[Work Revolution] SMEs Say "Remote Work Is a Big Company Matter"

68% of Small Businesses
"Have Not Even Tried Smart Work"
Due to Lack of System Infrastructure and Workforce

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] #Jung Yonghyun (32, pseudonym), who works at a mid-sized company subcontractor in Korea, was instructed by his company to work from home for two months starting in March but was only able to work from home for one week. This was due to the pressure from employees of the primary contractor. Jung said, "I was criticized by the primary contractor's employees, saying 'What are you going to do working from home now?' and had no choice but to go to the office."

#Song Docheol (31, pseudonym), who works at a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) manufacturing medical devices, also commuted to the office every day from February, when the spread of COVID-19 began, until recently. Although his job is management, due to the small number of staff typical of SMEs, he sometimes had to take on tasks supporting the field. Song said, "Even though if one person tests positive, the entire factory has to stop, working from home was not a realistic option."

The gap between large corporations and SMEs was clearly revealed in the adoption of work-from-home measures during the COVID-19 crisis. Large companies rushed to introduce 'smart work,' but SMEs, lacking system infrastructure and personnel, found it difficult to attempt this readily.

According to the 'SME Smart Work Implementation Status Survey' conducted by the Korea Federation of SMEs from May 21 to 26 targeting 301 SMEs, 68.1% had no experience using smart work.

Only 44.5% responded that they plan to use smart work within the next two years. The reasons SMEs are reluctant to adopt work-from-home include the cost burden of implementing smart work systems, unclear task assignments, and issues with system integration with primary contractors, all intertwined.

Experts worry that if SMEs' responses remain slow, it could lead to a decline in competitiveness. Hwang Kyungjin, Director of the Job Innovation Center at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, said, "No one knows when COVID-19 will end, and similar situations may arise again, so the demand for working from home will inevitably increase. Since smaller organizations adapt faster, each SME should seize this opportunity and initiate change."

There is also an opposing view that SMEs can secure competitiveness by leveraging their strengths, as it is difficult to change face-to-face centered work in a short period.

Joo Youngseop, Chair Professor at Korea University and former Commissioner of the Small and Medium Business Administration, explained, "The customers SMEs mainly deal with and their infrastructure prefer face-to-face interactions. SMEs should enhance areas requiring face-to-face work to find their own strengths and effectively utilize the clear advantages gained through face-to-face contact with consumers and business partners."

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