[K Population Strategy] Samsung Heavy Industries Envied by Competitors: "OK to Work 4 Hours, No Worries About Continuous Childcare in Unexpected Situations"

The Only Flexible Work System in Joseon History
Freedom to Adjust Monthly Working Hours
Various Work-Life Balance Programs Including Maternity Protection Room and Study Room

“I gave birth to my second child and joined Samsung Heavy Industries in 2010. Since then, there has been a flexible working hours system (Flexible time ? working 8 hours after clocking in) that allows freedom in commuting times. It was the fastest among shipbuilders. When I bragged about it, other shipbuilders were all envious.” (Kim Hee-jung, Senior Researcher, Hull Propulsion Research, Ship & Offshore Research Center, Samsung Heavy Industries)

“The flexible working system where you only need to fulfill the mandatory monthly working hours and can work as little as 4 hours a day seems like a really good system. But other shipyards don’t have it. Only Samsung Heavy Industries does. The manager of our department’s wife is a pharmacist, so she can’t leave the pharmacy unattended. If her child gets sick, she just says, ‘Manager, my child is sick, so I have to leave,’ and goes immediately. Among ourselves, we say ‘Samsung Heavy Industries employees are better than pharmacists.’ The flexible working system allows both moms and dads to protect their families.” (Noh Ae-kyung, Manager, Hull Team, Samsung Heavy Industries)

“Compared to other companies, I found Samsung Heavy Industries’ working hours to be very flexible. Many working moms around me actively use the flexible working system to handle unexpected situations that often arise while raising children.” (Jung Eun-young, Principal Researcher, Welding Research, Production Technology Research Center, Samsung Heavy Industries)

On the 8th, we met three working moms at the Geoje shipyard of Samsung Heavy Industries. Senior Researcher Kim Hee-jung, with 24 years of experience, is a mother of two daughters. She said, “I have enjoyed many benefits of flexible and adjustable working hours since before my child entered elementary school.” Samsung Heavy Industries is the only one among the top three shipbuilders operating a flexible working system. Employees can freely adjust their working hours within the mandatory monthly working hours. They only need to work at least 4 hours a day. If they cannot fulfill the working hours, they can substitute with annual leave. This system goes a step further than the flexible time system, which fixes the daily working hours at 8 hours but allows free adjustment of commuting times. In the case of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, employees can adjust their working hours outside the mandatory hours set from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Heejeong Kim, Senior Researcher of Hull Propulsor Research at Samsung Heavy Industries Ship & Offshore Research Center
[Photo by Samsung Heavy Industries]

Senior Researcher Kim was the first female researcher at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, where she worked for five years before joining Samsung Heavy Industries after completing her doctoral program and post-doctoral research. She designs the hull shape of liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels at the Daejeon research center. Samsung Heavy Industries has secured orders for about 90 LNG vessels designed by her. She received the ‘Female Scientist of the Year’ award last year and the ‘Korea Engineer Award’ in 2015.

Kim said, “The most necessary thing for working mothers is flexible working hours. Public institutions require plans to be submitted a week in advance, so they cannot respond to emergencies like a child suddenly getting sick.”

Manager Noh Ae-kyung, mother of two sons, is the first generation female engineer assigned to production management in the domestic shipbuilding industry. She has 21 years of experience this year. She is responsible for installing outfitting items such as piping and interior materials in ship engine rooms and painting-related tasks. Noh leads about 200 Samsung Heavy Industries employees, including foreign workers.

She said, “Before applying the flexible working system, most people in production sites thought, ‘This will be a big problem.’ Everyone said, ‘The site operates 24 hours, so what if there is no manager?’ But after trying it, it was not like that at all. People focus on their working hours and perform better.”

No Aekyung, Head of the Captain Department, Chairman's Team, Samsung Heavy Industries [Photo by Samsung Heavy Industries]

Samsung Heavy Industries employees can use various work-family balance systems besides autonomous working hours adjustment. Female employees who are pregnant or raising infants under one year old take two 30-minute or longer breaks daily in maternity protection rooms installed throughout the Geoje shipyard. There are a total of 13 maternity protection rooms. During pregnancy, employees work two hours less per day.

There are also systems for stable family life. Married employees with dependents or cohabitants can live in company apartments. They can reside for four years by paying a deposit of 2 million KRW and a monthly fee of 50,000 KRW. Parents with middle school children receive benefits from the company’s ‘Scholarship Classroom,’ which provides education and study rooms for their children. Noh said, “Children of partner company employees can also participate, and the teachers are highly qualified.”

Employees also receive support for out-of-pocket medical expenses for spouses and children. Samsung Heavy Industries has operated a medical expense support system since 1995 to reduce household expenditure burdens for employees. Additionally, the company appoints human rights officers dedicated to protecting women’s rights and regularly checks for cases of gender discrimination. There are 18 human rights officers in total, including four women.

Jung Eun-young, Senior Researcher in Welding Research at Samsung Heavy Industries Production Technology Research Center [Photo by Samsung Heavy Industries]

Principal Researcher Jung Eun-young, mother of an elementary school daughter, has researched welding?a task even men find difficult?for 17 years. Welders follow the welding guidelines she created. She also develops new construction methods and welding materials and solves welding quality issues and on-site difficulties. She received the ‘Korea Engineer Award’ last year for developing welding construction methods and materials for offshore structures.

Jung said, “Since I work in a shipyard handling heavy equipment, some people initially felt sorry for me.” She added, “Although the male ratio is high, there are women’s shower rooms and restrooms equal in number to men’s facilities, and at work, I am seen as a colleague, not as a woman, so I have never felt restricted or uncomfortable because I am female.” She said, “There are many communication channels where you can talk comfortably. At the shipyard’s ‘Happy Well-being Center,’ not only employees but also their families can receive psychological counseling.”

Manager Noh said it is important to create an environment where employees can use childcare support systems without feeling pressured. She said, “We take pride in being the first company to introduce work-family balance systems, and as the culture of using them without psychological burden has taken root, the awareness level of colleagues has naturally risen. However, some employees still worry that taking parental leave might negatively affect their performance evaluations.”

“Senior-level employees like me, who have raised children, should first understand these systems and encourage employees to use them freely without hesitation. The role of the local community is also important. Geoje is a small city operated mainly by shipbuilding, so childcare infrastructure is less developed than in metropolitan areas. If the company operates good systems and fosters an atmosphere encouraging their use, I hope the local community will also consider practical needs such as securing verified babysitters. Childcare requires a long-term commitment.”

Read other articles in the 'K Population Strategy'

https://www.asiae.co.kr/list/project/2024010816123971935A