"Unable to Use Official Leave and Company Dinners Revived"…Office Workers Scream as Daily Life Returns

Group dinner expenses 'split equally' payment also off the table
Voices for job change to companies maintaining remote work

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee]"If you're going to catch COVID-19, you better catch it before the end of May," "Just thinking about making a reservation for a company dinner is making me dizzy."

With the full lifting of social distancing measures due to COVID-19 and the change of quarantine obligations to recommendations after more than two years, complaints are growing mainly among young office workers.

The government announced that starting from the 18th, restrictions on operating hours for multi-use facilities, which were until midnight, and limits on private gatherings of up to 10 people will be completely lifted. This is after 2 years and 1 month since social distancing was introduced in March 2020.

Additionally, through a revision of the notification on the 25th of this month, COVID-19 will be designated as a second-class infectious disease. When classified as a second-class infectious disease, like tuberculosis, measles, cholera, and chickenpox, the mandatory 7-day isolation upon confirmation and the immediate reporting obligation of patients by medical institutions, which applied when it was first-class, will be removed.

On the 16th, Kim (31), who works at a financial company in Yeouido, Seoul, said, "We struggled to cover the work gaps caused by employees who caught COVID-19, but now that we can't even take paid leave if we catch it late, it feels like a loss."

Jang (34), who works at an information technology (IT) company, also said, "If I'm going to catch COVID-19, I better catch it before the end of May."

Many young employees are also worried about the resumption of company dinners as social distancing is fully lifted.

Lee (37), who works at a company in Gangnam-gu, said, "We used to divide the dinner expenses under the name of '00 expenses' to buy clothes, food, etc. It's really disappointing to think that will disappear."

Park (27), who works at a platform company, said, "I really hate the increase in chores like making restaurant reservations," and added, "I want to move to a company that has established remote work." Lee (32), who works at a game company in Gyeonggi-do, also complained, "We are scheduling a company dinner for next week. It feels like company dinners are just an extension of work."

In fact, large companies have also stopped remote work systems and started normalizing work. According to the business community, POSCO stopped the full remote work system from the 4th, and Naver is also reportedly considering when to resume commuting.

Meanwhile, self-employed business owners are welcoming the full lifting measures. The COVID-19 Damage Self-Employed General Federation, composed of 14 self-employed groups, said, "We welcome the government's policy to fully lift social distancing," and urged, "The next government should prepare loss compensation support measures focusing on selective and concentrated support for businesses subject to gathering bans and restrictions, such as restaurants and cafes."

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