Samsung Executives One Month into Recommendation Work 6 Days a Week
Finance Does Not Commute... Other Affiliates Work on Sat or Sun
Guaranteeing Autonomy of Time and Place... Some Hold Regular Meetings
Most Spend Afternoons on Self-Development, Golf, and Hiking
Samsung Group's recommendation for its affiliates' executives to work six days a week has reached its one-month mark. Although there are still voices questioning the era's demand to guarantee so-called 'work-life balance' and the improvement in performance due to extended working hours, executives are participating in the six-day workweek without much disturbance. An executive from a Samsung affiliate said on the 19th, "Everyone empathizes with the recent economic downturn and the company's difficult situation, and voluntarily participates in weekend work," adding, "Since it is a non-mandatory recommendation and the actual workload on weekends is not heavy, executives are working without significant disruption to their lives."
Varied by Affiliate, Finance Has 0% Weekend Attendance
Even among Samsung Group executives, the six-day workweek varies by affiliate. Due to the nature of their work, executives in financial affiliates such as Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Samsung Life Insurance, and Samsung Securities do not come to work on weekends. Their tasks often need to be processed in connection with bank or government office systems. Since banks and government offices are closed on weekends, executives have nothing to do even if they come to the office, so they are exempt from weekend work.
On the other hand, more than half of the executives in other affiliates such as electronics come to work on weekends. At Samsung Electronics, half of the executives had already been working six days a week even before the recommendation. After the recommendation, the remaining 50% come to work one day on either Saturday or Sunday. Samsung Display, due to the nature of operating factories on weekends, has had some executives working on Saturdays and Sundays to manage on-site personnel, so there has been little change following the recommendation. Executives generally choose one day between Saturday and Sunday to come to work and work for about four hours. The company recommends four hours of work, but even if they work only two to three hours and leave, they do not prevent it or impose disadvantages.
Some affiliates have even set a fixed day on Saturday or Sunday to hold weekly meetings presided over by the CEO. Samsung E&A holds weekly meetings on Saturdays with executives who come in. The meetings are held face-to-face and must be finished by the morning. Even if there is a holiday during the week, executives are generally encouraged to come to work on Saturday mornings.
Work Location is Freely Chosen, Leading to Some Unintended Incidents
When there are no fixed schedules such as meetings, executives freely choose their work location to report weekend work. It is reported that many use nearby satellite offices. Since October 2022, Samsung has been operating external satellite offices and internal flexible work zones to establish an autonomous and flexible work culture. There are two external satellite offices in Seocho (Seocho Building) and Daegu (ABL Tower), and four internal flexible work zones at business sites including Digital Media City (Suwon), Seoul R&D Campus (Umyeon), Smart City (Gumi), and Green City (Gwangju), totaling six locations. For example, if an executive lives in Seoul but their work location is in Pyeongtaek or Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, they come to the Seocho office in Seoul on weekends instead of going to their official work location.
The majority of executives come to work on weekends to engage in self-development activities such as reading books and newspapers. They also finish tasks they could not complete during the week and organize plans by arranging meetings and schedules for the following week. Executives who used to enjoy sports like golf and hiking on weekends now adjust their schedules to work in the morning at the company and exercise in the afternoon.
Some affiliates have experienced unintended incidents. Especially since only executives come to work, the lack of people to have meals with has surprisingly become a burden. An executive from one affiliate reportedly received a message from another senior executive while working at a satellite office in Seoul, not their main work location, saying, "If you have no prior plans, let's have lunch together," and found it difficult to refuse, rushing to the work location. Contrary to initial concerns, there have been no reports yet of employees below the manager level following executives to work on Saturdays and Sundays.
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