SNJ trims workweek further, from 38 hours to 36

Works 7 hours Monday and Wednesday, 8 hours Tuesday and Thursday, 6 hours Friday

Company standardizes production and shipping to maintain productivity

[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

Medical device manufacturer SNJ is introducing a 4.5-day workweek, cutting employees' working hours to 36 hours a week without reducing their pay. Given the nature of manufacturing, the company will keep its five-day workweek but reduce hours on certain days, while standardizing its production and shipping processes to maintain productivity.

The Korea Labor Foundation said Thursday that it visited SNJ in Guro-gu, Seoul, to check the company's preparations for cutting actual working hours and to hear from labor and management. The visit marked the sixth site inspection by the foundation's team supporting reduced working hours.

SNJ has operated a 38-hour workweek since 2021 to improve work-life balance and productivity, under which employees start an hour later on Mondays and leave an hour earlier on Fridays.

This year, the company took part in a workplace innovation consulting program and devised a plan to cut its workweek further, to 36 hours. Under the new "fixed 36-hour workweek," employees will keep the five-day schedule but work 7 hours on Mondays and Wednesdays, 8 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 6 hours on Fridays.

Once the system takes hold, the company plans to expand it so employees can freely choose their working days and hours within the four-hour reduction.

The reduction in working hours will not result in any pay cut. The company will keep the statutory standard workweek at 40 hours but grant paid exemption for the four reduced hours, fully preserving employees' existing wages. SNJ plans to gradually establish the 36-hour system through discussions at its labor-management council and a trial run, and will also draw up separate operating guidelines.

The company is also overhauling its work processes to prevent any drop in productivity. It will introduce a planned-production system linking its sales and manufacturing departments and standardize the entire pre-shipment process, including production and shipping requests and rework schedules. It also plans to consolidate communication channels into one platform and turn off mobile notifications after work hours.

"To cut actual working hours, it is important for companies to innovate their work methods and production processes together," said Park Jong-pil, secretary-general of the Korea Labor Foundation. "We will support the spread of various models in which labor and management find solutions together."


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