South Korea ranked last among 40 major countries in terms of weekly remote work hours, according to a global survey conducted by Stanford University.
The study, which surveyed 16,000 college graduates worldwide, found that South Koreans work from home an average of just 0.5 days per week, the lowest figure among all nations surveyed.
At the top of the list, Canada led with 1.9 days of remote work per week, followed by the United Kingdom with 1.8 days, and the United States with 1.6 days, and countries like Germany, India and Nigeria.
In East Asia, Japan and China posted marginally higher figures than South Korea, at 0.7 and 0.6 days, respectively.
Researchers largely attributed the disparity to cultural differences, emphasizing that a society’s orientation toward individualism or collectivism plays a significant role in shaping perceptions and practices around remote work.
“In more individualistic societies, managers tend to grant more autonomy and trust to their employees, which makes remote work arrangements more common and accepted,” the Stanford research team explained.
South Korea’s low adoption of remote work reflects not only organizational cultures that emphasize visibility and in-person supervision but also a broader societal structure where collectivist norms and hierarchical relationships shape workplace expectations.
jychoi@heraldcorp.com
