Social distancing is over… Companies struggling to return to work

As the 25-month ‘social distancing’ is over, the pace of return to work for office workers is accelerating. However, rather than a complete normalization, companies are planning to adjust the ratio between normal work and telecommuting in stages according to the trend of decreasing COVID-19 cases and changes in the government’s policy. In particular, in the case of companies with a high proportion of ICT, it is expected that it will become common to go to work and work from home even after the corona virus.

◆Samsung and Hyundai restore daily life step by step…SK strengthens non-face-to-face

According to the business world on the 17th, Samsung Electronics has been promoting ‘return to daily life’ since the 13th to minimize inconvenience to its employees. As a result, face-to-face meetings, group training, business trips, and events have been resumed on a limited basis.

Samsung Electronics allowed face-to-face meetings and group training, but allowed only 50% of the existing meeting room capacity to be used to prevent excessive gathering of employees. All domestic business trips are allowed, and employees who have completed the third vaccination can apply for overseas business trips. Large-scale offline events, which had been banned so far, were allowed to be held with fewer than 300 people, and limited use of business shuttle buses was allowed. The party was also supervised by the head of the department and allowed to hold no more than 10 people. However, considering that the momentum of the corona virus has not completely stopped, masks must be worn and a maximum 50% telecommuting rate is maintained.

Hyundai also allows face-to-face meetings and group training. Domestic business trips are always possible, and overseas business trips, which were allowed on a limited basis, are also relaxed. Non-work activities such as dinner parties can also be resumed. In particular, telecommuting, which was carried out at the 50% rate, will be lowered to 30% in line with the COVID-19 infection grade adjustment scheduled for the 25th and the government’s new quarantine guidelines.

LG affiliates will continue to work in accordance with special quarantine guidelines for the time being, even after social distancing is over. From the 21st of last month, LG affiliates set the telecommuting ratio to more than 50% and stopped operating in-house sports facilities. Non-face-to-face meetings are encouraged and group training and events are also discouraged. In case of an unavoidable face-to-face meeting, only 20 people or less can attend. In particular, LG U+, a telecommunication affiliate, maintained a high telecommuting ratio of over 70%, and required that team members work from home four times a week, team leaders twice a week, and executives once a week.

Most of SK affiliates, with the exception of SK Hynix, are strengthening non-face-to-face work. In December of last year, SK Innovation established a policy to work from home except for essential personnel, and banned all employee gatherings and meetings. Business trips, outings, and training require the approval of the manager. SK C&C also maintains a telecommuting ratio of more than 50% and has banned offline meetings, education, and dinner parties. SK networks plans to maintain the policy of allowing remote work, including telecommuting, even after the corona virus.

However, considering the characteristics of the semiconductor industry that requires on-site work, SK hynix will continue to work from home, with some health-vulnerable groups working from home. Reflecting the SK Group’s keynote, face-to-face meetings were banned and business trips were allowed only with the permission of the manager.

Distribution industry to keep telecommuting for the time being… Financial sector normalization countdown

Major retailers are planning to maintain their telecommuting system for the time being, despite the easing of social distancing. Most companies divide groups into groups at a certain ratio and work from home and work at the same time. In particular, e-commerce companies such as Coupang, Wemakef, and Timon, which have a large number of IT personnel, still have a higher proportion of telecommuting. However, some food companies, such as Nongshim, Ottogi, and Dongseo Food, are in an atmosphere of switching to a working system with the exception of the confirmed cases.

It seems that the financial sector is also slowly returning the working style to pre-COVID-19. Woori Bank will suspend operation of alternative business sites from the 18th. Other banks that are working from home in accordance with the Corona response guidelines are also planning to adjust their guidelines according to the new distance. In the case of the insurance industry, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance are carrying out their normal working hours except for confirmed cases, and Hyundai Marine & Insurance and DB Insurance have also returned to their pre-COVID status from this month.

Telecommuting is the new normal for ICT startups… Contemplating ways to enhance productivity and collaborate

The ICT industry acknowledges that remote work, including telecommuting, is a new working form (the new normal) and is looking for ways to enhance productivity. Naver and Kakao will maintain their telecommuting policy until June. After that, we are considering a plan to combine work and telecommuting, but as we are in a position to sell our self-developed non-face-to-face collaboration platform to the outside, the proportion of telecommuting is expected to rise significantly higher than other companies, with more than 60-70%. NHN also plans to maintain the telecommuting policy for all employees until April, and set a new work policy in May in consideration of the spread of the corona virus.

Mobile carriers are strongly pushing for a base office that combines the advantages of commuting and telecommuting. SK Telecom allowed its employees to work not only at its headquarters in Euljiro, Seoul, but also at its headquarters in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, such as Sindorim, Ilsan, and Bundang. It is a measure to reduce commuting time and encourage collaboration among employees. All employees’ PCs are uploaded to the cloud so that the work environment of the assets can be called up anytime, anywhere. KT also allows employees to choose between the Gwanghwamun and Songpa office buildings in Seoul and the Bundang office building in Gyeonggi-do, and rents shared offices in Yeouido, Jamsil, and Ilsan to use as a base office.

Just like the ICT industry, the startup and venture industry is also introducing a hybrid work in which telecommuting is made permanent after the corona virus or working and telecommuting in parallel. This is because work efficiency did not decrease as a result of implementing home-based and hybrid work, and the effect of recruiting talent was excellent. For example, an official from Woowa Brothers (Baedal Minjok) said, “Last year, we confirmed that there was no problem in work efficiency while working from home. said.



Yanolja also implemented a company-wide autonomous remote work system from 2020, and announced in June last year that the remote work system would be implemented indefinitely. Even after the implementation of the system, some Yanolja employees left Seoul, where the headquarters is located, and moved to a rural area.

Jung-hyeon Wi, a professor of business administration at Chung-Ang University, said, “In telecommuting, productivity increases at first, but then productivity decreases. Collaboration should be handled mainly by going to the office,” he advised.