60% of People Supportive of Five-Day Workweek

Three out of five people support the enforcement of the five day-workweek system, a proposed bill the regulation and reform committee under the Office of President is currently seeking to amend before a vote in the National Assembly.

Gallup Korea conducted a poll in behalf of the Ministry of Labor and the Government Public Relations Agency on September 28 by calling 1,052 adult men and women nationwide, and announced the results on Oct. 6.

27.1% of the responded said they were “very supportive” of the proposed bill while 33.5% said “mostly in favor of” and 33.5% “against.” On the contrary, 25.6% answered they mostly opposed and 11.8% categorically opposed the idea.

As the reason for their approval, 59.9% cited “Improving quality of life for laborers,” 25.7% development of leisure-related industries and 11.4% improvement in productivity. A majority, or 54.5%, of those opposing the plan said it was too early to introduce the five-day workweek system. 52.2% was against the idea of reducing the number of holidays, slightly outnumbering 47.8% in favor of the idea.

About the regulation and reform committee’s move to delay the enforcement of the system, 46.2% answered they found the current schedule “well-timed” while 34.1% said it must be delayed. 19.3% answered that the government must introduce the system earlier than scheduled.

The proposed bill is seeking to introduce the five-day system beginning July next year centering on government agencies, financial service firms and insurance companies that have more than 1,000 employees.

In addition, 61.0% objected to that companies stop offering benefits to those choosing not to take leaves. When asked whether the current salary levels must be maintained after introduction of the five day-workweek system, 76.0% answered yes, while 23.8% said they did not mind if companies cut their salaries.

Jin Lee leej@donga.com