KB Securities, Reasons Behind the Decline in Workplace Couples [K Population Strategy]

Interview with Lee Taeyeop, Director of HR at KB Securities
"To balance work and family, more time with family must be provided"
Introduction of focused and long-term leave increases employee satisfaction
Exploring various measures to address low birthrate

Taeyeop KB Securities Human Resources Management Department Director

"I believe that spending more time with family is fundamental to achieving work-family balance."

Lee Tae-yeop, Director of Human Resources at KB Securities, defined work-family balance in this way. KB Securities prioritizes employee happiness above all else and spares no effort in providing support for it. Director Lee said, "Individuals work at a company to be happy, and the basic foundation of happiness is a harmonious family. When the family is happy, employees can be happy, and from the company's perspective, having many happy employees working leads to higher productivity." KB Securities believes that spending ample time with family is essential for a happy family life and has implemented related policies accordingly. Director Lee explained, "It has been over five years since we introduced the PC on-off system, and we strictly enforce it. Work is completed during working hours, so after the 5 p.m. end of workday, most employees have already left." He continued, "We also take pride in our vacation policies within the industry. Every year, we operate a concentrated vacation system that amounts to about seven business days. Except for some sales staff, most employees take consecutive vacations for those seven business days, which, combined with weekends, allows for about 11 days off. Since last year, we have introduced a long-term vacation system that allows more than 15 business days off. Through concentrated and long-term vacations, employees can spend relatively long periods with their families, such as taking extended trips or living in Jeju Island for a month, which greatly increases employee satisfaction."

Having worked at the company for 25 years, Director Lee feels that the time spent with family has significantly increased compared to the past. He said, "When I was an assistant manager and came to headquarters, I used to start work at 7:30 a.m. and work until 9 or 10 p.m. If I accepted my superior’s invitation for a drink, I would leave around midnight or 1 a.m. I would get only three hours of sleep before going back to work, so I hardly had time to see my family. I could barely see them on weekends, but I was so exhausted during the week that I would nap on weekends and had no energy left for my family." He added, "Thanks to improvements in work-family balance policies, nowadays I leave work at 5 p.m. and get home around 6 p.m., which was unfamiliar to my family at first. Comparing now to when I joined, I had almost no time to see my family then, but now I spend so much time with them that they sometimes find it overwhelming." A significant change is the decrease in workplace couples. Director Lee himself was once part of a workplace couple. He explained, "Back then, employees spent long hours at the company, so workplace couples were common. Nowadays, since employees spend less time together at work, workplace couples have decreased."

KB Securities also implements various support measures for low birth rates, covering stages from childbirth to childcare. Director Lee said, "Having children is crucial when forming a family. We introduced infertility leave seven years ago, allowing employees to take about six months off, extendable up to one year. We are grateful to hear many good news thanks to this policy." After childbirth, employees can take parental leave or reduced working hours to adequately care for their children. Director Lee explained, "Parental leave can be taken for up to two years, including maternity leave, which is among the longest in the securities industry. It can be split into two periods, commonly one year after childbirth and one year when the child enters elementary school. Extending parental leave to two years has been very helpful for childcare." He added, "Paternity leave is also increasing. In the past, men taking parental leave was viewed oddly, but now it is very natural, and the company culture allows both men and women to freely take parental leave."

Director Lee is considering various measures to address the increasingly severe low birth rate issue. He said, "Nationally, the birth rate dropped to the 0.6 range in the fourth quarter of last year, indicating a serious low birth rate problem. KB Securities is also thinking about how to contribute. We are exploring additional ways to encourage childbirth, such as providing support funds when children are born and increasing support for families with more children, as well as how employees can work without burdens."

He emphasized the importance of considering diverse family types. He said, "Recently, family structures have become more diverse, and single-person households are also regarded as a family unit. The MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) places great value on fairness and may feel relatively excluded from comprehensive childbirth support, so we believe this issue needs to be addressed together."

Finally, Director Lee stated, "KB Securities likely has the longest average tenure among regular employees in securities firms. This is the result of the company prioritizing employee happiness and faithfully establishing related policies. Now is the era when companies must also consider the happiness of employees’ families."

*Checkpoints

- Operation of concentrated and long-term vacation systems to allow time with family

- Implementation of infertility leave system for 6 months (extendable up to 1 year)

- Reduced working hours without salary reduction for one month in March, when children enter elementary school