Untact Culture Breaks the Formula 'Late Leaving = Good Work'

Asia Economy and Seoul City Joint Project [Towards Work-Life Balance 2.0]

Positive Views on Spatial Flexibility Including Remote Work

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Will the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) become a driving force for the development of work-life balance systems, or will it be a variable that holds them back? Until now, work-life balance systems have been operated mainly as flexible work centered on "time," such as staggered commuting hours. On the other hand, flexibility regarding space had not gained much social consensus. When it comes to spatial flexibility, it means working in a non-face-to-face (untact) situation, but it was not easily allowed because trust among company members had not been established.

The situation changed rapidly within a few months. Experiencing COVID-19, companies were forced to face 'untact work' environments such as working from home. In the process, companies and their members witnessed that spatial flexibility like working from home does not necessarily lead to a decline in productivity. Especially, companies that had prepared work-life balance systems in advance adapted more quickly to the changed work environment and encountered opportunities that led to productivity improvement.

Se-yeon An, a consultant at the Seoul Work-Life Balance Support Center, said, "For an organization to change, new energy is needed, and the forced environment of COVID-19 became a driving force that changed corporate culture." She added, "The fixed idea that people who come to work early and leave late are good workers is being broken, and an atmosphere is beginning to form where focusing on the work itself and creative and novel methods are gaining attention." Consultant An further explained, "Academia has already argued that giving individuals more authority to choose their work location can have a positive effect on work-life balance."

Meanwhile, experts pointed out that it is necessary to examine whether work-life balance systems will evolve in unexpected ways due to the unforeseen variable of COVID-19 or whether they will rather produce side effects. Suhan Kim, a professor in the Department of Sociology at Korea University, emphasized, "Future work-life balance systems should be designed as gender-neutral systems so that men can also actively utilize them and such a culture can be established."

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