Part-Timers in Korea
Since it was first recorded in 1980s, part-timers which take part a significant portion of the Korean work force has continued to increase over the years. Several research articles and journals have kept track of the trend. For this year alone, Korean part-timers or those who do not work 7-8 hours daily or less than 40 hours a week have ballooned up to more or less 5.7 million.
Current data shows that there are approximately 28.41 million employed people in Korea, and 6 million of those employees have been working 4-6 hours a day, if not less. This connotes that one-fifth of the Korean labor force are actually working part-time or less than 40 hours a week. Research also found that around 1.9 million Koreans work less than four hours a day, or roughly 17 hours per week.
The pandemic has opened new job perspectives for Korean people as they strived to make ends meet, with all the lockdown and strict government regulations. A lot of Koreans were struggling just to fend for themselves alone. This has essentially affected the country’s status quo vis-a-vis the employment situation before the pandemic hit. After the pandemic, the young and adult population have learned to adjust to more versatile working conditions and even remote work schedules.
Part-timers have preferred owning their schedules which means more income for them as they prefer working two part-time jobs simultaneously. Some have even strategized by having day jobs and night jobs considering that a lot of jobs in Korea rely heavily on technology. Research done by different companies yields that technology can also be utilized to monitor and assign tasks to their employees.
Employment in the 21st Century Setting
Most countries have already shifted to the digital world, which means that conventional work culture and traditions such as the usual 8-hour shift per day is no longer the norm. Even dressing down is becoming a thing as companies have acknowledged that employees could be more productive if they are given the chance to dress comfortably.
As the world adjusted to that of the mainstream generation, this solicited several opinions such that the full-time work conditions are no longer applicable, or are no longer enough for Koreans to balance their work and their personal lives. While there are also remarks of apprehension regarding the increasing number of part-time workers, one article has discussed that if the Korean work force will continue to transition to part-time jobs, this would result to most employees relying on contractual jobs which may pose risks on the stability of the country’s employment rate.
Koreans, however, have adjusted well to the part-time setting. They were able to acquire more time for their private lives, some have even rediscovered their hobbies and made more time for their families. They were able to find joy and convenience in working less hours. Hence, the increasing number of part-time workers in Korea is anticipated to increase significantly in the next years to come.