Over 40% of women say child care and household chores forced them out of work

(123rf)
(123rf)

The number one factor for middle-aged Koreans seeking a new job is pay for men, and work hours for women, a survey showed Monday.

In a poll of 500 job seekers in their 40s and 50s conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries, 33.7 percent of the 245 male respondents gave the highest consideration to pay when looking for a new job. This was followed by work hours at 28 percent, then the type of employment — such as permanent versus contract positions — at 15.3 percent, and task difficulty at 6.6 percent.

Female respondents, on the other hand, valued work hours far more than any other factor, chosen by 49.6 percent. Another 20.5 percent of women said pay was most important, followed by difficulty of the work (11 percent) and type of employment (9.7 percent).

Women’s emphasis on work hours was closely tied to why they left previous jobs, as 43.2 percent said they had to resign due to child-rearing or household responsibilities. Of the female respondents who had not looked for a job for at least a year, 38.7 percent cited the same two reasons.

"Most women have the role of primary caretaker of their family and home (along with work), and thus tend to value flexible work hours," the FKI said.

Contrary to women, the top reason for male respondents leaving their previous work was that they were asked to by their employers (22.5 percent).

Many say they need to keep working after legal retirement age

Topping the list of government policies the respondents wished to see was flexible work hours and a greater availability of jobs with shorter hours, cited by 22.2 percent. Close behind, at 22.0 percent, was more governmental support for job training and overall assistance for career changes among middle-aged workers.

The survey showed that middle-aged Korean job seekers on average seek an annual salary of 41.49 million won ($30,588), which is about 75 percent of the income they received at their previous jobs. They also sought to work until the age of 65.6 on average, which is higher than the legal retirement age of 60.

The legal retirement age does not restrict work, but the conditions of an employment contract cannot be guaranteed over the age of 60. As such, it is conventional for senior workers to agree to new terms with their employers if they wish to continue working.

Extending the legal retirement age, which was implemented as a non-obligatory measure in 1991 and mandated in 2016, is an ongoing issue in Korea. With the life expectancy of both genders being above 80, many Koreans feel that 60 is too young to retire.

An overwhelming majority (76.3 percent) of the middle-aged respondents in the FKI survey said they have not sufficiently prepared for their postretirement plans.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com