Because the world races to remain forward within the deep tech revolution — from AI and semiconductors to quantum computing — innovation has develop into the brand new forex of energy. For a lot of firms, that stress has translated into heavier workloads and extra intense work cultures. But they face an actual dilemma: they will’t merely ease up whereas rivals throughout the globe push tougher to win.
Once I got here throughout information concerning the intense “996” work tradition — working 9 am to 9 pm, six days every week, a 72-hour work week — spreading from China to Silicon Valley, it made me surprise how completely different nations strategy work hours and office cultures within the tech trade. I used to be particularly interested in how issues examine right here in South Korea, the place I’m presently based mostly.
In South Korea, the usual workweek is 40 hours, with as much as 12 hours of extra time, often paid at 1.5 occasions the common fee or extra. Employers who violate these guidelines threat fines, govt imprisonment, and civil legal responsibility.
The 52-hour workweek, launched in 2018 for big firms with over 300 workers and public establishments, was regularly prolonged to all companies and absolutely took impact on January 1, 2025.
Earlier this 12 months, South Korea rolled out a particular prolonged work program that lets workers work past the 52-hour weekly restrict, with each employee consent and authorities approval, as much as 64 hours. For deep tech sectors like semiconductors, approval durations had been briefly prolonged from three to 6 months, although native media stories recommend that only some firms truly took benefit of it. Trying forward, the South Korean authorities plans to reduce these particular exemptions and tighten working-hour rules, at the same time as some lawmakers argue that the present pointers are adequate, per the report.
TechCrunch spoke with a number of tech buyers and founders based mostly in South Korea about how the 52-hour workweek restrict impacts their companies and their R&D tasks as they attempt to compete with international firms.
“The 52-hour workweek is certainly a difficult issue when making funding selections in deep tech sectors,” Yongkwan Lee, CEO of South Korea-based enterprise capital agency Bluepoint Companions, instructed TechCrunch. “That is notably related when investing in globally aggressive sectors like semiconductors, synthetic intelligence, and quantum computing. Labor challenges are notably advanced in these sectors, the place founders and groups typically face intense workloads and lengthy hours throughout essential development phases.”
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At Bluepoint, early-stage investments are sometimes made earlier than the underlying applied sciences are absolutely developed or merchandise are prepared for market. On this context, Lee famous that strict limits on working hours may doubtlessly affect the tempo at which key enterprise milestones are reached.
In South Korea, 70.4% of workers at startup firms responded that they might be prepared to work a further 52 hours per week if ample compensation is supplied, per native stories.
Bohyung Kim, CTO of LeMong, a South Korean startup backed by LG Uplus that delivers agentic AI options to greater than 13,000 small and medium-sized enterprises within the meals and beverage sector, stated the nation’s 52-hour workweek system typically feels extra like a restriction than a safety.
“Engineers work to seek out sensible options to advanced issues,” Kim stated. “Our work isn’t about finishing predefined duties inside mounted hours. It’s about utilizing creativity and deep focus to resolve challenges and create new worth. When an thought strikes or a technical breakthrough occurs, the idea of time disappears. If a system forces you to cease at that second, it breaks the movement and may truly cut back effectivity.”
Kim added that whereas short-term, intense focus is essential as venture deadlines strategy or when refining key algorithms, inflexible authorized limits can typically get in the way in which, together with relying on the sort of engineering position somebody holds. “Even amongst engineers, manufacturing roles in manufacturing differ from R&D positions,” Kim defined. “In manufacturing, productiveness is straight linked to working hours, so schedules have to account for industrial security. Extra time must also be pretty compensated.”
When requested about office flexibility, Huiyong Lee, co-founder of LeMong, which makes remark administration software program, stated he thinks determining a month-to-month common can be extra sensible than adhering strictly to the nation’s 52-hour weekly restrict. He famous that work depth typically varies relying on the stage of R&D and venture timelines in deep tech firms.
