LGU+ Introduces Work-from-Home Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday... First Among Telecom Companies

Magok Office R&D Department Employees, About 300
Pilot Operation Until September 30
Schedule to Be Adjusted Reflecting Employee Feedback

Jung-in Kim, Head of Big Data Strategy Team at LG Uplus, is having a meeting with team members using a video conferencing solution while working from home.
[Photo by LG Uplus]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] LG Uplus is the first domestic mobile carrier to introduce a three-day work-from-home system per week. Approximately 300 employees working in research and development (R&D) departments are the target.

LG Uplus announced on the 23rd that it will implement work-from-home on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays every week for about 300 employees working in the R&D department at its Magok office in Seoul to efficiently change the way of working in an untact (non-face-to-face) environment.

The work-from-home system will be piloted until September 30. Afterwards, the company plans to collect employee feedback on effectiveness and areas for improvement, continuously supplement the system and IT infrastructure, and gradually expand the program.

◆ "Improved quality of life and work efficiency"= LG Uplus conducted voluntary work-from-home for about a month starting in March due to the spread of COVID-19. In a related survey, about 90% of employees expressed satisfaction. Employees with longer commutes reported higher satisfaction due to saved commuting time, and office workers with a high proportion of planning tasks showed positive effects on work productivity.

About 300 employees in the R&D department at the Magok office, which has relatively longer commutes, started working from home on the 14th. To ensure early settlement and efficiency of the system, it was institutionalized that employees must obtain approval from their supervising executive if they wish to come to the office on a work-from-home day.

Kim Jung-in (44, female), a senior manager of LG Uplus Big Data Strategy Team living in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, said, "I used to spend about four hours a day preparing for work and tidying up after returning home," adding, "Work-from-home has saved this time and greatly improved the quality of life and work."

Choi Dong-gyu (38), a senior member of LG Uplus Service Big Data Team commuting from Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi Province, also emphasized, "The advantage is being able to choose the workspace directly, such as home, cafes, or libraries," and added, "I feel that work efficiency has increased because I can set the working hours and space where I can concentrate best."

◆ Establishing an IT-based work environment= Since 2016, LG Uplus has implemented 'Smart Working Day,' where employees leave work one hour early on the 2nd and 3rd Wednesdays of each month, a casual dress code, 'PC Off System' for on-time leaving, and 'Smart Meeting Rules' to foster a culture free from formalities. The company also introduced the cloud PC 'U Cloud,' allowing employees to access saved documents and team-shared files in the same document environment as their office PCs.

Through 'M Messenger,' the communication tool within LG Group, real-time collaboration such as video meetings and calls is possible on various devices including PCs and mobiles. Additionally, work-from-home infrastructure has been established using LG Electronics' smartphone basic feature 'Group Call' and Microsoft (MS) Teams for video conferencing.

Ha Tae-hoon, head of LG Uplus HR Team, said, "From a long-term perspective, we are implementing work-from-home to innovate work methods and improve work efficiency," adding, "We are proactively reviewing various work styles such as smart offices where both customers and employees can work satisfactorily and productively."

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