SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — One of Korea’s largest banks is seeking to innovate its work environment through a new flexible work-hour system.
KB Kookmin Bank has been running a “KB Digital Office” system since mid-August that has enabled employees to call it a day from wherever their last meeting is, according to financial sector insiders.
The main benefit of the initiative is that employees who frequently travel long-distance to meet clients or have business trips do not have to return to their office after their meetings.
Rather, employees can use computers connected to the KB network to work at offices near their home or off-site.
If one visits a digital office in a nearby area and logs on to the PC after completing one’s business trip or work outside, the company’s cloud computing system can be used archive documents and keep them up to date.
The advantage of the new system is that employees do not have to waste time on the road to return to the office, and that employees can plan reasonable movements on their own.
In addition, because actual working hours can be managed via access to remote PCs, there are few concerns that workers will be too lax with their work hours.
The digital office system is all the more noteworthy because management accepted an employee proposal through an in-house idea public offering.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)