The hardest part of the job was the poor working conditions. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) –A survey released on December 24 indicates that 40% of South Korean employees identified poor working conditions as the most challenging aspect of their jobs this year. Civic group Workplace Gabjil 119 conducted the survey from December 4 to 11 among 1,000 working adults aged 19 and above nationwide, revealing these findings.
According to the survey, 44.7% of respondents pointed to “low wages and long working hours” as the primary issues in their work environment. The prevalence of such complaints was notably higher among employees in smaller workplaces and private companies.
Specifically, 50.3% of workers in businesses with fewer than five employees cited poor working conditions, a rate higher than that of employees in companies with more than 300 employees (40.8%) and those in central and local government organizations (33.8%).
Furthermore, 22.3% of the respondents selected “workplace harassment and interpersonal issues” as their biggest challenge. This problem was most prevalent in central and local government institutions, with 32.4% citing it.
This was followed by larger private companies (over 300 employees) at 24.9%, medium-sized private companies (between 5 to 300 employees) at 21.2%, and smaller private companies (under 30 employees) at 20.4%.
In terms of occupation, 24.4% of office workers faced such issues. The sectors with the highest response rates to workplace harassment and interpersonal problems were the accommodation and food service industries (27.3%), health and social welfare services (26.1%), and education services (25.9%).
Additionally, 16% of the respondents identified “job insecurity, including layoffs, forced resignations, and non-regular employment” as their main challenge at work. Among these respondents, non-regular employees reported such concerns at 22.8%, double the rate of regular employees (11.5%).
Jeong-Ki Ho, a lawyer with Workplace Gabjil 119, emphasized the findings, stating, “The need to apply the Labor Standards Act to businesses with fewer than five employees has once again been confirmed as a crucial step towards improving poor labor conditions.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
