[Contribution] Expectations for the realization of the 4.5-day work week… What is the future of the labor market?

With the launch of the new government, a wind of change is blowing in labor policy. The overall labor policy stance of this government is to shorten working hours and expand state responsibility, but it is of the position that a drastic policy shift is necessary for sustainable work-life harmony. Among them, national interest is especially focused on the introduction of the '4.5-day week', which was one of President Lee Jae-myung's election promises.

In fact, a majority of the public was found to be positive about the introduction of the 4.5-day week system. Recently, data consulting company PMI conducted a survey on the introduction of the 4.5-day week system among 1,000 adult men and women aged 19 to 69 across the country, and found that 37.9% of respondents were in favor.

However, pain due to the introduction of the system is also expected. This is because companies have no choice but to incur a cost burden. The government plans to encourage voluntary participation by providing incentives to companies that adopt the 4.5-day week system, but there are also voices of concern. If working hours are shortened, companies will have to hire additional workers to maintain production.

From an expert perspective, although it is still only a pilot project, the 4.5-day workweek appears to be an inevitable trend. It is predicted that changes in working methods will be inevitable due to Korea's unique long working hours and low birth rate and aging population.

In particular, Article 50 of the current Labor Standards Act stipulates that working hours per week cannot exceed 40 hours, excluding break times. This sets an upper limit on working hours, and employers can voluntarily set working hours shorter than 40 hours upon consultation with workers. Therefore, the 4.5-day workweek system can be introduced without any amendment to the law.

The 4.5-day week system can be seen as a transition to a more efficient work structure with less work. However, institutional supplementation and policy support are essential for expansion into the private sector. Specifically, practical measures are required, such as ① reforming the wage system to enable short-time work hours without wage cuts, ② financial support for the burden of fixed costs, and ③ consulting on the introduction of flexible work systems for small and medium-sized businesses.

Currently, most companies maintain a seniority-based wage system, but if the number of working days and working hours is reduced, labor productivity may decrease, resulting in business withdrawal, restructuring, and workforce reduction. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent a decrease in productivity and strengthen corporate competitiveness by reforming the time-based wage system to a role-based wage system.

In particular, if a company wants to reduce its fixed cost burden, various policy supports should be provided, such as customized support for each company size, strengthening finances of small and medium-sized enterprises, and manpower matching support and consulting. If these efforts are continued, it will be possible to establish a practical system.

In addition, if the 4.5-day week system is established, it is likely to have various effects on the industry. First, it can be advantageous in securing young talent who value work-life balance, and in the long run, it can also increase workers' work concentration and loyalty to the organization. On the other hand, in human resource-centered industries such as service and manufacturing industries, rising labor costs and rigidity in human resource management can act as disadvantages, so it will be important to design a system tailored to each industry and reach an agreement between labor and management.

Small Business Team

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