40-hour week preserved through redesigned schedules
All departments and community centers to join from October
Seodaemun-gu will launch a pilot 4.5-day workweek program in October, the district announced Tuesday, aiming to help civil servants better balance work and personal life by making fuller use of an existing flexible-hours system.
The district's flexible working-hours system has seen limited uptake: 36 employees used it at least once in 2024, 37 in 2025, and 37 so far this year as of September. With a total workforce of about 1,500, that amounts to just 2.5 percent.
Rather than introducing a new work arrangement, the pilot focuses on changing workplace culture so employees can actually take advantage of a system that already exists.
The 4.5-day workweek does not reduce the legally mandated working hours. Instead, it redesigns how those hours are distributed while keeping the 40-hour weekly total required under local civil service regulations. Employees can extend their hours by up to four hours on other days of the week — Monday through Friday — and then shorten their hours by the same amount on a day of their choosing.
For example, an employee could work one extra hour each day from Monday through Thursday (9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) or put in four extra hours on Thursday alone (7 a.m. to 8 p.m.), then work a half-day on Friday (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
Starting in October, all district departments and community service centers will take part in the pilot. Each unit will designate at least one participant, who will use the flexible-hours system at least once a month.
"If employees feel too self-conscious to use a benefit that exists, it can hardly be called a good system," Seodaemun-gu District Mayor Park Un-gi said. "Helping employees maintain a work-life balance is the starting point for a healthy organizational culture."
ikson@heraldcorp.com
