[2024 Women’s Forum] "Germany's Flexible Work Approach Through Cultural Perspective is Impressive"

Mongjein Woo, Taiwan Economic Daily News Reporter
Shares Impressions from Attending Women's Leaders Forum
"Applying Flexible Work Can Actually Increase Work Efficiency"

Reporter Meng Je-in Woo from Taiwan's Economic Daily News, which has a strategic partnership with Asia Economy, is covering the '2024 Women Leaders Forum' hosted by Asia Economy at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, on the 30th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

"In Germany, I was impressed by the attempt to bring about change through a cultural approach to parental leave."

Mong-Jane Wu, a reporter from Taiwan Economic Daily News (EDN), which has a strategic partnership with Asia Economy, cited the keynote speech as the most memorable lecture at the '2024 Asia Economy Women Leaders Forum' held on the 30th at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul. Reporter Wu visited Korea to attend the Women Leaders Forum at the invitation of Asia Economy.

At the forum, Sandra Bintgetter, Vice President of Deutsche Telekom, who gave the keynote speech, delivered a lecture titled "Why does Germany's largest telecom company employ parental leave takers as part-timers?" She argued that the term "part-time job," which carries negative connotations, should be replaced with "reduced working hours," and that both men and women, regardless of gender, should avoid using the expression that spouses "help" with childcare.

Reporter Wu said, "This approach is very important because if we start to speak differently about ways of working, people's perceptions can change. Everyone faces the life challenge of balancing work and family. This could be about childcare, but it could also be about caring for elderly parents."

Regarding new working methods such as the '4+1 work system' that allows balancing childcare and work, mentioned by Vice President Bintgetter, Wu said, "As technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), advances, ways of working are changing worldwide. Companies need to realize that applying these changed work methods (depending on the job) can improve work efficiency."

She also agreed that when applying flexible working hours for employees, it is necessary to establish a system that ensures clear communication and accountability. Reporter Wu noted, "It is not easy to share work situations in detail, but we need to be very clear about responsibilities."

Expressing empathy for the domestic companies' systems and cultures mentioned in the subsequent work-family balance session, she explained, "Taiwan's situation is similar to Korea's." Wu said, "Assuming that each company's situation is different, it is true that larger companies usually provide better welfare benefits such as parental leave or in-house daycare centers. However, in the case of parental leave, the (Taiwanese) government has established it through mandatory policies, and companies comply with these regulations to avoid violating labor laws."

EDN is an economic newspaper under the Taiwan United Daily News Network (UDN) group. EDN has been included for five consecutive years among the top five most trusted Taiwanese media brands by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford in the UK. However, Reporter Wu's remarks are her personal opinions and do not represent the official position of the company.