[Jjinbit] Where Will the Time Created by AI Head To?

Shorter Working Hours vs Increased Work Intensity... The Changing Workplace Landscape with AI

Editor's Note[Jjinbit] is a shortened form of 'Jung Hyunjin's Business Trend' and 'Real Business Trend,' a segment that showcases trends in changes in work.

This year, the global industry's hot topic, 'Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI),' has sparked various theories about how it will change the time we spend at our workplaces. While there are immediate warnings that it could threaten human jobs, much like in science fiction (SF) movies, the prevailing perception on the ground is that AI will be a partner that drastically shortens work hours.

ChatGPT, which debuted last November, is most commonly used to assist with coding and drafting writing, effectively reducing work time. Microsoft (MS) and Google embedding AI chatbots into their work software also emphasize helping with draft creation to cut down working hours.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Research results suggesting that working hours could be further reduced with full AI adoption are also emerging. On the 10th (local time), Euronews cited a survey conducted by a UK platform targeting office workers, reporting that UK workers using AI at work save 1.55 hours per day, gaining an annual leisure time of 390 hours.

This is why there is growing expectation that AI could be the key to leading a four-day workweek. The introduction of various new technologies such as messengers and video conferencing has already significantly helped reduce working hours. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the adoption of new technologies like messengers and video conferencing has reduced working hours by an average of 72 minutes across 27 OECD countries, including South Korea and the Group of Seven (G7). Of this, 29 minutes (40%) were used for new work tasks, 24 minutes (34%) for leisure, and 8 minutes (11%) for childcare and caregiving.

However, technological advancement does not always guarantee shorter working hours. There are concerns that the newly created time might instead increase work intensity. As tasks become easier, the desire for higher quality grows, which could lead to longer working hours.

Na Youngseok PD, famous for shows like '1 Night 2 Days' and 'New Journey to the West,' recalled in a YouTube broadcast last May the time when video production became possible on computers, describing it as "a new world opened." Previously, expensive separate machines were difficult to use, but video editing became easy with computers. He expected this would reduce working hours, but instead, tasks that used to take one night now require two nights to complete. PD Na explained that because editing became easier, there were more cases of working overtime to include more original footage with various compositions in the edited version. He described this as 'human greed.'

Especially in South Korea, known worldwide as an 'overwork society,' there are concerns that restructuring working hours could further seriously disrupt 'Work-Life Balance (WLB).' According to a recent paper titled 'Typology of Work-Life Balance Time Guarantee' published in the academic journal 'Health and Social Research' by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, South Korea ranked at the bottom in terms of sovereignty (choice) over labor and family time among OECD member countries. Leisure time averages only 258 minutes per day, nearly two hours less than Norway, which has the longest at 368 minutes.

Therefore, it is still difficult to predict where the leisure time created by AI will head in the future. Hopefully, the restructuring of working hours brought by AI will proceed through active communication and discussion, leading to improvements in work-life balance.

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