Work-Life Balance Growing More Important... Half of Adults Value Both Work and Family

On the 2nd, as the autumn weather with large temperature differences continued, commuters hurried their steps at Gwanghwamun Intersection in Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seonhee] The number of adults who value work-life balance (WLB) is increasing every year. One in two people prioritize WLB, and nearly 20% consider family life more important than work.

According to the '2021 Social Survey' recently released by Statistics Korea, among the population aged 19 and older, 48.2% answered that they consider both work and family life important. This is a 4.0 percentage point increase from the previous survey (44.2% in 2019), marking the highest level since the related statistical standards were revised in 2011.

Looking at the historical trend, in 2011, ten years ago, 54.5% answered that 'work comes first,' which was overwhelmingly higher than the 34.0% who said both work and family are important. However, this gap gradually narrowed over the years and reversed around 2017. As of 2021, the proportion of those who prioritize work over family shrank to 33.5%.

Conversely, the proportion of those who consider both work and family important has increased every year. Notably, in this survey, the percentage of respondents who prioritize family life over work was 18.3%, also the highest since 2011. This means about one in five adults think family comes before work.

By gender, men tend to prioritize work more than women according to the survey. The proportion of men who answered 'work first' was relatively high at 38.8%, while it was 26.3% for women.

Conversely, the proportion of those who prioritize family life was higher among women at 21.1%, compared to 16.2% for men. The percentage of respondents who said both work and family are important was 52.5% for women and 45% for men.

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