Case study: How KCC promotes work-life balance among employees

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2018/19 Sustainability Report KCC identified a range of material issues, such as ethical and legal compliance, supporting suppliers and promoting mutual growth, customer health and safety, developing and supplying eco-friendly and energy saving products. Among these, promoting work-life balance among employees stands out as a key material issue for KCC.

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards              

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups KCC engages with: 

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics KCC engaged with its stakeholders through interviews to identify key sustainability issues, and online and offline surveys to prioritise the issues.

What actions were taken by KCC to promote work-life balance among employees?

In its 2018/19 Sustainability Report KCC reports that it took the following actions for promoting work-life balance among employees:

• Providing a flexible work schedule
• In line with the change in maximum working hours from 68 hours per week to 52 hours as of July 2018, KCC established various systems to promote a healthy ‘work-life balance’ and create a sound and efficient working environment for its employees. As a part of the Healthy Corporate Culture Campaign, KCC organised ‘1 · 1 · 9 Campaign’ (only the ‘1st’, ‘1 drink only’, finish ‘before 9:00 pm’) and ‘Jeong · Jeong · Jeong Campaign’ (coming to work ‘on time’, leaving the work ‘on time’, using leaves ‘in full’), as well as Family Day on Wednesday where employees leave early to spend time with their families and ‘Casual Dress Day’ on Friday for working in comfortable clothes. On July 1, 2018 after the revision of the Labour Standards Act, KCC introduced the PC-off system and work schedule management system to prevent working overtime and encourage its employees to leave work on time as well as Optional Work Schedule System where employees work on their own schedule and the ‘Flexible Work Schedule System’ for those who work in departments with a high chance of working overtime due to project-related works, to help them improve their level of engagement and efficiency in work management.

• Offering employee benefits
• To improve the quality of life for its executives and staff, KCC enacts various efforts at a corporate-wide level including private residences and dormitories as well as transportation expenses on weekends for those who live away from their family. KCC also offers four mandatory insurances and medical expenses, support for various celebrations and condolences, the retirement pension system, and education and training support for self-development. In addition, KCC provides opportunities to relieve stress and boost teamwork for its employees by supporting various employee clubs and offering accommodation/leisure facilities such as hotel, condominium and campsites.

• Supporting family life
• To help reduce the burden on employees with children and to resolve social issues such as low birth rate and career gap for females, KCC is strengthening its internal activities for maternity protection. In case of family matters such as sickness, KCC’s employees can use Family Care Leave and, in accordance with legal standards, 100% of the regular wage is paid to employees on parental leave and those who requested reduced work hours during pregnancy for 60 days during the period of parental leave, so they can focus on childcare. At KCC, employees can use parental leave regardless of their gender without any pressure. In 2018, a total of 33 employees including 5 male employees took their parental leave, and there were no resulting cases of discrimination or inequality at work.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 401-2 Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees

2) Disclosure 401-3 Parental leave

Disclosure 401-2 Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Business theme: Earnings, wages and benefits

Disclosure 401-3 Parental leave corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
• Business theme: Parental leave
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Business theme: Parental leave

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

FBRH GRI Standards Certified & IEMA recognised Sustainability Course | Venue: London LSE

By registering for the next 2-day FBRH GRI Standards Certified & IEMA recognised course you will be taking the first step in gaining the many benefits of sustainability reporting.

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by KCC, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to KCC: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.