"Only one round and done by 9? Then company dinners are doable"

70% of Office Workers Say "Stress from Company Dinners Has Decreased"
Older and Senior Managers Say "Regret Fewer Company Dinners"
Young Employees Still Perceive "Company Dinners as Work Extension"

As workplace dinner culture changes due to COVID-19, there has been a noticeable increase in positive perceptions of simplified dinner gatherings.

However, many younger employees and those in lower positions still find the dinner culture burdensome.

Establishing the Changed Dinner Culture Due to COVID-19: "I Like That It Ends Early"

On the 14th, Embrain Trend Monitor, a market research company, conducted a survey titled '2023 Workplace Dinner Culture Perception Survey' targeting 1,000 working adults aged 19 to 59 nationwide. The results showed that since COVID-19, a simpler atmosphere for dinners has taken root, leading to a positive view of the current dinner culture.

The impact of COVID-19 brought many changes to workplace dinner culture. Specifically, there has been a growing atmosphere of refraining from dinners (79.2%), it has become natural for dinners to end earlier than before (76.2%), and there has been a shift from evening dinners to lunch gatherings (57.5%). As a result, stress related to attending dinners has decreased (70.4%), and 63.9% reported that there is less pressure or awkwardness when not attending dinners.

Reasons why employees positively evaluate the dinner culture include 'an atmosphere that does not force drinking (46.7%, multiple responses allowed),' 'relatively early endings (40.6%),' and 'a warm and friendly team/department atmosphere (35.9%).' 'No coercion to participate in dinners (35.7%)' also followed closely. Embrain interpreted this as "unlike the past when attendance and drinking were forced, the current dinner culture is positively evaluated because people can enjoy dinners in a free and comfortable atmosphere."

Regarding the future of workplace dinner culture, there was a strong expectation that it will change into a form different from before COVID-19 (61.3%). Most opinions suggested that the dinner culture adjusted over the past three years during COVID-19 will become established (50.5%). Additionally, in the post-COVID era, many thought that having dinners once or twice a year (24.2%) or about once a quarter (20.5%) would be appropriate. There was a strong preference for dinners without alcohol (69.0%).

Embrain explained, "Many expect that the frequency of dinners will decrease and the culture will shift from drinking-centered to meal-centered."

However, since workplace dinners are still considered important in Korean society (54.2% agreement) and an inseparable culture (54.1%), there were few predictions that dinners will disappear altogether. Rather, many expressed anticipation that dinner culture will evolve into various forms such as small-group dinners (53.5%) and gatherings with other colleagues or friends within the company (46.4%).

Implicit Pressure Still Exists in Dinners: "Emotional Labor Beyond Work"

On the other hand, a significant number of employees feel that workplace dinners extend work hours (48.6%) and find late endings burdensome (38.2%). Generally, dinners are often held because the boss wants them (67.3%), and the atmosphere of the dinner is ultimately determined by the boss (66.8%).

Embrain explained, "It can be inferred that there is considerable stress from having to watch the boss’s mood or perform emotional labor even during dinners."

Especially, the lower the position, the more employees worry about disadvantages from not attending (no position 33.8%, regular employees 36.8%, middle management 37.2%, senior management 25.9%), suggesting that it is still difficult to openly express refusal to attend dinners in workplace culture.

In fact, about half (50.4%) said they would attend dinners without feeling burdened if the boss did not participate. Moreover, 6 out of 10 respondents (60.7%) said that although participation is voluntary, they feel they must attend, confirming that there is an implicit pressure to join dinners.

Respondents who regretted the decrease in dinner frequency were mostly concentrated among older age groups in their 50s (20s 43.2%, 30s 37.6%, 40s 46.0%, 50s 60.0%) and senior management positions (no position 50.7%, regular employees 41.1%, middle management 51.2%, senior management 60.5%).

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