Pangyo in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where many IT companies are located, has started to bustle with office workers again. This is because as the impact of COVID-19 has weakened, companies are calling employees who had been working from home back to the office.
Kakao Implements ‘Office First’ Policy Starting March
On the 6th, Kakao's headquarters, ‘Pangyo Ajit,’ began to get crowded with employees heading to work after 9 a.m. Many employees were seen holding their children's hands to drop them off at the in-house daycare center before going to work. During the work-from-home period, the parking lots from basement levels 2 to 7 were never fully occupied, but on this day, it was difficult to find an empty spot even on the 5th basement floor.
Kakao has been implementing work-from-home since February 2020. Although the work system changed several times, all were focused on ‘working from home.’ However, at the end of last year, the work system was completely revised to prioritize office attendance with an ‘Office First’ policy. Department heads can decide the ratio of remote work to office attendance at their discretion, but the emphasis is on ‘office’ presence.
The change in the work system also caused internal conflicts between labor and management. The Kakao labor union pointed out a lack of communication, saying, "The work system has been changed four times in the past year, causing employee dissatisfaction." Some employees complained that although the department consensus was to maintain remote work, the department head arbitrarily decided on office attendance.
Employee A, met on the way to work, said, “Each department has a different work system, but in our department, we have to come to the office three times a week. I recently went shopping to buy work clothes and am trying to adapt.”
The cafeteria ‘Chunsik Dosirak’ was also crowded during lunchtime. Employee B said, “It was the first time in a while that the team gathered to choose the meal menu and eat lunch together. While working from home is certainly convenient, there are benefits to coming to the office, so I don’t have major complaints about the change in the work system.”
10,000 More Passengers at Pangyo Station After End of Remote Work
It has become difficult to find companies implementing remote work in Pangyo, once a stronghold of work-from-home. Nexon and NCSoft changed their work systems to full office attendance in June last year. Kakao subsidiaries such as Kakao Games and Kakao Entertainment also decided to prioritize office attendance.
With the end of remote work, the number of passengers using Pangyo Station on the Shinbundang Line subway surged. Before remote work was implemented, in January 2020, the number of passengers at Pangyo Station was over 40,000. However, it sharply dropped to around 23,000 in January 2021. It then rose to about 30,000 in January 2022 and returned to pre-COVID-19 levels at 45,000 as of the 2nd of this month.
However, the recovery of commercial districts is slow. Mr. C, who runs a cafe at Pangyo Ajit, said, “It has been six months since NCSoft ended remote work, and Kakao also reduced remote work, but the number of customers has not increased significantly. Other nearby business owners are in a similar situation.”
This is interpreted as a result of companies that ended remote work strengthening in-house welfare. Kakao plans to refurbish its cafeteria facilities in March. Nexon is considering expanding its cafeteria. NCSoft created a new ‘Fresh Bowl’ corner in the cafeteria offering vegan menu options along with the end of remote work.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
