Spread of Emergency Management in Business Circles
"Anachronistic" Criticism Also Raised
LS Group recently mentioned the possibility of introducing a six-day workweek for executives, similar to the system Samsung is currently implementing, during an executive meeting. The business community has shown interest in Samsung executives' six-day workweek and its background, and now a company hinting at benchmarking it has actually emerged. There is a view that LS is not the only company internally reviewing this.
Myung Nohyun, Vice Chairman and CEO of LS Corporation, is delivering a greeting at the 55th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on the 28th at LS Yongsan Tower in Seoul. [Photo by LS] [Image source=Yonhap News]
According to the business community on the 9th, Myung Noh-hyun, Vice Chairman (CEO) of LS Corporation, the holding company of LS Group, stated at an internal executive meeting in mid-last month, "We also need to work with a sense of urgency," adding, "For example, Samsung is said to have implemented a six-day workweek for executives." The meeting was a weekly LS holding company executive meeting attended by about 10 executives including Vice Chairman Myung. There was no particular reaction to Vice Chairman Myung’s remark during the meeting. However, it is reported that one attendee expressed to Vice Chairman Myung right after the meeting that a full review of the six-day workweek would not be easy. Because of this, there is growing interpretation that Vice Chairman Myung raised the Samsung case not just as a reference but to emphasize the need for introduction.
The six-day workweek comment appears to have been made in the context of the prolonged global economic downturn and expanding management uncertainties, highlighting the need for emergency management. LS posted an operating profit of 899.7 billion KRW last year, a 34.4% increase compared to the previous year. Affiliates such as LS Electric and LS Cable & System also saw increases of 73.3% and 5.9% respectively compared to the same period last year. However, there was a large performance gap among affiliates, with LS MnM, a non-ferrous metal affiliate related to secondary battery materials, experiencing a 52.1% decrease in performance. Additionally, as global management environment uncertainties grew, the sense of crisis also heightened accordingly.
An LS official said, "Given the external environment this year, there may be many difficulties and challenges, so the message was a simple one to stay alert and work hard, and Vice Chairman Myung used Samsung’s six-day workweek for executives as an example," adding, "There was an opinion that even if executives come to work while employees do not, the effectiveness is not high." Another company official stated, "The remark was not made with the nuance of fully introducing a six-day workweek."
The business community views the impact of Samsung executives’ six-day workweek as surprisingly significant. Although there are many criticisms such as "There is little work that can be done if only executives come to work without employees" and "While people are looking forward to a four-day workweek, a six-day workweek is rather a step backward," considering the recent management environment, it is an issue that could spread at any time. An executive of SK Group’s highest decision-making body, the SK Supex Council, has already made the twice-a-month Friday off system (Happy Friday) voluntary.
Park Joo-geun, CEO of Leaders Index, said, "Even if any manager wants to take measures to increase executives’ working hours in a situation of great uncertainty, there is a high possibility they will not implement it for fear of being seen as outdated," adding, "Samsung’s six-day workweek for executives has indeed ignited the fire for other corporate professional managers to make emergency management decisions."
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