60% of Office Workers Receive Work-Related Messages Even After Leaving Work

Jikgang Gapjil 119 Survey of 1,000 Workers
"Urgent Legislation Needed for the 'Right to Disconnect'"

Six out of ten office workers in South Korea reported receiving work-related messages even after leaving work. Additionally, one in four workers said they work during holidays or after hours.

On the 4th, the civic group Workplace Bullying 119 and the Office Finance Ubuntu Foundation announced the results of a survey conducted in March by the public opinion research firm Embrain Public, targeting 1,000 office workers. 60.5% of respondents answered that they receive work-related contact via phone calls or social networking services (SNS) after work hours, including holidays. Among them, 14.5% said they receive such contact "very often," and 46.0% said "occasionally."

The likelihood of receiving work-related contact after hours was also linked to employment type. Responses indicating contact after work were higher among those with unstable employment, such as temporary workers at 69.2% and freelancers or special employment types at 66.3%. When asked whether they work at home, cafes, or elsewhere after work hours including holidays, 24.1% of respondents answered "yes."

[Image source=Pixabay]

Among 483 verified email reports related to workplace harassment received by Workplace Bullying 119 from January this year to last month, 37.1% (179 cases) involved unfair orders such as "forced overtime or weekend work" and "instructions outside working hours." Specific examples included "Contact after work is standard, and if work is not done on weekends, they keep sending messages on KakaoTalk," "A superior publicly criticized employees for not being reachable after work or on holidays, which was mentioned in a management meeting," and "I have to draw three process design diagrams every day at home after work, each taking two hours per page. This has been going on for eight months."

Recently, there has been growing social demand and interest in the so-called "right to disconnect," which guarantees not receiving work-related contact after work hours. In response, Workplace Bullying 119 pointed out that to prevent "fake leaving work," where employees must work after hours, and to guarantee the right to disconnect, it is necessary to ▲legislate a ban on work-related contact after hours ▲provide fair wages in unavoidable cases ▲prohibit the comprehensive wage system.

Park Sung-woo, a labor attorney at Workplace Bullying 119, said, "With the advancement of information and communication technology, the boundary between work and rest is blurring, but there are no institutional measures to regulate this," adding, "Legislation related to the right to disconnect is urgently needed."