“For firms like ours, intensive growth efforts are sometimes required for about two weeks previous to a product launch, after which the workload eases as soon as the product stabilizes,” Lee stated. “A system with month-to-month flexibility would permit us to work round 60 hours per week earlier than a launch and 40 hours per week afterward, sustaining a median of 52 hours whereas guaranteeing operational effectivity,” Lee continued. “I additionally imagine it’s price contemplating differentiated requirements for deep tech and R&D-focused firms. On the similar time, for startups with fewer than 10–20 workers, it’s important to ascertain extra versatile standards to accommodate their distinctive operational wants.”
Kim additionally famous that there’s a clear hyperlink between efficiency and hours labored. Excessive-performing group members typically are inclined to put in longer hours, he stated. However reasonably than in search of rewards for the additional time, these high performers give attention to reaching outcomes and advancing rapidly throughout the firm.
“Engineers are way more motivated to dive in when their efforts are acknowledged, whether or not by means of efficiency bonuses, inventory choices, or acknowledgment of technical contributions,” Kim stated. “In high-tech, R&D, and IT industries, in addition to in globally aggressive corporations the place technical experience is essential, selections about versatile work hours must be pushed by market logic.”
One other Seoul-based enterprise capitalist, who invests in startups, downplayed the affect of the 52-hour workweek restrict on funding selections.
“In the mean time, there don’t seem like any main issues. Whereas it’s at all times troublesome to foretell how labor rules or monitoring practices may evolve, many enterprise firms at this time don’t strictly monitor workers’ working hours. To my understanding, there’s presently no requirement for firms to submit formal proof proving that workers keep throughout the 52-hour weekly restrict.”
If an worker had been to file a grievance, the VC famous, “the absence of detailed time data may increase compliance questions. That stated, most R&D or deeptech corporations usually worker extremely self-motivated professionals who handle their very own schedules responsibly, so such circumstances appear comparatively unusual.”
The larger problem seemingly lies in additional labor-intensive industries, resembling logistics, supply, or manufacturing, the place a big portion of staff earn near the minimal wage. “In these sectors, the 52-hour workweek regulation can considerably improve labor prices on account of necessary extra time pay and paid depart. Consequently, sustaining productiveness and reaching economies of scale can develop into tougher for companies working underneath tight margins,” this investor stated.
How different nations work
To grasp the place South Korea’s 52-hour restrict matches within the international panorama — and why its deep tech firms really feel squeezed between competing pressures — it’s price analyzing how different main tech hubs regulate working hours.
In Germany, the UK, and France, customary workweeks usually vary from 33 to 48 hours. In Australia and Canada, the usual workweek is 38 and 40 hours, respectively, with necessary extra time pay, providing a steadiness between labor rights and office flexibility.
Within the U.S., the Truthful Labor Requirements Act (FLSA) units a typical 40-hour workweek. Non-exempt workers earn time-and-a-half for any extra time, and there’s no restrict on whole hours. (In California, the principles solely require double-time pay for sure extra time.)
In China, the usual work schedule can be 40 hours per week, or 8 hours a day. Extra time is paid at greater charges: roughly 150% of normal pay on weekdays, 200% on weekends, and 300% on public holidays. In Japan, the usual workweek is 40 hours, with limits of 45 hours of extra time per thirty days and 370 hours per 12 months underneath regular circumstances. Employers who exceed these limits can face fines and administrative penalties, as in different nations.
Singapore’s workweek is barely longer at 44 hours, with a most of 72 extra time hours per thirty days. If unfold evenly, that’s roughly 62 hours per week. Extra time pay charges are related: 1.5 occasions for weekdays, 2 occasions for relaxation days, and three occasions for public holidays.
South Korea’s 52-hour cap sits in the course of this spectrum, stricter than the U.S. and Singapore however extra versatile than a lot of Europe. Both means, for deep tech founders competing globally, the query isn’t simply concerning the quantity — it’s about whether or not inflexible weekly limits can accommodate the extreme, uneven workflows that characterize early-stage R&D.