7 out of 10 Workers "Considered Quitting in the Past Year"... Top Dissatisfaction Reason Revealed

Democratic Labor Union, Results of the Nationwide Labor Environment Survey

More than 7 out of 10 workers have thought about quitting their job at least once or twice in the past year, according to a survey. In particular, 1 out of 10 respondents said they think about quitting "almost every week."

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) announced the results of the "2024 National Labor Environment Survey" conducted online from August to September among 8,209 workers aged 19 and older nationwide on the 22nd. Among the respondents, 67.1% were regular workers and 23.3% were non-regular workers. Regarding union membership, 17.4% were union members and 82.6% were non-unionized workers.

At the Gwanghwamun intersection in Jongno-gu, Seoul, citizens are hurrying on their way to work. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

When asked "How often have you thought about quitting in the past year?" the most common response was "sometimes" at 36.8%. Combining the responses "once or twice a year" (29.2%) and "almost every week" (11.4%), 77.4% said they had thought about quitting at least once or twice. The responses "rarely thought about it" and "never thought about it" accounted for only 15.4% and 7.2%, respectively.

The most dissatisfying aspect of the workplace was "wages are too low" (25.9%). This was followed by "poor employee welfare benefits" (12.4%) and "no future for the company, low potential for growth" (11.2%).

Additionally, 35.2% of respondents used less than 30% of their annual leave last year, and among them, 62.3% said they did not receive compensation for unused annual leave.

Among the respondents, 44.2% were subject to a comprehensive wage system, and 9.3% reported experiencing wage arrears. Among dispatched workers, 83.6% reported experiencing discriminatory treatment compared to regular workers.

The KCTU emphasized the need for improvements in the labor environment, stating, "It has been confirmed that a majority of workers are at risk of illegal or unlawful practices regarding core labor conditions such as wages, working hours, and job security."

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