SMEs Prioritize 'Flexible Working Hours' as Top Task to Overcome COVID-19

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] More than half of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) identified flexible working hours and easing social distancing as the top priorities to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.

According to a survey conducted by the Korea Federation of SMEs from May 18 to 22 targeting 300 SMEs, 28.3% of the responding companies cited flexible working hours to address labor shortages as the "top priority task to overcome the COVID-19 crisis." The demand for easing social distancing followed at 27.0%, with expanded financial support (19.7%), increased domestic consumption promotion (15.7%), and measures to reduce logistics and delivery costs (8.3%) ranking next.

23.3% of respondents reported that confirmed COVID-19 cases had occurred at their workplaces this year. Among these companies, 46.4% implemented normal work operations, the highest proportion. This was followed by remote work (41.1%), staggered shifts (9.8%), and business suspension or temporary closure (2.7%).

62.9% of companies provided paid leave or sick leave to confirmed infected workers. Unpaid leave was granted by 18.6%, and 15.7% recommended the use of annual leave.

Measures currently implemented or planned to prevent the spread of infection among workers (multiple responses allowed) included distribution of masks and disinfectants (28.4%) as the most common, followed by regular disinfection (24.3%), staggered meals and closure of multi-use facilities (13.5%), and diagnostic kits (10.2%).

Concerns due to the surge in confirmed cases (multiple responses allowed) were led by sales decline caused by business or operation suspension at 43.9%, followed by intensified labor shortages due to worker attrition (21.5%), and reduced sales channels and customer loss (17.1%).

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