. A (35) works at a major domestic IT company that job seekers most want to join in the employment market. This company actively implemented remote work during the COVID-19 period. To encourage employees working from home, they even sent a luxury chair dubbed the 'Chanel of chairs' to their homes. He said, "Remote work varies," adding, "I found myself working until midnight in pajama pants without dinner because of too much work, and then I experienced 'hyunta' (a reality check moment, a state of great disillusionment)." He said that if he had been in the office, he could have truly 'left work' by getting up from his seat and going home, and he is considering changing jobs.

COVID-19 exploded global interest in employee well-being and 'Work And Life Balance (WALB).' As more employees desired a healthy work environment, working hours naturally gained attention. Does working longer increase productivity? This issue, which was gradually discussed before the pandemic, surfaced as a trend called WALB during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fixed working hours concept, known as 'nine-to-six' from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., gradually came to be seen as needing flexibility.

◆ "Do Not Contact After Work" Legislation in Kenya

'What should I do about colleagues contacting me after work or on weekends?' A post appeared last year on Blind, an anonymous workplace community. It is a frequent topic on workplace boards. Employees sharing the same concern advised, 'Do not answer at all,' or 'Get two phones and only turn one on when going to work.' Most comments suggested not responding to calls but warned, 'You must be prepared to face consequences.'

Remote work triggered discussions about working hours. As work and life happened simultaneously at home, the concept of commuting became ambiguous. Receiving emails, calls, or texts after work increased. Naturally, working hours extended, and working during evenings or weekends became common. Employees working long hours in an environment where work and life are not separated experienced physical and mental difficulties. According to a report by global cybersecurity company NordVPN Teams in February 2021, countries including the UK, the US, Austria, and Canada saw an increase of over two hours per day in working hours due to remote work after the COVID-19 outbreak.

As the concept of leaving work became ambiguous and work continued after hours, employees complained of fatigue, and laws to block contact after work emerged worldwide.

In November last year, Kenya proposed a bill titled 'Providing the Right to Disconnect in the Digital Age.' According to The Washington Post (WP), Samson Kiprotich Cherargei, a member of parliament who proposed the bill, found that during the pandemic, the maximum weekly working hours of 52 were not being observed due to the spread of remote work. The bill prohibits companies from contacting employees after work hours and on weekends. He emphasized, "It is important to enact laws that prevent burnout in the virtual office era, guarantee family time, and protect mental health."

Laws banning contact outside working hours existed even before COVID-19. WP explained that in France, which enacted such a law in 2016 and implemented it from 2017, not contacting employees outside working hours became routine. Italy, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, and Portugal also passed similar laws. Belgium, Ireland, and Portugal enacted these laws after the start of COVID-19. In South Korea, in September last year, a partial amendment to the Labor Standards Act was proposed in the National Assembly to prohibit work instructions via communication tools like KakaoTalk outside working hours. The pandemic heightened the need for the 'right to disconnect.'

◆ Does Remote Work Actually Harm WALB?

As work continued uninterrupted during daily life, cases of burnout among employees working remotely increased significantly compared to those commuting to offices or sites before and after the pandemic.

According to a global survey by Gallup conducted in September 2019 and April-September 2020, asking 'Do you often or always feel burnout at work?', the percentage of on-site workers answering 'yes' decreased from 30% to 26%, while for employees working fully remotely (100% working from home), it increased from 18% to 29%. Gallup analyzed that before the pandemic, remote work was attractive as a flexible and autonomous work environment, but after COVID-19, forced home working made maintaining work-life balance difficult, causing this phenomenon.

In South Korea, many job seekers continue to prioritize WALB. A survey conducted in August 2020 by platforms JobKorea and Albamon targeting 1,270 job seekers found that 39.1% answered that their beliefs and values about work changed after COVID-19. Among these respondents, 69.2% said they valued their health and WALB more than monetary compensation. Later, in October last year, the Korea Federation of SMEs revealed that the top concern among MZ generation (born 1980-2000) SME job seekers was 'working hours (25.8%).'

John Messenger, ILO (International Labour Organization) working hours specialist, said in a report last month on working hours and WALB, "The phenomenon called the 'Great Resignation' in the post-pandemic period has put WALB at the forefront of social and labor markets," adding, "This report shows that by applying some lessons from the COVID-19 crisis to workplaces and carefully reviewing how working hours are structured, it is possible to achieve a 'win-win' situation that improves both work performance and WALB."

◆ Discussions on "Flexible Working Hours"... Collaboration and Loneliness Issues

Beyond simply reducing working hours, discussions on how flexibly time can be used have intensified. As workspaces became flexible, allowing work both at the office and home, interest in flexible work systems introduced before COVID-19 has increased.

If working hours can be flexibly used, tasks like banking that must be done during weekday daytime can be handled more easily than before, and employees who need to care for children or elderly family members can manage their time appropriately. Since each employee has different peak concentration times and personal circumstances, it is sufficient to establish a broad framework and allow flexible choices according to work situations and individual needs.

A survey by Future Forum, a research consortium of the work messenger company Slack, conducted in November-December 2022 among over 10,000 knowledge workers in five countries including the US, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK, found that employees with flexible working hours reported 39% higher productivity and 64% higher concentration compared to those without flexibility. At the same time, employees unable to flexibly adjust schedules felt 4.6 times more work-related stress and anxiety and 2.6 times worse WALB than colleagues who could adjust schedules comfortably.

However, large differences in working hours among employees make personnel management difficult and disrupt collaboration. This is why Kakao designated 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. as core time (focused work hours) in its 'Metaverse Work System' introduced in 2022, requiring employees to work during this time. Also, insufficient overlapping work time can isolate employees, causing loneliness and other issues.