[Inside Chodong] What Companies Gain from Employees Balancing Work and Family

A Company Focused on Employee Growth
Employees with Will and Responsibility
A Virtuous Cycle of Trust Creates Corporate Culture

Employees of Gounsaesang Cosmetic are smiling brightly during a meeting. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

While planning the 'K-Population Strategy' to find solutions to domestic population issues through companies this year, a common point mentioned by overseas scholars I met was that Korea's sense of crisis is not keeping up with the actual crisis situation. Matthias Doepke, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics (LSE), who emphasized the importance of creating an environment where work and childcare can coexist, said that "among the four key factors needed to increase the birth rate, what Korea needs most is all four." This means that Korean society lacks all elements such as family policies, cooperative fathers in childcare, family-friendly social norms, and a flexible labor market.

Since every aspect is problematic, it is hard to know where to start addressing the population issue. In this context, the 'Employee Special Skill Theory' frequently mentioned by the CEO of a small-to-medium enterprise with about 200 employees during new employee orientation is quite insightful. "From this moment, the company will focus solely on your growth. The company is a space that supports individual growth and a place where one prepares a special skill to sustain oneself for life." Lee Ju-ho, CEO of Gounsaesang Cosmetic, emphasizes the company's support for employee growth rather than employees' efforts for company development. He believes that "investment in employees based on trust becomes individual competitiveness, which leads to company growth," and has introduced various work-family balance systems. In fact, the company's sales last year reached 198.4 billion KRW, a 7.5-fold increase compared to 26.4 billion KRW in 2017, six years ago.

Many company representatives I met during reporting expressed concerns rather than expectations about this 'virtuous cycle of trust.' They worry that granting autonomy over working hours and locations might lead to uncertainty about what employees are doing and where. In such cases, insights can be gained from the HR manager of a fintech (finance + technology) company actively utilizing flexible work systems. Lee Jae-kyung, Head of HR at Finda, said, "The company's flexible work system can be used not only for childcare but also when pets are sick or when employees need to go for physical therapy for back pain, so working moms and dads do not have to feel emotional debt." He added, "Above all, to ensure that all members continuously and effectively use such systems, there is a culture where work quality does not decline due to childcare; if anything, people work more rather than less." This means that flexible work is met with responsibility based on trust to prevent it from leading to work negligence.

This may be dismissed as an idealistic story. However, these 'good companies' were not born good; they created their corporate culture after years of ups and downs. I want to emphasize that if there is a willingness to benchmark their concerns and experiences according to each company's circumstances, it is possible to transform into a good company soon, if not now. What companies gain from employees balancing work and family is ultimately "employees who have the will and responsibility to become 'work masters' (high performers)." Trust toward each other is essential as the foundation.

At the thirteenth 'Asia Women Leaders Forum' held on October 30, we will explore how such a virtuous cycle can be realized. Participants will include large corporations with many employees, small and medium enterprises with relatively less developed environments, and foreign companies that have introduced systems suited to the Korean situation. They will share experiences about what kind of trust was shown and what responsibility was returned. Moreover, employees, especially female employees, will share wisdom with various 'Power K-Women' from different fields on how to develop their careers with a progressive attitude and courageous decisions. Hopefully, these efforts and empathy will serve as a starting point to turn the crisis into another opportunity.