‘Policy Design Research Service for Working Hours Reduction’ Final Report Held
4.5-Day Workweek, 35-Hour Workweek, and Biweekly 4-Day Workweek Proposed
Recruitment of Participating Companies from March 19 to April 18
Gyeonggi Province announced on the 11th that it held the final report meeting for the "Policy Design Research Service for Policy Experiment on Working Hours Reduction in Small and Medium Enterprises" at the Gyeonggi Bio Center on the 10th, ahead of the pilot project for the 4.5-day workweek.
The report meeting was held under the chairmanship of Kim Tae-geun, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Labor Bureau, with the participation of Kim Sun-young and Lee Yong-ho, vice-chairmen of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council’s Economic and Labor Committee, assembly members Lee Byung-sook and Lee Jae-young, and related experts.
This research, which began in November last year and lasted about four months, was conducted through analysis of domestic and international cases, surveys, and interviews with 1,000 companies within Gyeonggi Province. The main contents included ▲establishment of detailed models for working hours reduction ▲preparation of implementation plans for the pilot project ▲development of criteria for analyzing the effectiveness of the pilot project and policy support measures.
As a result of the study, support policies were proposed to address the main concerns of labor and management regarding wage compensation and productivity maintenance when reducing working hours. According to the survey of 1,000 companies in the province, more than 80% of respondents agreed to reduce working hours if wage compensation or productivity maintenance was possible.
Based on this, the proposed working hours reduction models aim to reduce actual weekly working hours by more than 4 hours while maintaining wages and enhancing productivity and work-life balance (WLB). The main models presented were the 4.5-day workweek, 35-hour workweek, and biweekly 4-day workweek.
For the pilot project implementation plan, measures were proposed to increase wage compensation and productivity through various supports such as consulting, wage compensation, and hiring incentives for 50 selected companies in the province. Additionally, 44 measurement indicators were established to analyze the short- and long-term effectiveness of working hours reduction for labor and management as well as for the entire Gyeonggi Province, and to identify obstacles and prepare policy alternatives.
In particular, for industries such as manufacturing where new hiring is inevitable when reducing working hours, expansion of hiring incentives and productivity improvement measures through linkage with external training institutions were also proposed.
Gyeonggi Province plans to evaluate the productivity and other aspects of participating companies during the pilot project period from 2025 to 2027 based on the indicators presented in this research.
Kim Tae-geun, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Labor Bureau, said, “Interest in reducing working hours is increasing as a way to expand work-life balance and address childcare and low birthrate issues,” adding, “We plan to conduct the 4.5-day workweek pilot project based on the results of this research.”
Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Job Foundation will recruit companies to participate in the 4.5-day workweek pilot project from March 19 to April 18.
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