Yuhan-Kimberly Implements Mandatory Once-Weekly Remote Work with 'Smart Work 3.0'

Promoting Regular Work-from-Home at Least Once a Week
Creating 6 Types of Workspaces Reflecting Employee Survey
Implementing a Green Office with 2.53% Green Coverage

Yuhan-Kimberly announced on the 5th that it will implement "Smart Work 3.0," which mandates working from home once a week. Photo by Yuhan-Kimberly

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Yuhan-Kimberly announced on the 5th that it will implement ‘Smart Work 3.0,’ which mandates working from home once a week. This initiative aims to establish a digital office to leap into a century-old company on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Since late February, when COVID-19 rapidly spread, Yuhan-Kimberly has implemented work-from-home for office workers and socially distanced shifts for production workers. Currently, office workers come to the office three days a week and work from home two days. Even after the temporary work-from-home policy ends, office workers will be required to work from home one day a week regardless of COVID-19. Additionally, a recharge leave of at least once a month will be implemented.

Furthermore, to create an environment that respects diversity and individuality and enables agile collaboration, a 2-minute 30-second office routine and six types of workspaces were introduced. To this end, big data was collected on space utilization, work environment, and smart work culture. Based on this employee behavior analysis, a new optimized smart office was designed for employees.

The previously dispersed office spaces were redesigned into a structure where contact is possible within 2 minutes and 30 seconds to improve efficiency. Five types of meeting spaces that allow both separation and integration, preferred by employees, were provided, increasing meeting room usage and efficiency by an average of 40%. Researchers at Michigan State University have reported that collaboration increases by 20% each time paths overlap by 3 meters.

Also, the office secured about 2.53% greenery ratio, which is higher than the generally recommended 2%. The greenery includes air-purifying plants recommended by NASA. According to joint research by the University of Queensland in Australia and the University of Exeter in the UK, employees working in spaces with potted plants showed more than 15% improvement in work performance compared to those working in spaces without plants.

A Yuhan-Kimberly official said, “Through communication, collaboration, and agility, the core values of Smart Work 3.0, we respect employees’ autonomy and diversity and allow them to choose an efficient work environment.”

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