SK Telecom tells employees to get back to the office

Companies are starting to put limits on the number of days employee's are allowed to work from home, some three years after the Covid-19 outbreak first pushed people out of the office.

A person passes an SK Telecom store in Seoul on July 29. [NEWS1]

Companies are starting to put limits on the number of days employee's are allowed to work from home, some three years after the Covid-19 outbreak first pushed people out of the office.

SK Telecom will reduce the number of days it allows its employees to work from home to once a week, it said Monday.

SK Telecom first launched its “Work From Anywhere” scheme in February 2020, allowing employees to work from home as little or as often as they wanted. The new limit will be enforced from next month.

In principle, employees will have to work at the office, however, the company will also allow them to work at smaller offices that it operates across Seoul and Gyeonggi.

Employees with medical conditions will be allowed more flexibility when it comes to the number of days they can work from home.

SK Telecom’s goal through the change is to focus more on transforming into an AI company by reuniting workers into the office, it said.

Kakao is also readjusting its system allowing employees to work from home from March. Most employees will be required to return to the office, but some exceptions will be made.

BY JUNG SI-NAE [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]