Samsung ‘moves to emergency mode’: Asks executives to work six-days a week

Samsung Group, the South Korean technology conglomerate, has implemented a six-day workweek for its executives across all divisions in response to economic challenges and disappointing financial results. The new schedule aims to inject a sense of crisis amongst executives and encourage all-out efforts to overcome the company’s challenges.

According to a report by The Korea Economic Daily, some executives have already started working an extra day this week. Samsung Electronics executives will have the option to work on either Saturday or Sunday, while employees below the executive level will continue to work five days a week.

This decision comes as Samsung faces several challenges, including rising oil prices, high borrowing costs, and a sharp depreciation of the South Korean won. Despite these challenges, Samsung regained the top spot for global smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

Most of Samsung’s technology divisions will follow the new schedule immediately, with financial services arms expected to follow soon. The Korea Economic Daily reports that some executives in other divisions have been voluntarily working six-day weeks since the start of the year.

South Korea is notorious for its demanding work culture. In 2022, employees worked an average of 1,901 hours. In 2023, the country considered a proposal for a 69-hour workweek, but it was ultimately abandoned due to resistance from young workers and labour unions.

Samsung is not alone in asking its employees to come back to the office. The Korea Economic Daily reported that SK Group, a South Korean conglomerate that owns Samsung competitor SK Hynix, announced earlier this year that it would reintroduce regular Saturday meetings for its chief executives.