This company is asking its executives to work 6 days a week, choose either Saturday or Sunday extra

South Korean tech giant Samsung is asking execs to work 6 days a week

Samsung is ordering its executives to work six days a week. The South Korean tech giant posted its worst earnings in more than a decade, and the change from a five-day workweek to a six-day week will “inject a sense of crisis” among the workforce, the company hopes, according to The Korea Economic Daily.

The six-day workweek will be implemented for executives across all divisions. Some will start as early as this week, according to Korea Economic Daily, which first reported the story. Executives will have the option of choosing either Saturday or Sunday as their sixth working day.

“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,” a Samsung Group executive told the Korean outlet.

The report described Samsung’s situation as “emergency mode.” The tech giant’s net profit fell 73% in its latest quarter, thanks in part to rising oil prices, high borrowing costs and geopolitical factors. Its operating profit plunged 85% last year, making it the weakest year for Samsung since 2009.

According to The Korea Economic Daily, the new schedule is effective immediately for the technology division. The company’s finance division is expected to implement it soon. Meanwhile, many other divisions have been working six days a week voluntarily since January.