I don’t know where you’re at, what your job position is… or if you’re working at all. There’s a chance that you’re in a company that has introduced (or intends to do so) a four-day workweek. Samsung is not that company. Quite the opposite, Samsung is now reportedly moving in the opposite direction towards a six-day workweek (via Business Insider).
Samsung is rolling out a six-day workweek for executives across its divisions, starting as soon as this week, as reported by Asian media outlets. The move comes amidst various challenges faced by the tech behemoth, including rising oil prices, high borrowing costs, and the sharp depreciation of the South Korean won, leading the company to describe its situation as “emergency mode”.
An executive from Samsung Group explained: “Considering that performance of our major units, including Samsung Electronics Co., fell short of expectations in 2023, we are introducing the six-day work week for executives to inject a sense of crisis and make all-out efforts to overcome this crisis”.
According to the report, some executives in other divisions have been voluntarily working six-day weeks since the beginning of the year. Samsung Electronics executives will have the option to work either Saturday or Sunday, while non-executive employees will continue with a five-day workweek.
Despite challenges faced in 2023, Samsung recently reclaimed the top spot for global smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2024. The company is set to release its first-quarter earnings results on April 30 and is cautiously optimistic about a rebound in smartphone demand for the year.
