Changes in Work-Life Balance Due to COVID-19... Increased Value of Caregiving

Asia Economy and Seoul City Joint Project [Into the Work-Life Balance 2.0 Era]
Seoul City Work-Life Balance Expo Held

Boundaries Between Work, Care, and Life Blur
Surge in Consultations on Working Hours and Leave

Need to Redefine Standards for Work and Life
Customized Strategies Required to Address Job Loss

At the 2nd Seoul Work-Life Balance Expo, a conference titled "Changes and Challenges in Work and Life in the COVID-19 Era" was held. From the left: Youngmi Kim, Professor of Sociology at Yonsei University and moderator; Mi-ae Guk, Senior Researcher at Seoul Foundation of Women and Family; Nanju Yang, Professor of Social Welfare at Daegu University; Haeyoung Cha, former Chairperson of Seoul Youth Policy Network; Hyesoo Lee, Director of Project Coordination at Seoul Labor Rights Center; and Jina Hong, CEO of Villa Sunshine. (Provided by Seoul Foundation of Women and Family)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] "Systems that have been considered beneficial, such as remote work and parental leave, are now causing problems."

"Before the outbreak of COVID-19, the worlds of work, caregiving, and daily life were separate, but now those boundaries have collapsed. It is time to explore how to pursue balance."

Professor Youngmi Kim of the Department of Sociology at Yonsei University made these remarks while hosting a conference titled "Changes and Challenges in Work and Life in the COVID-19 Era" at the recently held 'Seoul Work-Life Balance Expo.' What changes are needed in social caregiving during the COVID-19 era? First, there has been a sharp increase in new types of labor consultations since the COVID-19 outbreak. According to 15,237 consultation cases conducted from January to August this year by the Comprehensive Labor Support Centers in 16 districts of Seoul and the Seoul Labor Rights Center, consultations related to COVID-19 involved a higher proportion of women than men. The proportion of people in their 30s and 40s was also high. Hyesoo Lee, Director of Project Coordination at the Seoul Labor Rights Center, said, "Usually, wage arrears consultations are the most common, followed by consultations on disciplinary actions or dismissals, working hours, and holidays/vacations. However, this year, consultations related to working hours and holidays/vacations have increased significantly. This can be seen as an effect of the COVID-19 situation."

There are also many signs that the COVID-19 pandemic is undermining employment stability. Haeyoung Cha, former operating committee member of the Seoul Youth Policy Network, said at the same conference, "Many young people worked in service jobs or day labor that did not require experience, but these types of jobs have significantly decreased since the COVID-19 outbreak." She added, "The problem is that there is no sign of recovery for this trend." Cha sharply criticized the reality of Korean society from a work-life balance perspective. She pointed out the irony that everyone struggles to find jobs and puts all their effort into employment, yet "once they start working, they wait to leave, and once they join, they prepare to quit." Cha said, "We first need to redefine what work is and, correspondingly, what life means. Then, it is necessary to identify individual needs and pursue customized work-life balance."

Collapse of the Social Blind Faith in Family
Male Breadwinner and Female Homemaker Model No Longer Applies
Difficulties in Time, Space, and Physical Separation
Need to Change Perceptions of Standardized Employment Relationships

The COVID-19 situation has clearly shown how difficult caregiving is and who caregiving is assigned to in current Korean society. Nanju Yang, Professor of Social Welfare at Daegu University, said at the conference, "The closure of all gathering facilities at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak is evidence that our society blindly trusted the family function," and pointed out, "Policy makers have the perception that when society faces difficulties, the family must bear everything." She continued, "Reports of families of children with developmental disabilities making extreme choices or children who cannot have meals getting hurt shattered the belief that caregiving functions could be safely entrusted to families," analyzing, "It was a wrong judgment based on the male breadwinner and female full-time homemaker model that was only possible in an industrialized society based on manufacturing." She added that this means the public already receives significant help from social caregiving through institutions such as daycare centers, kindergartens, schools, and welfare centers, as well as various institutional supports.

Miae Guk, Senior Researcher at the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, urged the establishment of work-life balance systems to respond to the various new types of jobs emerging after COVID-19. She said, "Situations where physical separation of time and space becomes difficult and the proliferation of workers not belonging to specific workplaces are newly emerging phenomena," and emphasized, "Systems need to be created that move away from the existing standardized employment relationship concepts." Furthermore, she stressed the importance of local government intervention for these systems to function properly. Senior Researcher Guk said, "If local governments suddenly present issues such as gender equality, work-life balance, and sexual harassment prevention to employers, they will not be welcomed," and added, "It is necessary to highlight corporate social responsibility and cooperate with economic, industrial, and labor-related departments within local governments."

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