[2024 Women’s Forum] "Work-Family Balance Policies, Investments That Boost Corporate Productivity"

'2024 Women Leaders Forum' Work-Life Balance Session
'Corporate Culture and the Virtuous Cycle of Women's Careers' Discussion

"Work-family balance systems are essential investments to boost corporate productivity."

On the 30th, companies participating in the work-family balance session at the '2024 Asia Economy Women Leaders Forum' held at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, unanimously agreed on this point. Analysis shows that when employee satisfaction rises due to work-family balance systems, a virtuous cycle is established, with longer retention periods for talented employees and higher work concentration.

Lee Ju-ho, CEO of Gounsaesang Cosmetic, is giving a lecture on the theme of "Virtuous Cycle of Corporate Culture and Women's Careers" at the 2024 Women Leaders Forum hosted by Asia Economy on the 30th at Lotte Hotel, Sogong-dong, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

On this day, Lee Ju-ho, CEO of Gounsesang Cosmetic, shared his experiences under the theme "The Secret of the Most Productive Company in Korea." Gounsesang Cosmetic estimates its total fertility rate at 2.7 children, which is significantly higher than the South Korean average of 0.78. Sales have shown an average annual growth rate of 36%, rising from 26.4 billion KRW in 2017 to 198.4 billion KRW last year. They have successfully captured both fertility rate and sales growth.

Various internal policies brought about these results. The company guarantees parental leave for up to two years, offers reduced working hours throughout pregnancy, supports infertility treatment costs and provides leave on treatment days, grants leave for children's school entrance, and implements a 7.5-hour workday. CEO Lee stated, "Employees are not tools for the company's growth, but the company is a tool for employees' growth," adding, "There is a belief that if the company protects its employees, the employees will protect the company."

Lee Boksil (second from the left), Vice President of the National Management Institute, and other panelists are attending the "2024 Women Leaders Forum" hosted by Asia Economy at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, on the 30th, discussing the topic "Corporate Culture and the Virtuous Cycle of Women's Careers." From the left: Lee Juho, CEO of Gounsesang Cosmetic; Lee Boksil, Vice President of the National Management Institute; Kim Minjung, CEO of Korea Pairing Pharmaceutical; Moon Jungwoon, Senior Manager of Talent Strategy Team at Lotte Holdings; Jeong Jiye, CEO of Mampyeonhan Sesang. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Session participants agreed that work-family balance systems are directly linked to corporate competitiveness. Kim Min-jung, CEO of Korea Ferring Pharmaceuticals, explained, "Eliminating unnecessary time and encouraging family time results in significantly high work concentration and productivity," adding, "Such efforts greatly contribute to stable organizational management and steady sales growth." There was also an evaluation that work-family balance systems help in talent acquisition. Moon Jung-woon, Senior Manager of Talent Strategy Team at Lotte Holdings, stated, "Not only has the turnover of good talent decreased, but the number of job seekers seeking the group during recruitment has also increased significantly."

Efforts to establish these systems as part of corporate culture were also shared. Jung Ji-ye, CEO of Mampyeonhan Sesang, said, "There were difficulties due to fixed working hours, company dinners, and overtime caused by unexpected situations," adding, "To resolve this, we introduced a flexible attendance system and made company dinners and overtime as planable as possible." Gounsesang Cosmetic also introduced 'Dureundureun' to resolve conflicts between evening company dinners and work-family balance systems. Dureundureun is a system where employees have a two-hour lunch break every Wednesday.

In Lotte's case, they focused on welfare systems with clear purposes to gain employee empathy. The automatic maternity leave system for women is a representative example. Senior Manager Moon said, "This system supports women, who make up half of the group, so they do not resign or experience career breaks due to childbirth and childcare," adding, "Because the target and purpose are clear, it has become a culture that everyone accepts." Lee Bok-sil, Deputy Director of the National Management Research Institute and former Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family, who moderated the session, emphasized, "Strong leadership is necessary when seeking change," adding, "It is very important to communicate with employees to create shared values and motivate them."

Lee Boksil (second from the left), Vice President of the National Management Research Institute, and other panelists are attending the '2024 Women Leaders Forum' hosted by Asia Economy at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, on the 30th, discussing the topic of 'Virtuous Cycle of Corporate Culture and Women's Careers.' From the left: Lee Juho, CEO of Gounsesang Cosmetic; Lee Boksil, Vice President of the National Management Research Institute; Kim Minjung, CEO of Korea Pairing Pharmaceutical; Moon Jungwoon, Senior Manager of Talent Strategy Team at Lotte Holdings; Jeong Jiye, CEO of Mampyeonhan Sesang. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Voices continued that government support should accompany corporate efforts. CEO Jung pointed out that more emphasis should be placed on a culture that allows balancing work and childcare rather than just parental leave. This is because if leave is too long, returning to work becomes difficult and may distance employees from work. Activating in-house daycare centers was also cited as a task. CEO Lee proposed, "Although corporate alliance daycare centers are operating, more activation is needed nationwide," adding, "I hope there will be more daycare centers jointly operated by companies of similar sizes within regions." There was also an opinion that government support should vary according to company size. It was argued that smaller SMEs need more practical and differentiated policies. In response, Deputy Director Lee said, "There is no policy as comprehensive as work-family balance," adding, "Various systems such as telecommuting and flexible working hours should be intricately designed."