Seoul, 34-year-old nurse in Seoul, Seoul, Seoul, discovered a new sense of balance in her life in the first half of this year.
Mothers of twin daughters, born in 2021, often feel guilty about not spending enough time with their children for work.
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However, after taking part in the four-day job offered by her workplace, Go was able to spend more time with her family, attending daycare events she had previously missed, and relying on her in-laws to raise her child.
Resignation was the first hospital in Korea to go to court for a four-day working week aimed at improving the work-life balance of staff.
Under the programme introduced in 2023 following an agreement between labor and management, some hospital employees are allowed to take three days off a week in exchange for a 10% reduction in their salaries.
Staff take turns participating in a six-month rotation, then return to the five-day week.
The programme appears to have improved nurse health and wellbeing, improved the quality of health services, increased organizational efficiency and reduced turnover rates, the Korean Institute of Workers’ Research Integrated Center said in a court report released last month.
According to the report, the turnover rate for participating nurses with less than three years of experience fell from 19.5% to 7%.
The average sick leave per employee also fell one day during the trial, but increased by 0.7 days in the five-day ward.
Go said that the four-day working week not only improved her work-life balance, but also helped her become more focused and kind to her patients.
“I work in a pancreatic ward where many patients are in critical condition, which makes the workload heavy. I feel that in four days of work it takes more time to listen to the patient, take responsibility and take care of him,” she told Al Jazeera.
“My kids were happy when my grandparents picked up from the daycare and took it for granted. But if I did it more often, they were hoping I would be there.”
Go experience is rare in Korea, which is famous for its long working hours.
Korean workers averaged 1,865 hours in 2024, according to the OECD, the sixth highest in the developed world.
They worked 248 hours more than their counterparts in neighboring Japan.
Long work days are still the norm, but shorter work arrangements are gradually becoming more widespread in the private sector.
Some companies, particularly IT companies and startups, have been experimenting with workers for four or a half days for several years.
The major conglomerates in Korea have also expressed interest in more flexible work arrangements, with Samsung Electronics, SK Group and Kakao introducing programs that provide regular breaks to employees.
Lee Jae-Ho, 42, the father of two who works at sports and health technology company Cacao VX, benefits from one such program, taking off once a month and working 1.5 hours less on the remaining Fridays.
Lee said that days when working less does not necessarily reduce efficiency.
“When you have a Friday break or short time, you can pre-adjust your schedule and shorter work days have little impact on productivity,” Lee told Al Jazeera.
“I have time to have dinner with my family, recharge, and pursue hobbies and growth.”
Promoting South Korea’s labor culture has gained momentum since the election of left-leaning President Lee Jae-myeon in June.
During his campaign, Lee pledged to reduce working hours below the OECD average by 2030 and introduce four and a half days of work.
At a July press conference, Lee reiterated that Koreans need to do less work, suggesting that a low-productivity long system is unsustainable.
“We’ve been competing for volumes rather than quality,” Lee said.
Cafe24, a leading Korean e-commerce solutions provider, implemented a four-day full work week in July after providing workers every other week on Friday, maintaining employee pay and total time.
In June, Yagongi Province, which surrounds Seoul, began its first pilot project of four and a half days week of work among local governments without wage cuts, running until 2027.
The program encourages small and medium-sized businesses and public agencies in the state and experiments with reducing working hours by providing financial assistance to cover increased labor costs.
Some experts and business leaders have expressed concern about the move to cut the week.
Kwon Young-Sik, head of human resources at Yonsei University Health System, the parent organization for retirement, said a permanent shift to four-day workers would cost around 100 million won ($720) on labor costs alone.
“Around 1.2 billion won has been spent on labor costs over the past three years,” Kwon said last month at an event where Severance’s union announced the results of its pilot program.
At the same event, retired general director Lee Kang Yong said institutional and financial support is “absolutely necessary” for the four-day work to be sustainable.
Park Nam Jo, a business professor at Seoul National University, said that if four and a half years of workers become the norm, he would be concerned about productivity and disparities in the labor market.
“South Korea is an export-driven economy. If we can’t maintain competitiveness globally, we face an uncertain future,” Park told Al Jazeera.
He said the country needs to consider the challenges of low birth rates, economic downturns and global competitiveness.
However, workers like Go and Lee hope that more people can experience the benefits they enjoyed.
“There were no shortcomings at all. The only drawback in my case was that I felt sorry for my colleagues who couldn’t because it was a pilot program, as there were only a few people who could participate. Other than that, it ran smoothly without any operational issues.”
“We expect that, as the five-day week was initially concerned, but ultimately it has settled down, four-day work is expected to gradually bring about positive changes in society,” Lee said.
