Flexible work schedules still rare in South Korea
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — South Korean government data shows that just 15% of wage workers in South Korea had flexible work schedules as of August last year. This marks a slight decline of 0.6 percentage points from the previous year.
Among regular, permanent employees, the rate was higher at 20.1%, up 0.6 percentage points on-year. In contrast, only 6.9% of non-regular workers reported flexible arrangements, a drop of 2.2 percentage points.
Flexible work arrangements take various forms. About 35% of those with flexible schedules said they could choose when to start and finish their workday, provided they met required hours.
Another 29.5% worked under systems that allowed longer hours during busy periods and shorter hours when workloads were lighter.
Fully-flexible arrangements, where employees set their own weekly and daily hours as long as they meet monthly requirements, were reported by 25.4%.
Remote or home-based work accounted for 15.9%, and 12% worked under shortened systems of 15–30 hours per week.
Nearly half of South Korean workers want flexibility
Interest in flexible work is high among those without it. According to the survey, 48.1% of wage workers without flexible arrangements said they wish to have such options in the future, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous year. Of these, 34% desired fully-flexible schedules, 29.4% wanted shifting hours based on company workload, and 25.2% hoped for shortened work systems.
Korea lags behind Europe, productivity perceptions positive
Despite growing demand, South Korea’s flexible work adoption remains far below European levels. A recent study found that only 21.9% of Korean women and 17.9% of men raising young children had flexible work arrangements, compared to over 60% of women and nearly 58% of men in the European Union.
Many Korean workers believe flexible work boosts productivity. According to a Korea Labor Institute report, 53.1% of those with flexible hours said it was more productive than traditional setups. Another 40.8% saw no difference, while just 6.1% found it less productive.
Among those with fully-flexible or remote arrangements, 41.8% and 34.7%, respectively, reported higher productivity.
While the appetite for flexible work is strong, actual implementation in South Korea remains limited, especially compared to advanced economies.
