<중기硏> "Strategic Response Needed for SMEs Following Full Implementation of the 52-Hour Workweek"

The 52-Hour Workweek System Should Be Recognized as an Opportunity, Not a Crisis, and Actively Addressed

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheolhyun] The Korea Institute for Small and Medium Venture Business (President Oh Dongyun) emphasized that "small and medium enterprises (SMEs) need to recognize the full implementation of the 52-hour workweek system not as a crisis but as an opportunity and respond actively." The Korea Institute for Small and Medium Venture Business announced this in a report on SME response measures following the full implementation of the 52-hour workweek system, which will be expanded to companies with five or more employees starting this July.

According to the report, there are 822,314 workplaces with 5 to 299 employees subject to the 52-hour workweek system, employing 9,290,369 workers, accounting for 99.6% of all workplaces and 79.1% of all workers subject to the 52-hour workweek system nationwide. Some domestic SMEs have been implementing shift work systems, flexible working hours, work efficiency improvements, strengthened working hours, and work-family balance measures to reduce working hours according to the individual working conditions of production and office workers.

However, regarding the implementation of the 52-hour workweek system in SMEs, the industry has demanded institutional improvements such as flexible working hours and special extended work, along with flexible operational plans considering industrial characteristics. The Korea Institute for Small and Medium Venture Business suggested that the full implementation of the 52-hour workweek system should be an opportunity for SMEs to strategically respond by changing perceptions, improving productivity, enhancing corporate culture, and strengthening efforts to secure and retain young talent.

First, it proposed that it is important for SME CEOs to change their perception to see the 52-hour workweek system as "a good opportunity to strengthen corporate competitiveness." It emphasized that reducing working hours through the introduction of flexible working hours positively affects corporate performance, corporate attractiveness, and the securing, retention, and development of professional personnel. It also stated that efforts to improve productivity must be pursued in parallel for the successful establishment of the 52-hour workweek system. SMEs need to prepare various measures such as promoting work efficiency and expanding employee education to increase productivity independently.

The report also included that it is important not to limit the introduction of the 52-hour workweek system to a mere change in working hours but to use it as an opportunity to improve corporate culture from a mid- to long-term perspective. Since family-friendly organizational culture has not widely spread in Korean SMEs, it is necessary to consider not only family-friendly organizational culture but also the creation of a trust culture between labor and management along with the implementation of the 52-hour workweek system.

The Korea Institute for Small and Medium Venture Business also proposed actively linking the implementation of the 52-hour workweek system with efforts to secure and retain young talent. It emphasized that SMEs need to strengthen efforts to secure and retain young talent through employer brand management and work-family balance measures in connection with the 52-hour workweek system.

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