QR Check-in for Mask Guidance... Part-time Workers Also Struggling Due to COVID-19

45.7% of Part-Time Workers Report Increased Workload Since COVID-19
Guidance on QR Check-In and Entry Log Completion

Requests to Wear Masks Sometimes Lead to Crime Targets

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Jeong Mo (28), who works part-time at a convenience store in Mapo-gu, Seoul, says he sometimes feels distressed when intoxicated customers visit without wearing masks. It takes more than five minutes just to request mask-wearing. Although he worked part-time at a convenience store before the emergence of COVID-19, he says the current work stress is higher because he now has to guide customers to wear masks. Jeong said, "When explaining mask-wearing to intoxicated customers, I feel anxious about being harmed or infected with COVID-19," adding, "Guiding mask-wearing is the most difficult part of my job."

In the COVID-19 era, part-time workers’ duties and stress have increased. This is due to the additional tasks such as mask-wearing and QR check-ins. According to a survey conducted by Alba Heaven, a job portal specializing in part-time jobs, of 534 part-time workers, 45.7% said their workload increased after COVID-19 and reported related stress.

The increased duties mostly included QR check-ins and guiding customers to fill out entry logs (65.3%, multiple responses allowed), followed by mask-wearing guidance (59.5%) and providing hand sanitizers (54.6%). Additionally, 46.1% reported communication difficulties caused by mask-wearing. Other added tasks included disinfection activities in stores and informing customers about closing times due to business hour restrictions.

Reflecting this situation, 9 out of 10 part-time workers said they have an "Alba Cock-it List," meaning a list of things they most want to do after the end of COVID-19. The top item on the list was not having to make troublesome requests to customers, such as mask-wearing and filling out entry logs. The second most desired was to communicate smoothly with customers, colleagues, and bosses without masks. Hong Mo (29), who works at a restaurant in Gangnam-gu, said, "When elderly customers come, it’s difficult to guide them through QR check-ins, so I ask them to fill out a handwritten log from the start," adding, "Wearing masks makes communication difficult, and I often feel frustrated."

Due to mask-wearing guidance, one of the increased duties after COVID-19, part-time workers have also been exposed to crimes. In Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, A (52) was arrested for hitting a convenience store employee’s head with a wine bottle after being asked to wear a mask. On the 7th of this month, the suspect allegedly became angry when the employee asked him to wear a mask and repeatedly struck the employee’s head with a wine bottle displayed in the store.

Regarding this, Shin Jeong-woong, acting chairman of the Alba Labor Union, said, "There are still people in our society who look down on part-time workers or verbally and physically abuse them," adding, "Part-time workers play an important role in our society’s labor force, so we must have an attitude of respect and consideration toward them."

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