Is 'Worabal' Just a Facade on SNS? South Korea Tops Labor Hours by a Wide Margin

BOSAYEON, Comparison of Work-Life Balance Levels by Country
South Korea Ranks 29th out of 31 OECD Countries, the Lowest
"Long Working Hours and Short Family Time"

In recent years, there has been a craze for 'Work-Life Balance (WLB)' in Korean society, but an analysis revealed that the level of WLB among Koreans ranks among the lowest in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries.

According to the paper "Typology of Work-Life Balance Time Guarantee" published in Volume 43, Issue 2 of the Korean Journal of Health and Social Welfare on the 16th, the level of guaranteeing appropriate working hours for Koreans ranked third from the bottom among 31 countries, placing it in the lowest tier. Sovereignty (choice) over family time was also low, ranking 20th out of 31 countries.

[Image source=Getty Images]

The research team scored the level of time sovereignty in 31 countries with available data based on OECD statistics as of 2021, dividing it into working hours and family time. Time sovereignty refers to the right and ability of individuals to freely organize their time allocation. The higher the time sovereignty in work and life, the more WLB is considered guaranteed.

The only countries with lower time sovereignty than Korea were Greece and the Czech Republic. The countries with the highest levels of guaranteed appropriate working hours were Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands, in that order.

Korea had the highest annual working hours at 1,915 hours among the surveyed countries. The average annual working hours across the 31 countries was 1,601 hours.

The researchers interpreted that countries with lower scores not only had longer average working hours for workers but also higher proportions of low-wage workers and greater gender wage gaps, creating an environment where it is generally difficult to enjoy work-life balance while investing an appropriate amount of time.

Family time was evaluated based on 11 indicators including ▶vacation period ▶vacation usage rate ▶income replacement rate during vacation ▶legal guarantees for maternity and paternity leave, among others. Korea ranked 20th out of 31 countries, placing it in the lower tier.

Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The research team classified countries into four groups based on scores for work and family time. Korea belonged to Group 4, the lowest group. Nine countries, including Greece, the United States, and Canada, were also in Group 4.

As the group number increased to Group 4, satisfaction with time and leisure hours decreased. Koreans’ average daily leisure time was 258 minutes, the lowest among the 31 countries except for Portugal (241 minutes) and Lithuania (247 minutes). It was nearly two hours (110 minutes) less than Norway, which had the longest leisure time at 368 minutes.

The researchers pointed out, “Korea is recognized as a country where work and family are difficult to reconcile, with a total fertility rate reported as low as 0.78 last year, making it uniquely low among OECD countries,” adding, “It is important to create a society where couples raising children can both work based on shorter working hours and to establish a labor market environment with low risks of low wages.”

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