Work from Home, 3 Shifts, Paid Leave... Financial Sector "Call Centers, Prevent COVID-19 Infection"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] As call centers have emerged as hotspots for COVID-19 cluster infections, the financial sector, including banks, card companies, and insurance firms, is actively utilizing remote work and three-shift systems to prevent infection risks.

According to the financial sector on the 15th, Shinhan Bank will implement remote work for call center employees starting from the 16th, becoming the first bank in the industry to do so to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Shinhan Bank had been operating its customer consultation centers separately in Seoul and Incheon to ensure normal customer service even in emergencies. However, due to growing concerns over mass infections in densely populated workplaces, it will begin remote work for 150 call center employees. The remote work applies to 448 employees working from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on business days, with 150 employees gradually starting remote work. If the situation worsens, the number of remote workers will expand to 250. Work laptops, consultation systems, and internet phones have been installed to enable employees to work in the same environment as the office. However, special task teams such as telecommunication fraud consultation staff and sign language consultation staff are excluded from remote work to protect customers.

Simultaneously with the implementation of remote work, the bank is adjusting the spacing between seats in the customer consultation center offices using vacant seats and raising the height of partitions between seats from the existing 60 cm to 97 cm to further strengthen infection prevention measures for employees working in the office.

A Shinhan Bank official said, "As concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in densely populated workplaces such as customer consultation centers have increased, we quickly started remote work following the government's 'Infection Control Guidelines.' We will do our best to protect customers, employees, and the local community."

Samsung Card has implemented shift work for call center employees. Only two-thirds of the total employees work, and seats are arranged alternately to allow for spaced seating. Hanwha Life and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance also allow only two-thirds of call center employees to come to work to enable spaced seating.

In the cases of Samsung Card and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, paid leave is provided to the one-third of employees who do not come to work to minimize financial losses due to reduced working hours.

These measures targeting call center employees are expected to expand to other companies beyond the financial sector. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced the 'Workplace Intensive Management Guidelines for COVID-19 Prevention' yesterday to enhance quarantine measures in financial sector call centers. The financial authorities also recommended maximizing the use of remote, flexible, and online work and adjusting office seat spacing in call centers on the 11th.

There are 701 financial sector call centers nationwide with about 63,000 employees. Due to the high density and droplet transmission risk in call centers, proactive measures are essential.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.