POSCO, Fostering a 'Creative and Flexible' Organizational Culture... Increased Work Engagement

Work Efficiency of Organization Members
Creating a Work Environment That Maximizes Engagement

POSCO employees are commuting to the POSCO Center in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 18th, dressed in casual attire. Photo by POSCO

POSCO is expanding systems that allow employees to freely choose their working hours, locations, and attire to maximize work efficiency and engagement.

POSCO has established infrastructure such as a flexible working hours system and remote work system that enable work to be performed anytime and anywhere, and supports its members to actively utilize these to bring innovation to their working methods.

Since July this year, POSCO has fully implemented a casual dress code for all employees to establish a horizontal and flexible corporate culture that respects individual personalities and creativity. Previously, casual days were held once a week by department, but now employees can freely choose their attire according to the time and location.

The satisfaction of employees with the casual dress code is very high. It is said that comfortable clothing allows them to focus more on their tasks, express their individuality, and enables creative communication in a freer atmosphere.

POSCO’s flexible working hours system, which allows employees to freely choose their commuting and working hours, enhances work flexibility. Employees can autonomously set their commuting times within an average of 40 hours per week, and to increase autonomy in work performance, there is no core working time; employees only need to work at least 4 hours a day between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Employees efficiently plan their workdays and use their time after work for self-development and skill enhancement. Employees with childcare responsibilities can align their commuting times with their children’s school hours, and middle-aged and senior employees can also spend planned time with their families, resulting in positive feedback from employees.

POSCO employees are taking a break and chatting on August 17 at 'POSCO Square Garden' in Daechi-dong. POSCO Holdings opened 'POSCO Square Garden,' a complex cultural space in the city consisting of a walking trail, performance hall, and outdoor gallery for citizens, on August 3. Photo by POSCO

POSCO is also expanding the operation of the ‘With POSCO Work Station’ hub offices to reduce fatigue for employees commuting long distances in the Seoul area, increase work engagement, and support remote work, which proved advantageous during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ‘With POSCO Work Station’ locations in four areas?Yeouido Park One Tower, Jongno Geumsegi Building, Pangyo POSCO DX Building, and Songdo POSCO Tower?offer various office spaces such as single-person focus seats, multi-person lounges, and meeting rooms.

Employees wishing to use the ‘With POSCO Work Station’ can conveniently reserve their preferred location and seat through the internal reservation system, and employees in Pohang and Gwangyang who can work remotely depending on their job characteristics can also use these hub offices.

Communication channels within the organization are also being expanded. Young Board members selected from various departments such as production, technology development, marketing, and management support propose ideas related to creating a safe working environment, innovating work methods, and improving organizational culture directly to the CEO twice a year, driving tangible changes.

Since 2021, POSCO has held town hall meetings where management and more than 50 employees engage in dialogue to listen to diverse voices within the organization. The company has also expanded communication councils to allow management or department heads and members of the 2030 generation to share thoughts openly, supporting voluntary organizational culture improvement and sincere communication.

Idea proposals and communication do not end as one-time events. The HR department compiles suggestions and review results from relevant departments and provides feedback on improvements to all employees via the internal bulletin board. Actual improvements such as simplifying meetings, reports, and e-learning, operating a 24-hour unmanned convenience store for steel mill employees, and expanding parking spaces have been announced quarterly.

Kim Hak-dong, Vice Chairman of POSCO, said, "Corporate culture is the source of creating a sustainable tomorrow," adding, "During this period of structural transformation in the steel industry, we will continuously communicate and create a good workplace to achieve results based on autonomy and creativity through organizational culture innovation."

POSCO plans to continuously foster an execution-oriented working culture through organizational culture innovation based on mutual trust and respect by activating open communication between generations during this generational shift with an increasing proportion of younger generations, and by improving systems and practices reflecting social awareness and changes in the times.

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