Local Manufacturers Balancing Work and Life... "Management's Will is Key" [Work-Life Balance SMEs]①

Excellent Work-Life Balance SMEs, 10% in Local Manufacturing
From 4-Day Workweeks to In-House Kids' Rooms
Growth and Employee Satisfaction Through Work-Life Balance

The role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is crucial in spreading work-life balance (WLB), the starting point for solving the low birthrate problem. SMEs account for 99% of all companies in Korea, and 81% of our workers are employed by SMEs. However, it is much more difficult for SMEs, which lack investment capacity and manpower, to balance work and life compared to large corporations. We looked into the secrets of success of the 'Excellent Work-Life Balance SMEs' selected for the first time this month by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs.

Regional Traditional Industry SMEs Struggle with WLB

According to the Korea Federation of SMEs on the 19th, among the 'Excellent Work-Life Balance' SMEs selected this year, manufacturing accounted for 27%. By industry, out of the total 137 selected companies, 83 were in professional, scientific, and technical services and information and communications, which can be considered technology-based IT companies. Traditional SME industries such as manufacturing accounted for 37 companies, and retail and wholesale, which have the largest number of SMEs, accounted for only 6.

Work-life balance is somewhat better if located in the metropolitan area. Among the 137 excellent SMEs, 104 companies (76%) were based in the metropolitan area. Considering that 52.3% of Korean SMEs are located in the metropolitan area according to basic SME statistics, the concentration of excellent WLB companies in the metropolitan area is notable. In particular, regional manufacturing SMEs accounted for only 14 companies, or 10%. The more traditional the SME industry and the more regional the location, the more distant WLB seems to be.

WLB Increases Productivity... "CEO's Will is Important"

Newrizon, an eco-friendly purification filter manufacturer located in Busan, introduced a 4-day, 30-hour workweek from its startup in 2019, achieving both employee satisfaction and sales growth. CEO Lee Seung-wook said, "When I worked at a large company, I experienced a lot of inefficient work. I thought it would be more efficient to work focused without worrying about others and to reduce working hours." He explained, "It seemed difficult to switch from a 5-day to a 4-day workweek, so I introduced the 4-day workweek from the start of the company." Thanks to the focused work system, sales increased sixfold compared to last year, and the employment growth rate was 43%. CEO Lee said, "Work performance is much better than the 52-hour workweek," adding, "People say it's hard to recruit talent in the region, but thanks to this system, we are filling positions without difficulty."

Geukdong Energy in Chilgok, Gyeongbuk, allows employees to fully utilize flexible working hours. Due to the nature of solar collector and photovoltaic power plant construction work, it is necessary to work when temperatures are relatively low in summer, so it was initially introduced as a pilot for field workers, and after satisfaction increased, it was expanded to all job categories. Employees can choose their commuting times without restrictions. This system also reflects the CEO's will. CEO Sagong Myeong-geon believes that a competent worker should be able to have someone else immediately take over their work. To this end, they built a work-sharing system so that even if the person in charge commutes according to their personal schedule, there is no problem with the work.

Kim Sun-cheol, CEO of Skollas, a religious goods specialist company in Wonju, Gangwon-do, showed great interest in employee welfare and asked around about what support other companies provide. The priorities were 'work efficiency' and employees' 'psychological stability.' The 'telecommuting system' was introduced accordingly. If employees need to work from home due to family care, illness, or other reasons, they can discuss with management and work from home. One employee with three children worked from home for more than two months as the children took turns contracting COVID-19.

Children who came to the office with employees are playing in Thomas's men's kids' room. Photo by Thomas

Seong Ho-jun, CEO of Thomas, an industrial automation cable system specialist company in Anyang, supports childcare benefits to the legal maximum and installed an in-house kids' room from 2020 so employees can come to work with their children. 89% of workers have children, and the return-to-work rate after childbirth is 100%. CEO Seong said, "The most important thing is employee happiness," adding, "It is the company's important responsibility to help employees harmonize work and life." Employee satisfaction is naturally high. Most employees have worked for more than five years, and the turnover rate is close to zero.

Looking at excellent SME cases, most regional SMEs that introduced work-life balance systems did so with the CEO's strong will. Jung Yun-mo, Executive Vice President of the Korea Federation of SMEs, said, "To solve the manpower shortage problem of SMEs and encourage young people to work in SMEs, SMEs must become 'good jobs' by introducing various work-life balance systems," adding, "For SMEs that have the will but lack capacity to introduce such systems, continuous government interest and support are necessary."