Woowa Brothers, Transition to Fully 'Autonomous' Work Location and Hours

Introduction of Autonomous Selection System for Workplace and Working Hours Following 4.5-Day Workweek and 32-Hour Workweek

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Employees of Woowa Brothers will be able to choose both their workplace and working hours starting next year. Woowa Brothers (CEO Kim Beom-jun) announced on the 14th that they plan to introduce a flexible workplace selection system and an optional working hours system.

CEO Kim Beom-jun explained the purpose of the system introduction, saying, "We have decided to expand the selective working system based on autonomy to work better." Starting January 1 next year, Woowa Brothers' 'Flexible Workplace Selection System' will allow all members to autonomously choose a workplace where they can connect and focus on work during working hours. Besides office attendance and working from home, other locations where work is possible, including overseas, are allowed. If there is a time difference, employees only need to comply with their working hours based on Korean time, including the 'Co-work Time' (the mandatory working hours for smooth communication among members).

Not only the workplace but also working hours will be converted to autonomous selection. Going beyond the 'Individual Staggered Working Hours System' introduced earlier this year, from next year, an optional working hours system as part of flexible working hours will be introduced. Instead of the existing standard of 7 hours per day (4 hours on Mondays) and 32 hours per week, employees will be able to autonomously allocate their working hours within the total monthly working hours according to their individual work schedules and conditions. For example, it will be possible to work only 20 hours in one week and 50 hours in another week when more focus on work is needed.

So far, Woowa Brothers has innovated its working system through various experiments. Following the introduction of a 4.5-day workweek with a 1 PM start on Mondays in January 2015, in March 2017, they reduced the weekly working hours from 37.5 hours by 2 hours and 30 minutes to 35 hours. In July 2018, a staggered working hours system by department was introduced for flexible working styles, and in April 2019, the comprehensive wage system was abolished. This January, they introduced a 32-hour workweek and have been applying the individual staggered working hours system.

CEO Kim said, "Through various situations such as COVID-19, we have confirmed that members' thoughts and needs regarding the working environment are gradually changing, and accordingly, we wanted to gradually introduce an autonomous working system." He added, "Our goal is to create a culture of working more effectively and efficiently under a working system that guarantees 'autonomy above discipline,' which is a core value of Woowa Brothers."

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