Work-Life Balance

Описание: [Anchor Lead]

With the proliferation of smartphones a growing number of working people get stressed out because they are asked to work after-hours via messenger app or text message. To promote a healthier work-life balance, a campaign has been launched in Korea calling for people to refrain from requesting work after-hours via mobile gadgets.

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This company prohibits making work-related phone calls and sending text messages after 10 p.m. Any executives who are caught violating the rule can face disadvantages such as demotions. But most companies still continue to ask their employees to work after-hours via text messages and instant messaging apps such as Kakao Talk. A survey has found that seven out of ten working people have provided their services to their respective workplaces via smartphone after-hours or on weekends at least once. The poll has also found that Koreans work after-hours for more than 11 hours a week using mobile devices.

[Soundbite] Office Worker(Voice altered) : "I feel as if I am constantly in a ready-to-work state."

The government has proposed a bill banning after-hours Kakao Talk messages, but many question its feasibility given the diverse forms of employment existing in the country. However, the government and the business community agree that measures are needed to prevent long work hours via smartphones.

[Soundbite] Na Young-don(Official, Ministry of Employment & Labor) : "This campaign urges executives to refrain from making phone calls and sending text messages to employees outside of working hours."

A campaign calling for a separation of work from personal life is also spreading in the nation, discouraging employers from asking their employees about the reasons for their leaves from work.