In Germany, there is a debate about whether to introduce a 4-day workweek. In South Korea, Samsung now wants to introduce a 64-hour workweek.
How is the Korean company doing? Samsung recorded its weakest business year in 2023 in over a decade. Net profit fell by 73% in the fourth quarter of 2023, and conditions are not looking better in other areas. Overall, it is said that there was a loss of 15 trillion Korean won (around 10 billion euros) in 2023.
To emerge from this crisis, they now want to implement a 64-hour workweek. Some employees are already working significantly longer, but Samsung is said to have already applied to the South Korean Ministry for additional work.
64 hours instead of 40 hours per week
What exactly is Samsung doing? Specifically, they want to significantly extend work hours, especially in areas such as IT, artificial intelligence development, and micro-projects. This is reported by the magazine Dexerto.com and references several Korean sources.
The company has already submitted a special application to the Korean Ministry of Labor and Employment to raise the upper limit to 64 hours per week. Without an application, this is not possible, as Korean labor law stipulates a maximum working time of 52 hours per week: 40 regular hours and 12 possible overtime hours.
In some areas at Samsung, employees are already working significantly longer
Some are already working longer: The Korean daily newspaper JoongAng Daily reports in its English edition that Samsung has already mandated a 64-hour workweek for its semiconductor research, development, and smartphone teams. The mandate was introduced as the company transitioned into crisis mode to offset its weak earnings.
As early as April 2024, Samsung instructed its executives to work a 6-day week. The English-language magazine Korea Economic Daily reports that the overtime was introduced to give employees “a sense of crisis” and to boost the company’s profits again.
More about employees: An employee is forbidden to work from home and must return to the office. But he does not simply accept this. Employee is forced by the boss to come to the office – he does not back down and later enjoys a moment of triumph
