Cafe24 to Implement Four-Day Workweek Starting in July
From Biweekly Friday Off to Expanded Benefits
No Change in Wages or Working Hours
As the Lee Jae Myung administration is pushing to introduce its key pledge, the "four-and-a-half-day workweek," e-commerce platform Cafe24 has announced that it will fully implement a four-day workweek starting next month, drawing significant attention. The industry is closely watching whether Cafe24's decision will spread to other information and communication technology (ICT) companies.
According to industry sources on the 26th, Cafe24 notified its employees that the current system of two monthly off-days will be expanded to a day off every Friday, and the company will implement a four-day workweek starting July 1.
Cafe24 stated, "Employees who are on duty on Fridays will be given substitute leave," and "If Friday falls on a legal holiday, no additional day off will be granted, and the annual leave policy will remain unchanged." Although the number of working days has been reduced under the new four-day workweek, both weekday working hours and wages will remain the same.
A representative from Cafe24 commented, "With technological advancement improving work efficiency, we are now in an era where more creative and strategic thinking is the core competitive edge. Through the four-day workweek, we aim to build an environment where our members can truly focus, creating a new work culture that fosters a virtuous cycle of individual creativity and sustainable organizational growth."
President Lee Jae Myung is having a conversation before lunch with Woo Won Sik, Speaker of the National Assembly, and other party leaders at Sarangjae in the National Assembly on the 4th. Photo by Kim Hyun Min
This decision also aligns with the policy direction of the Lee Jae Myung administration. The government plans to first pilot the four-and-a-half-day workweek and then gradually transition to a four-day workweek in the long term. Various options are being considered, such as reducing the statutory weekly working hours by four hours or encouraging the use of annual leave. The goal is to reduce domestic working hours to below the average of OECD member countries by 2030, in line with President Lee's pledge.
However, public opinion on reducing working hours to a four-and-a-half-day workweek remains somewhat divided. According to data consulting firm PMI on the 6th, a nationwide survey of 1,000 people aged 19 to 69 conducted on the 4th and 5th found that 37.9% of respondents viewed the introduction of the four-and-a-half-day workweek positively. The proportion of those who were neutral was 36.6%, while 25.5% held a negative view.
The most anticipated benefit among respondents who viewed the four-and-a-half-day workweek positively was "improvement in work-life balance" (64.0%). This was followed by "improved job satisfaction and working environment" (14.6%), "increased work efficiency and productivity" (13.4%), and "expanded employment opportunities for young people" (7.6%). On the other hand, the greatest concern was "income reduction or burdens due to shorter working hours" (29.4%). Other concerns included "decline in productivity and occurrence of work gaps" (25.4%), "issues of fairness between industries and job categories" (24.0%), and "lack of feasibility or premature implementation" (20.5%).
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