LG Electronics Employees Get Counseling

Sometimes you feel comforted by the idea that others are worried about the same things as you. A company’s productivity level may be increased if co-workers, bosses, and subordinates, who spend a great deal of time conversing with each other, can share their everyday burdens together.

In this context, LG Electronics compiled their employees’ 50 biggest worries into a casebook titled, “Let’s Share Our Hearts.” The book was based on results from the psychological counseling center of Mobile Communication (MC) research institute, using approximately 1,500 personal consultations and 1,000 psychological tests over a period of 2 years.

Out of the 50 cases in the book, the largest portion, 15 cases, dealt with interpersonal relationships. Typical questions were, “How can I get better at talking to people?” “How much should I trust others?” “What do I do when I dislike a colleague?” and “Calculative human relationships are wearing me out,” along with, “I feel like I am being ostracized in this system.”

One rookie confessed, “Maybe it’s because it’s my first time working at a company, but getting to know people is harder than the work itself.” The book advised, “When getting to know others, you should try to understand yourself instead of trying to know others. You must know what kind of person you like and what kind of person you’re uncomfortable with.”

The book advised those who were suffering from a tyrannical boss or senior co-worker, “Try to separate you and your work.” Or else you may be likely to believe that the overbearing boss or senior coworker is disparaging you and not your work.

In the love and dating chapter, office workers were most concerned about avoiding bachelorhood, dealing with boyfriends’ demands for premarital sex, being attracted to married men, and managing ex-partners who want to get together again.

The publisher of this book, the psychological counseling center of LG Electronics was established in April of 2005. The response was so explosive that LG Electronics decided to found a second lab at its R&D center in Seocho-gu, Seoul on February last year. There are 6 counseling centers within the LG group.

One researcher at LG Electronics said, “Because the counseling centers are inside the company, we don’t need to take time off to go and vent our worries.”

The chief of LG Electronics’ counseling center Jeon Jae-yeong said, “Private concerns or family problems can diminish a company’s productivity.”

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