South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. will introduce a new flexible working-hour system in spring, joining few other conglomerates to make changes in the Korean corporate culture that is notorious for long-working hours and poor productivity.

Under the new system, SK Telecom employees will be allowed to plan their own working hours every two weeks - total 80 hours for two weeks - after taking into consideration their roles and weekly workload, the company said on Tuesday. The new flexible working-hour system will be implemented during the April-June period.

Once the new system is introduced, employees would be able to choose to work 50 hours in a busy week and 30 hours in the following week that would be relatively less hectic. They would also be allowed to work four days a week by planning hours accordingly and spare a day for self-development activities such as attending classes and working out, the company explained.

According to SK Telecom, its flexible working-hour system is in line with the Korean government’s policy direction encouraging companies and government bodies to reduce overtime work hours and allow their employees to use all annual holidays to promote a more creative and efficient working environment.

A recent survey by the country’s Ministry of Personnel and Management showed that Korean public servants work for 2,738 hours per person a year on average versus 1,763 hours for those in other member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The working condition for employees at local private companies is not much different from government employees’.

Despite such long working hours, the country’s productivity is low, leading some major conglomerates - Samsung Electronics, Shinhan Financial Group and CJ Group - to adopt flexible-working hours to allow their workers to have more control over their work-private life balance and enhance efficiency.

An official from SK Telecom said the company hopes the latest decision to introduce the new flexible working hours would help innovate its working environment and improve productivity.

By Kim Gyu-sik and Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]