4 ms·

Are you familiar with the working culture in Korea? I only spent a few months there but it became clear from what I heard from professionals and students that 6

by sb8244 8y ago

Are you familiar with the working culture in Korea? I only spent a few months there but it became clear from what I heard from professionals and students that 60+ hour work week is the average. Sure some jobs may be more than that in a healthy market, but it didn't seem like it was healthy.

miguelrochefort 8y ago
I don't deny that there's a problem. I argue that the proposed solution is short-sighted and inadequate. What are the incentives for companies to decrease work hours?What are the incentives for people to work less? What should people do with their time that's more beneficial than working? What compromises will these people have to make now that they're earning less (assuming their overtime was paid)? How will the productivity of Korean companies be affected by this 25-40% drop in employee work time? Hopefully companies will realize that increased work hours have diminishing returns and/or invest in automation to cope with the lack of resources. Hopefully the government doesn't then introduce even sillier laws (such as taxing automation).
- sb8244 8y ago
  The issue is largely cultural from my understanding. There is a "seniors in charge" mentality in Korea that causes workers to get in before their boss and leave after. This artificially increases the work day while probably not increasing productivity that much. I'm certainly not close to an expert in it, and I don't want to pretend to be, but I don't think the government can do much to solve the problem other than put caps in when it is as bad as it is. It's a deeply rooted cultural issue that I hope this will be a reason to stop.
  - miguelrochefort 8y ago
    I can think of other ridiculous solutions to the problem you described: - Prevent employees from knowing when the boss comes in and leaves. - Force the boss to work fewer hours. - Force employees to arrive after their boss and/or leave before their boss. - Force employees to work X hours less than their boss. - Force employees to take long breaks in the middle of the day. - Remove bosses altogether. I don't see how limiting the work week to 52 hours will solve that. Will the boss show up later and/or leave sooner? If so, are employees be expected to guess the new schedule of their boss? Won't they still show up before and leave after their boss, and just take more breaks during the day and/or not report all their work time? I unfortunately suspect that employees will have more unpaid hours than they did before.

by sb8244 8y ago

miguelrochefort 8y ago

I don't deny that there's a problem. I argue that the proposed solution is short-sighted and inadequate. What are the incentives for companies to decrease work hours?What are the incentives for people to work less? What should people do with their time that's more beneficial than working? What compromises will these people have to make now that they're earning less (assuming their overtime was paid)? How will the productivity of Korean companies be affected by this 25-40% drop in employee work time? Hopefully companies will realize that increased work hours have diminishing returns and/or invest in automation to cope with the lack of resources. Hopefully the government doesn't then introduce even sillier laws (such as taxing automation).

sb8244 8y ago
The issue is largely cultural from my understanding. There is a "seniors in charge" mentality in Korea that causes workers to get in before their boss and leave after. This artificially increases the work day while probably not increasing productivity that much. I'm certainly not close to an expert in it, and I don't want to pretend to be, but I don't think the government can do much to solve the problem other than put caps in when it is as bad as it is. It's a deeply rooted cultural issue that I hope this will be a reason to stop.
- miguelrochefort 8y ago
  I can think of other ridiculous solutions to the problem you described: - Prevent employees from knowing when the boss comes in and leaves. - Force the boss to work fewer hours. - Force employees to arrive after their boss and/or leave before their boss. - Force employees to work X hours less than their boss. - Force employees to take long breaks in the middle of the day. - Remove bosses altogether. I don't see how limiting the work week to 52 hours will solve that. Will the boss show up later and/or leave sooner? If so, are employees be expected to guess the new schedule of their boss? Won't they still show up before and leave after their boss, and just take more breaks during the day and/or not report all their work time? I unfortunately suspect that employees will have more unpaid hours than they did before.