Hyper-wired South Korea is considering legislation that would ban bosses from bothering their staff at home, after growing complaints about the country’s already onerous work-life imbalance.
A bill prohibiting managers from badgering staff at home was submitted to the South Korean National Assembly on Wednesday, sponsored by 12 lawmakers from the main opposition Minjoo Party.
“As more firms use social media or mobile messengers to send work orders, regardless of time, the stress inflicted on workers has reached a serious level,” the lawmakers said in a statement.
The bill seeks to ban firms from sending employees work-related messages by telephone, text, social media or mobile messaging apps after official working hours.
The document specially references KakaoTalk, a chat app used by about 80 percent of the South Korean population.
The statement said that too many workers were expected to be constantly on call, even when on vacation or late at night.
“More people are demanding rights to disconnect after work hours,” it said, adding that the bill would allow workers a personal life free of workplace intrusion.
Similar legislation prohibiting e-mails after regular work hours has been proposed in countries such as France and Germany.
More than 80 percent of South Koreans have smartphones — one of the highest penetration rates in the world.
In a recent report titled Workers Who Are Scared of KakaoTalk, the Korea Labour & Society Institute said employees are forced to work an average of about 11 extra hours per week using electronic devices.
Some firms have taken unilateral steps to keep off-hours sacrosanct.
LG Uplus Corp — the country’s third-largest wireless operator — has threatened managers who send KakaoTalk messages to subordinates after 8pm with demotion, or even dismissal.
Meanwhile, efforts to promote a life free from stress and information overload have included a series of “space-out competitions,” where participants are required to “do nothing” for hours by not talking or using any electronic devices.
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