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Overtime Work in Korea

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Overtime work in South Korea and Recommendations

‘Overtime work culture’ in South Korean society has been documented and recorded for a long time. It is true that South Korea has developed and achieved the ‘Miracle of the Han River’ based on the faithful and diligent labor. However, the era of rapid growth in South Korean society has now ended and labor-intensive industries have transformed with the advances in technology, the overtime work culture has not yet changed. Long working hours do not benefit efficiency or the profits of an organization in this newly changed society; conversely they can have a negative effect. This study will present the evidences of this argument, and discuss how to reduce overtime and thereby improve efficiency and productivity in South Korean society.

Problem Analysis
Working Environment in South Korea Comparison with other OECD countries. According to an article in August 2014, South Koreans work 2,163 hours per year, the second highest among OECD countries. This is 30% more than the average at 1,770 hours per year (Appendix A). However, South Korean labor productivity and the work-life balance index are much lower than the OECD average. South Korean working productivity was US$ 29.75 per working hour, while the OECD average was US$ 44.56. Moreover, the Work-Life Balance Index indicates that South Korean employees score 5.4; 28th among the OECD countries (Appendix B). We can therefore conclude that South Korean employees work much longer hours than other countries, but their productivity and work-life balance is a lot lower. South Korean employees are working longer hours but with low efficiency, which makes for an unsatisfactory lifestyle. Survey on Overtime work. The Youth Policy Institute 'The Dajunda Institute’ conducted a survey on overtime work experiences for 306 employees in November

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