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> How do these people come up with such absurd laws? 52 hours per week is 7.5 hours every day, including weekends, or 10.4 hours every day assuming you work Mo

> How do these people come up with such absurd laws? 52 hours per week is 7.5 hours every day, including weekends, or 10.4 hours every day assuming you work Mon-Fri. If the society (or the mythical free market) could regulate itself so that people don't have to work this crazy hours to earn living, we wouldn't have this "absurd" law. Unfortunately, the South Korean society has failed to regulate itself. Hence the law. The very fact that some pundits and employers are crying loudly shows why this law was necessary. You know, when you go to any restaurant (in the US), "Maximum Occupancy 140" signs look just as absurd. What will happen when the 141st patron walks in? Will the building crumble down or what? ...Except that these regulations were written with people's blood.

miguelrochefort 8y ago
If Koreans really want to work less, then some company would reduce the work week to 40 hours and get flooded with all of Korea's best employees. The fact that this hasn't happened means that something else is preventing the market from regulating itself. Perhaps people prefer to work longer hours and possibly earn more. Perhaps the market is very competitive and this is the only way to stay relevant. Perhaps something makes it difficult for companies to hire more employees. Perhaps Korean people can work 68 hours with little diminishing return. Perhaps the taxes are too high. I don't know.
- yongjik 8y ago
  > If Koreans really want to work less, then some company would reduce the work week to 40 hours and ... ... another big company that deals with them will call them on 5 pm Friday, request an extra shipment by 10 am next Monday, get angry ("What do you mean? Weekend? Do I look like your friend?") and cancel the deal. The company goes bankrupt. You don't know much about Korean work culture, do you.
- pgeorgi 8y ago
  Few countries have the workplace mobility required for such an experiment to work: There are countries where the social expectation is that you start in a company as an intern or apprentice and leave it to retire some 45 years later.
TheAceOfHearts 8y ago
AFAIK, maximum occupancy is based on how quickly people could be safely evacuated in the event of an accident such as a fire. IMO, they're not comparable. I could totally imagine someone working 40 hours a week and then more than 12 hours working on related projects for entertainment or educational purposes, or if you're a founder and very passionate about what you're doing. Maybe you have a big presentation lined up and you want to get a great demo ready in time. It's probably not sustainable for a long-term period of time, but you should still be free to decide how you want to invest your time.

miguelrochefort 8y ago

If Koreans really want to work less, then some company would reduce the work week to 40 hours and get flooded with all of Korea's best employees. The fact that this hasn't happened means that something else is preventing the market from regulating itself. Perhaps people prefer to work longer hours and possibly earn more. Perhaps the market is very competitive and this is the only way to stay relevant. Perhaps something makes it difficult for companies to hire more employees. Perhaps Korean people can work 68 hours with little diminishing return. Perhaps the taxes are too high. I don't know.

yongjik 8y ago
> If Koreans really want to work less, then some company would reduce the work week to 40 hours and ... ... another big company that deals with them will call them on 5 pm Friday, request an extra shipment by 10 am next Monday, get angry ("What do you mean? Weekend? Do I look like your friend?") and cancel the deal. The company goes bankrupt. You don't know much about Korean work culture, do you.
pgeorgi 8y ago
Few countries have the workplace mobility required for such an experiment to work: There are countries where the social expectation is that you start in a company as an intern or apprentice and leave it to retire some 45 years later.

TheAceOfHearts 8y ago

AFAIK, maximum occupancy is based on how quickly people could be safely evacuated in the event of an accident such as a fire. IMO, they're not comparable. I could totally imagine someone working 40 hours a week and then more than 12 hours working on related projects for entertainment or educational purposes, or if you're a founder and very passionate about what you're doing. Maybe you have a big presentation lined up and you want to get a great demo ready in time. It's probably not sustainable for a long-term period of time, but you should still be free to decide how you want to invest your time.