Three out of Four Remote Work Companies "Will Continue After the End of COVID-19"

Among 620 Companies, 75.2%
"No Productivity Difference Even If Telecommuting Is Maintained"

Ministry of Employment Holds '2021 Employment Impact Assessment Results Presentation' on Changes in Work Styles Since COVID-19

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] A survey found that three out of four companies that switched to a remote work system due to COVID-19 judged that there was no significant difference in productivity.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor held the '2021 Employment Impact Assessment Results Presentation' at the Hoam Faculty House of Seoul National University and announced the results of five policy evaluations, including 'Changes in Working Methods and Employment Impact after COVID-19.' The employment impact assessment system has been in place since 2011 and evaluates the impact of policies on jobs and reflects the results. This year, in addition to changes in working methods due to COVID-19, 20 tasks such as AI economic revitalization were selected. The evaluation results of five tasks were announced at the presentation.

The most notable point was the high corporate response to the remote work system. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, among 620 companies that responded to the survey and implemented remote work, 55.5% started remote work for the first time in response to COVID-19. Among these companies, 26.8% planned to 'continue at the current level,' and 48.4% planned to 'reduce but continue' remote work. Regarding this, the Ministry stated, "Among the businesses that intend to continue remote work at the current level, 72.3% felt no difference in productivity, indicating a high possibility of continuing remote work even after the end of COVID-19." The reasons given by companies that decided to maintain the current level included 'no significant difference in productivity compared to office work' (53.6%), 'management's willingness to implement the system' (20.5%), and 'experience of productivity improvement' (18.7%).

The Ministry reported that the employment growth rate of companies that implemented remote work in 2019-2020 was 2-3% higher than that of companies that did not. More than two-thirds of workers responded that they wanted to continue remote work after COVID-19 to improve the quality of work. Satisfaction and demand were particularly high among married workers with caregiving responsibilities and the younger generation. Businesses also expected effects such as securing excellent talent, preventing worker turnover, and stabilizing employment through remote work implementation.

The Ministry diagnosed that "for the remote work system to take root, it is necessary to analyze suitable jobs and establish selection criteria tailored to each company's different management environment and technological characteristics, and to strengthen consulting and IT infrastructure support for small and medium-sized enterprises to introduce remote work systems."

In addition, the Ministry stated that policy suggestions such as ▲ the need to introduce AI management evenly across all industries rather than just some ▲ support for big data analysis of promising SME foods (such as pet food and functional foods) and expansion of personnel in the financial sector ▲ improvement of working environments for companion animals will be reflected in future policy-making processes.

The final report of the employment impact assessment will be delivered to related ministries and relevant local governments to be used as basic data for policy improvement and system operation. The Ministry plans to continuously monitor the progress. The report is scheduled to be posted on the Korea Labor Institute website early next year. Park Hwajin, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, said, "With the acceleration of industrial structure changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased uncertainty in the policy environment, the role of policy research such as employment impact assessment has become more important," adding, "We plan to expand employment impact assessment as a core infrastructure supporting employment-friendly policy operation in the future."

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