[2022 Yangpyeong Index] Kakao Implements Flexible Work System with Freedom of Workplace Choice

7th Asia Gender Equality Index Award Seoul Mayor's Prize Winner

Jeong Ju-yeon, head of the Kakao People Team, is receiving the Seoul Metropolitan Mayor's Award from Oh Shin-hwan, Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul, at the '7th Asia Gender Equality Index Awards Ceremony' held on the 19th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Kakao received the Seoul Mayor's Award at the 7th Asia Gender Equality Index Awards ceremony. As of 2021, the proportion of female employees at Kakao is 43.6%. Among newly hired employees, women account for 43.9%. This significantly exceeds the average proportion of female workers in the IT service sector (27.4% in 2019) announced by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The proportion of women among senior managers at the team leader level or higher reaches 31%. The average length of service for female employees is 4 years and 10 months, longer than that of male employees (4 years and 8 months). Kakao has established measures that consider diversity, such as gender-blind recruitment and the abolition of academic background requirements, to foster a flexible organizational culture.

Kakao operates support systems to help employees balance work and family life. It guarantees maternity leave and parental leave and has introduced a flexible work system to enable employees to manage childcare and work simultaneously. The Pangyo and Jeju offices operate the largest workplace daycare centers among domestic ICT companies. Female employees are guaranteed free access to nursing facilities within the office during working hours. Kakao supports legally mandated leave systems, including childbirth or miscarriage/stillbirth leave, parental leave, fetal examination leave, infertility treatment leave, and family care leave, including for spouses. Male employees also actively use these leave systems. Additionally, all employees with children aged 8 or younger or in the second grade of elementary school or below are provided with two years of parental leave (including one year of paid leave). Kakao’s operating subsidiary, DKainTech, has also proactively introduced a flexible work system and implemented a childcare leave plus system beyond legal requirements and a shortened working period during pregnancy without wage reduction, earning the 2021 Family-Friendly Certification from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

Since July, Kakao has been operating a pilot work system that allows employees to work freely from locations of their choice and collaborate efficiently. The period from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. is designated as the All Check-in Time (focused work hours), and offline meetings once a week are encouraged to resolve issues difficult to handle online. To increase organizational productivity, the biweekly "No Work Friday" system (Friday off) was also introduced in July. Kakao plans to formalize the pilot work system starting January next year by incorporating employee feedback to improve the work system.

Kakao conducts company-wide mandatory training to raise awareness of human rights and ensure employees can work in a safer environment. Once a year, it provides legally required training on workplace harassment, sexual harassment prevention, and disability awareness improvement. In the first quarter of last year, through the "Ethical Management Training for Kakao Crew," it enhanced understanding of ethical management principles and human rights issues.

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