As for the reasons that Koreans considered their jobs to be of humble nature, “low wages” (55.3 percent, multiple response) topped the list, followed by “poor working environment” (48.5 percent), “not feeling worthwhile at work” (29.9 percent), “lack of honor or social stature” (27.4 percent). (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – A majority of Koreans were found to think “lowly” of their job.
According to Saramin, a local job search platform, 52.3 percent of 1,504 surveyed respondents felt this way. The figure was the highest for employees in small and medium-sized enterprises (57.2 percent), followed by mid-sized companies (44.7 percent), and large companies (34.1 percent).
In terms of occupational categories, those in manufacturing and production were most likely to think poorly of their job at 64.1 percent, followed by services (58.1 percent), purchasing and materials (56.3 percent), and IT and communications (55.2 percent).
Among the lowest were those in research and development (37.1 percent), planning and strategy (33.3 percent), and advertising and promotion (33.3 percent).
As for the reasons that Koreans considered their jobs to be of humble nature, “low wages” (55.3 percent, multiple response) topped the list, followed by “poor working environment” (48.5 percent), “not feeling worthwhile at work” (29.9 percent), “lack of honor or social stature” (27.4 percent), “unstable employment” (25.2 percent), and “difficult to maintain a work-life balance” (24.6 percent).
Among those who considered their jobs to be humble, 52.4 percent said they had experienced a situation where their job was looked down on, while 89.4 percent said they would feel regret if their children pursued the same occupation.
In contrast, those feeling highly of their jobs pointed to the fact that their “job requires professional expertise” (54.3 percent, multiple response). The answer was followed by “feeling worthwhile at work” (28.8 percent), “decent work environment” (23.5 percent), “stable employment” (14.1 percent), “able to achieve work-life balance” (13.9 percent), and “relatively high wages” (11.8 percent).
By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
