Sharing Results of Emotional Labor Worker Protection Initiatives and Discussing Policy Directions for Next Year
Review of Key Achievements in Fact-Finding Surveys, Rights Protection Education, and Psychological Counseling Programs
On December 23, Gyeonggi Province held a performance sharing and discussion meeting for the '2025 Gyeonggi Province Emotional Labor Workers and Industrial Accident Prevention' project at the Situation Room of the Northern Government Complex, where they listened to feedback from the field regarding the emotional labor worker protection initiatives carried out throughout the year.
Gyeonggi Province is holding a performance sharing and discussion meeting for the '2025 Gyeonggi Province Emotional Labor Workers and Industrial Accident Prevention' project on the 23rd at the Northern Government Complex Situation Room. Provided by Gyeonggi Province
During the discussion, participants reviewed the main areas of the project, such as fact-finding surveys, rights protection education, and psychological counseling and healing, and discussed directions for future policy improvements.
In particular, emotional labor workers who participated in rights protection education and psychological counseling shared their experiences of difficulties in the field and pointed out areas where institutional improvements are needed.
According to a fact-finding survey conducted by the province targeting a total of 538 call center employees in both the public and private sectors, 86.2% of respondents said they needed to hide their emotions in order to perform their work, and 80.2% reported dealing with aggressive or difficult customers, indicating a high level of psychological burden.
Despite these circumstances, the most common response to difficulties caused by emotional labor was "just endure it," accounting for 53%, highlighting the need for institutional measures and enhanced on-site support systems to protect emotional labor workers.
This year, more than 1,400 people participated in rights protection education for emotional labor workers and business owners in the province as part of the Gyeonggi Province Emotional Labor Workers and Industrial Accident Prevention Project, while over 150 people took part in psychological counseling and healing programs, resulting in more than 600 hours of counseling sessions. Most participants reported psychological difficulties due to dealing with civil complaints and job-related stress, and responded that the programs helped alleviate stress and provided psychological stability.
Kim Dae-soon, Second Vice Governor of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "About 2.8 million emotional labor workers are employed in Gyeonggi Province, and issues related to emotional labor continue to be raised in the field, making institutional responses to workers' mental health increasingly important. We will carefully review the feedback from the discussion and continue to promote initiatives to protect emotional labor workers."
Approximately 40 people attended the discussion, including Kim Dae-soon, Second Vice Governor of Gyeonggi Province, representatives of organizations implementing the emotional labor worker protection project, relevant experts, and field workers.
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