The CEO Leads the 4-Day Workweek... Also Gives Bonuses When New Employees Resign

Joyoungtak Hyunet CEO
Hyunet to Implement 4-Day Workweek from July
20% Annual Sales Growth for 3 Years Despite Reduced Hours
Plans to Enter US HR Market Next Year

Youngtak Cho, CEO of Hunet

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] "The four-day workweek has been a system I've dreamed of for the past 10 years. The executives all opposed it out of company loyalty. I mentioned it at a recent meeting. I said we've already made up our minds, so let's stop debating and trust the process. From now on, we have to prove it through results."

Jo Youngtak, CEO of Hunet (57), shared an anecdote about the sudden introduction of the four-day workweek on the 1st. Although there was great anticipation that the company could now guarantee employees three days off due to changes in the labor environment and company growth, there was considerable opposition from management worried about productivity decline. Jo said, "I persuaded them that the intangible assets gained by leading the four-day workweek, which will become mainstream in a few years, are greater than following others," adding, "Above all, the most important thing is the happiness of the employees."

The 'employee happiness' emphasized by Jo takes precedence over customer happiness. In the 'Happiness Management Philosophy' newly added to Hunet's articles of incorporation in 2017, there is a phrase: "We aim to maximize the happiness of all stakeholders, including employees, customers, society, and shareholders, rather than maximizing profits." Jo believes that employees must be happy first to have the energy to do their best for customer happiness. This attitude strongly motivates employees to think about the company's growth together and voluntarily develop their work capabilities.

The background that allowed Jo to implement his management philosophy is confidence from performance. The lifelong education company Hunet implemented a 4.5-day workweek from 2019, before COVID-19 spread in Korea. Since then, sales have grown rapidly by 20% annually for three years. Last year's sales reached 75.1 billion KRW, the highest ever. Jo said, "While we can't say the sales growth is a direct effect of the 4.5-day workweek, at least we've proven that this much is possible," emphasizing, "At the same time, productivity did not decline, employee satisfaction greatly increased, and talented individuals continue to knock on our door."

Jo Young-tak, CEO of Hunet

Generally, there are two perspectives on companies implementing a four-day workweek. Most regular employees feel 'jealous,' but company owners or CEOs think, 'Isn't it risky?' Jo cited Adam Grant's book "Originals," saying the four-day workweek is by no means 'risk-taking.' He said, "If you think it through thoroughly and weigh the benefits, it's never risk-taking," adding, "I strongly related to the book's examples of great managers boldly taking on challenges that seemed risky to others."

Jo has maintained a '100:80:100' model from the 4.5-day to the 4-day workweek. This means keeping the salary the same (100%), working only four days (80%), while maintaining productivity at the original level (100%). Jo explained, "If working hours are reduced by 20% with the four-day workweek, the hourly wage effectively increases by 25%," adding, "The key is how to maintain 100% productivity, and we are currently creating evaluation indicators to boost productivity."

Jo's current approach to improving productivity is simple: eliminate unnecessary factors that have invisibly lowered employee productivity. This covers all areas, including work processes, collaboration, and organizational culture. Jo said, "We plan to create a comprehensive model related to productivity, including whether strategic decisions are being made, whether unnecessary tasks are being done, and whether there are issues in talent recruitment, and run campaigns throughout the year," adding, "From placing a computer in the company to building Robotic Process Automation (RPA), we will execute investments related to productivity."

Hunet operates various in-house welfare systems for employees, including ▲ one month of paid leave after five years of service ▲ weekly guest lectures by external experts ▲ flexible working hours ▲ unlimited autonomous leave system. Among them, the 'resignation bonus system' is one of Hunet's unique policies. This system pays a 3 million KRW bonus to new hires who wish to resign within three months after completing a three-month probation period. Why pay money to someone leaving the company? Jo explained, "Employees who leave early swayed by 3 million KRW are less likely to be satisfied with their work even if they stay, which directly affects productivity," adding, "It is useful in eliminating hiring failures early before spending 1-2 years with such personnel." About 10 employees have resigned receiving the 3 million KRW bonus in the past five years.

Hunet is pouring core capabilities into developing technology in the edutech field by recruiting a large number of high-level IT personnel through differentiated work and welfare systems. Last month, it acquired Mentorit, a coding solution specialist company. On the 14th, it announced collaboration with AI technology startup Ryan Rocket to develop AI teacher and instructor solutions, including virtual humans. Jo said, "At 'ATD 2022,' the world's largest talent development conference held in the U.S. last May, global companies like Apple, Meta, Cisco, and Aramco showed great interest in our service," adding, "We plan to further advance IT technology and actively target the U.S. HR market next year."

Booth view of Hunet at 'ATD 2022' held last May.

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