Yeongdeungpo-gu, Counseling Psychological Service Listening to Emotional Laborers' Inner Voices

‘Operation of 2021 Emotional Laborer Counseling Psychological Service’... Full-scale operation from July, 5 sessions per day... Recruiting experienced retirees and career-interrupted middle-aged counselors... Visit or online application until May 28

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Chae Hyun-il) is promoting the ‘2021 Emotional Laborer Counseling Psychological Service’ to support the recovery of psychological exhaustion among emotional laborers working in various fields and to spread awareness of laborers' rights protection.

The Emotional Laborer Counseling Psychological Service was selected in February through the ‘2021 Senior Career-type Job Project’ contest hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and will begin full-scale counseling starting this July.

The district expects that by conducting psychological counseling, it will prevent damages such as stress and anxiety experienced by emotional laborers and establish a culture of mutual consideration between the general public and emotional laborers.

Additionally, the district plans to select early retirees and career-interrupted individuals with rich social experience as psychological counselors, supporting reemployment for the senior generation aged 50 to 70 and promoting the creation of sustainable jobs.

Accordingly, the district is recruiting professional counselors to conduct psychological counseling for emotional laborers.

Applicants must be Seoul citizens aged 50 to under 70 who hold counseling certificates issued by the Korean Psychological Association, Korean Counseling Psychological Association, Korean Counseling Association, or equivalent accredited institutions. However, applicants must not have disqualifications under Article 31 of the Local Public Officials Act, and those with counseling work experience will be given preference.

Counseling will be conducted one-on-one, either face-to-face or online non-face-to-face, with five sessions per person (once a week).

Counselors will work four hours a day from July to December, analyzing the psychological state of emotional laborers and helping their recovery by suggesting solutions and alternatives.

They will also play a role in supporting access to professional treatment by connecting clients to specialized psychological treatment institutions when necessary.

Working hours may be adjusted according to schedule, and a monthly salary of 1,166,600 KRW will be paid in accordance with Yeongdeungpo-gu’s fixed-term employee management regulations.

Residents wishing to participate can download the application form and professional career statement from the Yeongdeungpo-gu Office website’s Notices/Announcements section by May 28, and submit them in person to the Job Economy Division or send them via email to the person in charge at myth1001@ydp.go.kr.

Meanwhile, the district has been implementing various projects to protect the rights and improve the welfare of emotional laborers.

In 2019, through the emotional laborer psychological healing project ‘Emotional Laborer Counseling Psychologist Training Project,’ emotional labor education was conducted, and protection guides and leaflets for emotional laborers were produced. In July 2020, the ‘Ordinance on the Protection of Rights of Emotional Laborers in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul’ was enacted, establishing institutional measures to improve working conditions and enhance rights.

Subsequently, the district formed the ‘Emotional Laborers’ Rights Protection Committee’ to deliberate and advise on policies protecting emotional laborers, and in April held a meeting regarding the establishment and distribution of guidelines for protecting the rights of emotional laborers in the public sector.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “Through the operation of counseling psychological services, we aim to comfort the hearts of workers struggling with heavy workloads and emotional labor, actively supporting their psychological recovery and stability. At the same time, by hiring the senior generation with rich social experience and life wisdom as counselors, we seek to create jobs. We will strive even harder to establish a mature social culture that respects and considers workers.”

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