Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s biggest memory chipmaker and South Korea’s largest company, is giving staff one Friday off each month in a bid to retain talent that increasingly values flexible work.
Starting next week, non-factory, full-time staff at the company can take the day off in the period they get paychecks — usually the week of the 21st, a company spokesperson said by phone Wednesday.
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Local media reported the policy earlier this week.
Samsung’s move follows local rival SK Hynix Inc. adopting a similar flexible workweek last year, allowing staff to take one Friday off a month if they work more than 40 hours a week. Other South Korean technology firms, including the popular social platform, Kakao Corp., have also introduced more flexible arrangements following the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The move from Samsung, which has about 1,20,000 employees, shows just how much the pandemic has changed the way people work— even in a country with a more conservative work culture. South Koreans are among the world’s most overworked, logging about 200 hours more in 2021 than the average among OECD members.
The arrangements are aimed at retaining talent, particularly among younger workers who value work-life balance. Millenials and Generation Z make up about 40% of Samsung’s workforce, according to the Korea Economic Daily.