A thermal imaging camera installed in the lobby of Naver Corp.’s headquarters in Seongnam, south of Seoul on Feb. 26, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The ongoing coronavirus epidemic is forcing conglomerates to allow employees to work at home over an extended period.
While it began as means to prevent the coronavirus, companies are using the occasion as a chance to test digital transformation, one of the leading concepts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Among major conglomerates, SK Group decided to extend the work-from-home policy to all employees.
SK Innovation Co., SK E&S Co. and other affiliates also decided to extend their work-from-home policies by two weeks in alignment with the delays in the new school year.
SK group is being particularly careful as its Chinese office is located in Wuhan, China where the coronavirus first broke out, and one of its overseas employees has been infected by the virus.
Fortunately, SK’s ‘smart work’ system enabled by Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and shared seat policy is minimizing the impacts coming from the coronavirus outbreak.
Conglomerates like Doosan, Hyosung, and Kolon also decided to extend their work-from-home policies to Friday of this week.
As such, conglomerates are using this occasion as an opportunity to test the smart work environment prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the 52-hour workweek policy.
“Companies that have verified work sustainability at this juncture of work-from-home employees will be able to speed up the process of digital transformation,” said an industry source.
“They may use it to cut spending on rent and maintenance.”
LS Group, a major electrical equipment conglomerate in South Korea, closed its headquarters for two days following a confirmed case of coronavirus from one of its employees, and allowed employees to work from home.
The company is also using this occasion to further invest in building a smart work environment.
A signboard noting coronavirus prevention instructions at GS Home Shopping Inc.’s office building in Seoul on Feb. 6, 2020. (Yonhap)
Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea’s top electronics maker, on the other hand, is refusing to send employees home, similarly to other manufacturing businesses.
SK hynix Inc., the world’s No. 2 memory chipmaker, has also been excluded from SK Group’s ‘work-from-home’ list.
“Security, unhindered research and development, and 24-hour manufacturing operations are making it difficult for us to shut down,” said a source from SK hynix.
LG Electronics Inc., a major South Korean tech firm, is also staying away from a work-from-home policy, while conducting checks on the company’s cloud system.
“Sending office workers home may lead to complaints from the manufacturing and sales department, which may impact our operations,” said a source familiar with the industry.
Manufacturing businesses are less likely to embrace work from home, since employees have to frequently engage in joint operations with partner companies as well.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
