"Two out of Three Office Workers Support a 4-Day Workweek... 3 Days of Rest and Recharging"

Launch of the 'Weekly 4-Day Work Network' Urges General Election Pledges

Labor and civil society organizations declared the launch of the '4-Day Workweek Network,' demanding the introduction of a four-day workweek and the eradication of long working hours. They also revealed survey results showing that 67.3% of office workers support the adoption of a four-day workweek.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

The '4-Day Workweek Network' held its launch ceremony on the 29th in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, urging, "Adopt the four-day workweek as a general election pledge and legislate it." In their launch declaration, they argued, "If industrial structures and working methods are changing, the labor time system as a 'socially achievable standard' must also change."

They added, "The mindset of 'What about the economy if we only work four days?' and the approach of 'We need three days of rest and recharge' originate from different philosophies and values," emphasizing, "It is now time to move away from a society where work overwhelms life and seek a society where work-life balance is possible."

Along with the legalization of the four-day workweek, they demanded the establishment of a comprehensive plan to reduce working hours, the creation of a 'National Working Hours Committee,' and a transition in the labor time system to eradicate long working hours.

The 4-Day Workweek Network includes participants such as the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), the Korean Women Workers Association, the Youth Union, the Union Center, the Korean Women Workers Association, and the Working Citizens Research Institute. The Health and Medical Workers' Union and the Office and Financial Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) also participated. The FKTU announced plans to expand the participating organizations further.

At the launch ceremony, survey results on the introduction of the four-day workweek were also presented. The Working Citizens Research Institute commissioned the polling firm Embrain to conduct a survey from January 14 to 16 targeting 300 office workers aged 19 and older. The results showed that more than two out of three respondents, 67.3% (68.1% of regular workers and 66.7% of non-regular workers), supported the introduction of a four-day workweek. This figure represents a 5.9 percentage point increase from the 61.4% approval rate recorded in a survey of 500 wage workers conducted last September.

In fact, the number of companies testing the effects of the four-day workweek is increasing. POSCO introduced the 'biweekly four-day work system' last month, the first in the steel industry, allowing employees to save overtime hours and take Fridays off. Samsung, SK, LG, and others have also implemented systems where employees can take one or two Fridays off per month if they meet the required working hours.

Previously, both major trade union federations, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, included the introduction of a four-day workweek in their policy demands for this general election.

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