Seoul, South Korea – Go Kyoung-min, 34, a nurse at Severance Hospital in Seoul, found a new sense of balance in her life during the first half of this year.As the mother of twin daughters born in 2021, Go often felt guilty about not spending enough time with her children because of work.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listBut after opting into the four-day workweek offered by her workplace, Go was able to spend more time with her family, attending daycare events she had previously missed and relying less on her in-laws for childcare.Severance is the first hospital in South Korea to trial a four-day workweek, aiming to improve the work-life balance of its staff.Under the program, introduced in 2023 following an agreement between labour and management, some hospital employees are allowed to take three days off per week in exchange for a 10 percent reduction in salary.Staff take turns participating in six-month rotations, after which they return to a five-day week.The program appears to have improved nurses’ health and wellbeing, enhanced the quality of medical services, boosted organisational efficiency, and reduced turnover rates, the Korea Worker Institute-Union Center said in a report about the trial released last month.According to the report, turnover among participating nurses with less than three years’ experience fell from 19.5 percent to 7 percent.Average sick leave per employee also fell by one day duri …
