Younger workers welcome longer shifts, more days off

Industry

Published: 17 Feb. 2023, 17:29 Updated: 17 Feb. 2023, 18:17

Younger workers welcome longer shifts, more days off

[JOONGANG ILBO]

A fresh wind is blowing in the manufacturing industry, with more workers willing to work overnight and take a few more days off instead.

The new working system is largely favored by younger workers, though safety issues remain to be tackled.

Since December, LG Display changed its working system to have two work groups split a pair 12-hour shifts — one during the day and the other at night — while the other two groups take the day off.

Before, the four groups rotated through three eight-hour shifts per day.

This means individual workers must work four more hours a day, but they can get two full days off during weekdays.

While working hours remain the same, workers get 80 more days off a year.

“I work for 12 hours for three days in a row, then rest for three straight days, so I feel like I’m working only three days a week,” said an LG Display employee in his 30s who works at its manufacturing plant in Paju, Gyeonggi.

He said the advantage of the system is that he "can focus on work when it's needed and take plenty of time off.”

For LG Display, the total number of rest days increased from 103 to 190.

SK Innovation is taking a similar step at its Ulsan complex starting from Feb. 9.

Two out of four groups work 12-hour shifts for two consecutive days, then rest for two days.

“The change was made upon requests from young workers who prefer to rest two consecutive days and have more leisure time,” said an SK Innovation spokesperson.

“We did a test run of the new system last year, and fully implemented it [from February].”

The system, dubbed “four groups, two shifts,” was first implemented by Yuhan Kimberly in 1998.

When the Asian financial crisis hit the country in the late 1990s, the company changed its working structure instead of laying off workers to let employees attend educative programs for personal development.

The Yuhan Kimberly case is still regarded as one of the most highly successful win-wins between workers and management.

Other companies such as Posco, S-Oil, SK siltron and GS Caltex use the new system as well.

Hyundai Steel came to an agreement with its labor union regarding the system in January, though no date for its implementation has been set.

LG Chem is considering giving the system a test run, too.

However, not all workers welcome the arrangement.

Older workers, who are used to eight-hour shifts, dislike the change.

A recent survey by Hanwha Solutions’ labor union showed that 48 percent of its members oppose 12-hour shifts.

“There were requests to change the working hours from younger members, but the preference differed based on generation,” said union chief Kim Tae-yeol.

“Seventy-eight percent of members aged 50 years and older opposed the change.”

A flaw in the 12-hour shift is that it isn’t easy to assign substitute workers if a worker suddenly must take a day off.

“There needs to be more experienced hands at the beck and call for 12-hour shifts,” said an anonymous union member from a conglomerate.

“The majority of companies do not have the capacity to expand their working population.”

Experts argue that the system needs more safety guidelines before it is fully implemented.

“The younger generation may opt for 12-hour shifts because they don’t find long hours of labor difficult,” said Lee Young-myon, a business administration professor at Dongguk University.

“The shifts can be physically overwhelming for middle-aged and older workers, so companies need to review their occupation types and work conditions.”

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently ordered Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) to review its working system, blaming the new system for "an increase in the number of accidents."

Korail had been undertaking a test run of 12-hour shifts since 2020.

The Land Ministry ordered the corporation to either revert to the previous system or get its safety management system checked.

“If workers spend rest days juggling two jobs or without any order, it may affect their primary job," said Lee Byoung-hoon, a sociology professor at Chung-Ang University.

BY KO SUK-HYUN [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]