Family-Friendly Management Initiatives for Family Month
Lotte Chemical, Korean Air, Hyosung and Others Designate Company Holidays
LG Electronics and LS Encourage Use of Annual Leave
In celebration of May, known as 'Family Month,' major domestic conglomerates have launched various events and family-friendly management activities. Some companies have designated May 2 and 7?which fall around Children's Day and are part of the extended holiday period from Labor Day on May 1 to the substitute holiday on May 6?as company-wide holidays, providing employees with up to a week-long vacation. This move appears to be aimed at ensuring employees have time to rest, in line with the widespread work-life balance trend across society.
According to industry sources on April 28, Samsung Electronics will hold a family invitation event at each business site on May 3 for employees and partner companies. For children visiting their parents' workplaces on a spring field trip, the company plans to set up various experiences and play facilities throughout its sites, including face painting, air bounce, magic and bubble shows, and parades. LG Electronics is also preparing a variety of events at each business site, such as tours and hands-on activities that allow families to explore the workplace. Notably, on May 3, the company will rent out the entire Robot Land amusement park in Changwon, Gyeongnam, to provide employees and their families with meaningful memories.
LS Group will hold a 'Children's Day Family Happiness Camp' and a 'Filial Piety Party' for employees of all its affiliates. On May 4, the Children's Day Family Happiness Camp will take place at LS Miraewon in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, featuring a family Olympics, air bounce experiences, rides on a swing carousel and bumper cars, and making cotton candy and popcorn. The Filial Piety Party, scheduled for May 9, will offer activities such as creating autobiographies for parents, gardening, and traditional music performances, enabling families to spend quality time together.
Some companies are designating company-wide holidays to ensure employees have ample time to rest with their families. Lotte Chemical, Lotte Property & Development, and Korean Air are among the companies that have designated May 2 as a company-wide holiday during the golden week. Hyosung has designated not only May 2 but also May 7 as official holidays, allowing employees to take a week off. Hyosung operates designated holidays so that employees can use a certain number of annual leave days each year to recharge. LG Electronics and LS, on the other hand, have encouraged employees to use their annual leave.
However, unlike the Lunar New Year holiday in January, when companies designated official holidays, the current atmosphere is to encourage employees to use their annual leave voluntarily. During the Lunar New Year, Hyundai Motor and Kia designated January 31 as a holiday, but this time they have decided to leave it to employees' discretion without any special guidelines. Many LG Group affiliates, including LG Electronics, also designated January 31 as a company-wide holiday that did not require using annual leave, but this time they are encouraging employees to use their annual leave. An industry official explained, "In January, many companies designated holidays because it was the Lunar New Year and they considered employees traveling to their hometowns for the holiday, but the situation is different for the golden week in May," adding, "The atmosphere of encouraging employees to use their annual leave voluntarily is likely to be similar."
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