Survey on Operating Middle-aged and Elderly Manpower in Major Corporations
“High labor costs and decreased work performance are burdens”, During the process of resuming labor-management discussions and discussing pension reform, the issue of extending employment for individuals aged 60 and above has emerged as a current concern. However, major corporations have shown a high level of negative perception towards employing elderly workers. In particular, more than half of major corporations are facing personnel difficulties, and it is pointed out that improvements in systems such as performance-based wage systems and enhancing employment flexibility need to precede the extension of employment in frontline companies.
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed the results of the survey ‘Survey on the Operating Status of Middle-aged and Elderly Manpower in Major Corporations,’ conducted on 255 major corporations with over 300 employees, stating that only 29.4% of companies employed individuals aged 60 or above. Among them, only 10.2% were continuously employed as regular workers, with most companies found not to employ individuals aged 60 and above.
In a national survey conducted by research firms such as Korea Research and Korea Research on over 1,000 adults aged 18 and above last year, 84% expressed support for gradually extending the legal retirement age of workers who are currently 60 years old to 65, showing a significantly higher approval rate compared to the opposition (13%).
On the other hand, companies still hold a negative view towards middle-aged and elderly workers aged 55 and above. 78.4% of respondent companies answered that “the work motivation and attitude of middle-aged and elderly workers have decreased compared to before.” Only 0.4% of companies stated that it remained the same as before, and 21.6% said it had improved.
The negative perception of companies towards middle-aged and elderly workers is analyzed to be due to managerial difficulties. 37.6% of companies cited “high labor costs” as a major burden, followed by concerns such as a decrease in work performance and efficiency (23.5%), reduction in the scale of new recruitments (22.4%), personnel difficulties due to delayed retirement (16.5%), and burdens related to health and safety management (15.3%).
Yoo Il-ho, Team Leader of Employment and Labor Policy at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pointed out that “the extension of employment in a situation where the internal personnel systems and culture related to elderly workers have not yet been established in major corporations could escalate intergenerational conflicts regarding quality employment opportunities.” He emphasized that “reforms towards a performance-based wage system for employment extension and the introduction of systems that increase flexibility in working conditions should be carried out as prerequisites.”