• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.297-323
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• 2011

Part-time jobs in Sweden are highly feminized yet are in fair conditions in terms of job security, earnings, and collective representation. Three points are considered to be important to understand why part-time work in Sweden carries such positive characteristics. First, the part-time work in Sweden is widely spread not as a result of employers' need for labor flexibilization but as means to enhance the work-life balance, a value pursued within a broader social policy package to change the breadwinner model. Second, discrimination against part-time workers is restrained in Sweden because the boundary between part-time and full-time is not conspicuous. Most of part-time jobs are occupied by regular workers who exert the right to part-time work, hence may go back to the full-time status any time. Third, the regulation on overtime work of part-time workers as well as full-time workers is strong. It is largely agreed among researchers that part-time work contributed greatly to an increase of female employment rate in Sweden. Since the 1970s, the increased availability of part-time jobs induced married women who used to be economically inactive to the labor market and maintained them to be economically active throughout the child rearing period. From the gender perspective, one may still raise issues regarding part-time work in Sweden such as persistent feminization and strong occupational sex segregation. However, the observed trend shows that the part-time work in Sweden has functioned more as a stepping stone to the full-time work for women than as a women's trap.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.277-306
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• 2017

This article empirically explores the impact of minijobs in the wake of the Hartz reform in Germany on women's employment relationship. Theoretically it is of great significance to examine whether the minijobs play an active role as a bridge in leading the minijobbers to regular, socially secured jobs or not. Several interviews as well as secondary data I could get during my sabbatical in 2015 were used to test the theory. One of the main findings was the fact that the minijob labor market opened doors wide for women in Germany, particularly for career-interrupted women, students or pensioners. However, the minijob can easily become a trap of lowest income and poverty for women. Most women minjobbers cannot go over to regular, socially secured jobs. Especially in terms of collective industrial relations, it considerably damages the power of industrial unions and the legal binding force of collective agreement. In conclusion, this study makes it clear that the labor market segmentation theory rather than the transitional labor market theory is valid in accounting for the reality of minijob in Germany. In other words, the minijob in Germany has a Toijan Horse Effect. It also suggests, from a practical viewpoint, that German industrial unions or works councils organize the minijobbers and that the coverage of collective agreements be extended to the minijobbers. Consequently, the time-selective part-timer model put into practice in Korea in 2014 is not only invalid but also undesirable.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.129-164
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• 2017

This article is an exploratory study on the recent growth of short-hours part-time work in Korea. The short-hours part-time work has been rapidly growing among low-educated women over sixty, particularly among bereaved or divorced women, contrary to the expectation of the government that encouraged the part-time work by means of work-family balance for working mothers or middle-aged women who experienced career interruption. The short-hours part-time jobs are concentrated in social service industry, mostly elderly care service jobs, and their working conditions are extremely poor, mostly low-wage jobs with no social insurances except for health insurance. In this study, we discuss why the short-hours part-time work has grown so fast in Korea since the mid 2000s. Using various governmental statistics, we examine the effects of the labor demand and supply situations during the time period, the legal context that is related with the exempt clause of the labor law, and the institutional context related with the government's public job creation projects for the elderly. We suggest some public policies needed to slow down the growth of the short-hours part-time jobs and to elevate their working conditions.

• The Korean Journal of Coaching Psychology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.1-26
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Psychological Difficulties Scale of Working Moms(PDSWM). In the first study, 69items and 17 factors of the inventory were obtained based on interview, open-ended questionnaires. In the second study, the on-line surveys from 306 working mom was carried to analyze factor structure of the PDSWM. The final result showed that the 12 factor model with 64 items was appropriate. The third study was collected from 638 working mom and in order to make certain the cross-validity of the inventory, the group was divided into two groups (each group with 319 employees). The results of exploratory factor analyses using data of group 1 showed that the 8 factor structure with 48 items was appropriate. Also the results of confirmatory factor analysis using data of group 2 showed that the 8 factor structure indicated a satisfactory fit. Final 8 factors were as follows: 1) Feeling Apologetic to family members 2) Discrimination at workplace 3) burnt-out: both body and mind 4) Unequal distribution of child-rearing and house chore labor 5) Conflict with the babysitter/grandparents 6) Limit in further strengthening work competency 7) Social prejudice 8) Difficulty being on time for work. The PDSWM was significantly correlated with various criteria such as organizational commitment, life satisfaction, and work engagement. Based on such findings, implications, limitations, and the suggestions for future study were discussed.

• Economic Analysis
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.96-131
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• 2019

Initially entering into the job market during hard times with unfavorable market institutions has a persistent, negative effect on young workers' subsequent employment. This paper analyzes hysteresis in youth unemployment by using a composite fixed-effect panel data model. Data sets for the age-cohort unemployment rate and for labor market institutions are constructed from OECD statistics from 21 advanced economies, including Korea, from 1985 to 2017, and are then readjusted to match with the peculiarities of the Korean market. In Korea, with a less-aggressive stance on active labor market policy spending, a male worker who experiences a one percentage point higher youth unemployment rate when he was 20- to 29-years-old has a 0.146 percentage point higher unemployment rate at the ages of 30-to 34-years-old and a 0.035 percentage point higher unemployment rate at the age of 35- to 39-years-old. These figures are larger than those in most countries that have more aggressive spending schemes. These findings point out that hysteresis in the Korean labor market can be mitigated by expanding active labor market policy spending more aggressively and more effectively.

• Economic Analysis
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.66-122
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• 2019

As the Korean economy grew, employment expanded steadily, with the number of economically active people increasing and the employment-to-population rate also increasing. However, the working age population started to decline in 2017, and the employment of women and young people has been sluggish. The proportion of non-salaried workers in Korea is much higher than in other OECD countries, and is also excessive, considering Korea's income levels. In addition, the proportion of non-regular workers and the proportion of workers employed at small companies are particularly high among salaried workers. In light of these characteristics of Korean employment, the urgent problems facing the employment structure can be summarized by the deepening dual structure of the labor market, the increase in youth unemployment, sluggish female employment figures, and an excessive share of self-employment. Overall, it is seen that labor market duality is the main structural factor of the employment problems in Korea. Therefore, in order to fundamentally address this employment problem, it is necessary to concentrate policy efforts on alleviating labor market duality.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.115-128
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• 2022

This research aims to analyze of the Effect of Army Start-up Support Program (hereinafter, ASSP) on the level of discharged or scheduled to be discharged soldier's satisfaction of their military service. In addition, this paper also seeks to elaborate on how those Army-supported programs, such as Start-up competitions, mentoring, camp, and school, can increase the level of military service satisfaction. By participating in those programs, service members can leverage their time in the military to make opportunity for their future career rather than consider it as a career break, increasing their military service satisfaction. Finally, on the basis of findings, this paper advocates for expanding Service Members startup Support Program of government agencies and municipalities and enhancing younger population's individual capabilities through ASSP. This research used ASSPs, such as Army Start-up competitions, mentoring, camp, and school, as independent variables. For controlled variables, this paper takes demographic elements such as status and career path of the participants. Our empirical analysis reveals that ASSP has a direct impact on the military service satisfaction, supported by the statistics from the hierarchical regression analysis. However, the research also suggests that individual' military service satisfaction from ASSP may differ from one another in accordance with the controlled variables such as status and career of the participants. This paper proves that ASSP can play a substantial role in enhancing service members' capabilities during their time in military and that Army fosters talent and connects itself to the nation and society. In addition, this research could contribute to increasing employment rate of and expanding Start-up support program of government agencies and municipalities for younger population by providing empirical results which advocates the latter's necessity.