36% of night workers say they are concerned about losing more than 1 million won in monthly income if work is restricted.

While a bill to protect night workers, including early morning delivery, was proposed to the National Assembly, an analysis was conducted that uniform regulations could lead to a decrease in income and an increase in overall working hours.

On the 6th, the Korean Society of Business Management announced the results of a study conducted on 940 night-time workers, 'Comparison of work environments by occupation and policy recommendations for labor providers and night-time workers.'

According to the study, 36.0% of respondents were concerned that if night work was restricted, their monthly income would decrease by more than 1 million won.

By field, the response rate was highest in cargo transportation and delivery (59.8%), followed by manufacturing and production (38.9%), logistics center and security and security (36.0%), accommodation and tourism (33.7%), and hypermarket inventory, display and management (33.3%). Restaurants and other late-night services had the lowest response rate at 26.7%.

Among cargo transportation and courier workers, 84.3% of respondents who expected a monthly income decrease of more than 1 million won said that they were willing to take on a second job or take on additional work to preserve their income.

The society analyzed, “Even if the number of night shifts is legally limited, actual total working hours may actually increase if people find other jobs or engage in additional economic activities to make a living,” and added, “If a uniform limit on the number of night shifts is introduced, there is a risk of causing long working hours.”

Additionally, according to the survey, 94.4% of night workers responded that they voluntarily chose to work at night.

The most common reason for choosing night work was 'high pay' (48.8%). This was followed by ‘saving living expenses and necessary income’ (25.9%) and ‘not having a daytime job’ (12.2%).

74.8% of respondents said they wanted to maintain the current number of night shifts, and 11.7% said they wanted to increase it. The response that they wanted to reduce was 13.5%.

In a separate study, the society suggested that rather than providing uniform support for social insurance premiums, customized support should be improved, focusing on vulnerable occupations such as truck owners, home appliance delivery and installation, and children's school buses.

In addition, he emphasized that information and communication software (SW), golf course caddies, and courier services have relatively good work environments, and that a differentiated policy approach that takes into account actual income and work environment is necessary.