GWANGJU — The Cooperative Projects Division of the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry is drawing praise for delivering concrete results from the Work-Life Balance +4.5 Project, a program run with the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Firms taking part have cut actual working hours while improving employees' work-life balance, securing new talent, streamlining operations and raising productivity, the chamber said.
The Work-Life Balance +4.5 Project aims to spread a work-life balance culture by shortening actual working hours. Companies that introduce reduced-hours systems such as a 4.5-day workweek without cutting pay, following agreement between labor and management, receive 300,000 to 600,000 won per employee each month.
Companies that hire new staff can receive an additional 600,000 to 800,000 won per employee each month. Eligibility is limited to priority-support companies in the region with 20 or more employees. Firms that adopt the system partially, cutting weekly working hours by less than two hours, receive 300,000 to 400,000 won a month. Firms that adopt it fully, cutting weekly hours by two hours or more, receive 500,000 to 600,000 won a month.
The Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry helps local companies identify opportunities to participate, apply and operate the system. As a result, shorter working hours are taking hold as a sustainable way of working rather than a one-off welfare benefit, the chamber said.
Eco World Farm, N09 and Kumho Elevator in particular cut working hours in different ways while expanding employment and improving business performance.
Eco World Farm Cuts Four Hours on Fridays
Eco World Farm, based in Damyang, makes mouthwash, cosmetics and health foods and employs 45 people.
The company introduced a 4.5-day workweek in June this year to address difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff who face long commutes. Employees work four hours less every Friday. The company covers the gap by improving work processes and using artificial intelligence tailored to each department.
It also assesses the program's results quantitatively each month. Job seekers have responded positively since the 4.5-day workweek was introduced. The company has hired one new employee so far and is in the process of hiring three more.
N09 Cuts Two Hours on Fridays, Hires Three
N09, based in Gwangju, manufactures and sells automotive accessories at wholesale and retail and employs 26 people. The company has worked to build a work-life balance culture, earning recognition as an outstanding work-life balance company in South Korea, family-friendly certification and certification as an outstanding work-study dual system company.
Prompted by the Work-Life Balance +4.5 Project, it cut contractual working hours by two hours every Friday starting in May this year. Since then it has hired three new employees in accounting and production. The case shows shorter hours leading to higher employee satisfaction and job creation.
Kumho Elevator Sales Rise Despite Five-Hour Weekly Cut
Kumho Elevator, based in Gwangju, maintains and installs elevators and employs 25 people. The company shortened working hours from April this year to give employees adequate rest and create a safer work environment, cutting one hour a day for a total of five hours a week.
To cover the gap, the company redeployed multiskilled staff and systematized job rotation. It also introduced mobile reporting to improve efficiency. Two new employees have been hired since the change. Sales rose even after working hours were cut, with June revenue up 28.6% from a year earlier. The case is seen as raising both employees' work-life balance and the company's business performance.
The chamber's Cooperative Projects Division plans to focus on strengthening on-site support and spreading a culture of shorter actual working hours across the local community. It will continue to identify companies in the area to take part in the Work-Life Balance +4.5 Project and step up field-based support from the application stage through to implementation at worksites.
"The Work-Life Balance +4.5 Project has helped a culture that values harmony between work and life spread quickly at company worksites," said Park Si-hyun, head of the Cooperative Projects Division at the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "We will work with the Ministry of Employment and Labor to strengthen field-based support so that companies can actively adopt work-life balance programs."
