The level of emotional labor among South Korean civil servants is alarmingly high, falling into a ‘dangerous’ category. (Image courtesy of Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – A groundbreaking government survey released on December 13 has revealed that the level of emotional labor among South Korean civil servants is alarmingly high, falling into a ‘dangerous’ category.
The Ministry of Personnel Management announced the results of the survey, which targeted 10,198 civil servants across various central administrative agencies. This first-of-its-kind study, titled ‘Survey on Emotional Labor Related to Job Performance Among Civil Servants,’ has shed light on significant concerns in the public sector workforce.
The survey found that civil servants are experiencing emotional labor that exceeds normal thresholds, indicating a ‘dangerous’ level of emotional strain. This encompasses areas such as emotion regulation, emotional dissonance, and organizational monitoring.
Particularly concerning was the ‘emotional dissonance’ segment, which measures the extent of emotional damage and difficulties stemming from conflicts with external stakeholders or a lack of autonomy. Women scored 10.1 (normal range 3–7, dangerous 8–12), while men scored 9.4 (normal range 3–6, dangerous 7–12), indicating a higher than average level of emotional stress.
The primary causes of this emotional labor were identified as long interaction hours and unreasonable demands hindering work (31.7 percent), verbal abuse and threats (29.3 percent), and retaliatory administrative reports or complaints (20.5 percent).
The impacts of such labor include increased job stress and decreased self-esteem (33.5 percent), as well as impaired work engagement and efficiency (27.1 percent).
When dealing with emotional labor, the majority of civil servants reported ‘enduring it on my own’ as their primary method of coping (46.2 percent). Other responses included consulting with colleagues (21.5 percent), seeking help from supervisors (16.4 percent), confronting the other party (7.4 percent), and considering legal action (5.2 percent).
Alarmingly, more than half of the respondents (61.1 percent) indicated they took no action when emotional labor led to physical or psychological illness. Some reported using sick leave (11.3 percent), seeking professional psychological counseling (8.4 percent), or receiving medical treatment (6.9 percent).
In response to these findings, the Ministry of Personnel Management stated plans to develop more effective measures. These include providing treatment support for high-risk complaint handlers, strengthening legal protection at the institutional level, and expanding support for health check-ups.
The survey, conducted last September, utilized the Electronic Human Resource Management System (e-Saram) among other tools.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
