Majority of South Korean workers see value in their jobs

The share of those who held this view rose to about 80% if they earned a monthly income of 6 million won (US$4,895) and above, according to the survey.

These results were revealed in the Korea Social Integration Survey conducted by the Korea Institute of Public Administration as part of a recent report by Statistics Korea.

Year-on-year, workers who viewed their occupations as useful and valuable rose by 13.6 percentage points to 73.2% in 2021, the highest level since 2013 when related statistics were first collated. The share of those who value their job highly, hovering between 50% and 60% in previous years, breached the 70% threshold last year for the first time.

By age group, 79.6% of those in their 30s said that their job has value. This was followed by those in their teens and 20s (78.3%), those in their 40s (77.8%) and those in their 50s (72.8%) and those in their 60s (64.4%).

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The survey also showed a correlation between a higher income and a higher value placed on a job. As high as 81.8% of the group with a monthly income of 6 million won (US$4,895) and above saw value in their work. Those with monthly incomes of 5 million won (US$4,079) to less than 6 million won (US$4,895) and 4 million won (US$3,263) to less than 5 million won (US$4,079) showed 75.8% and 75.1%, respectively. Less than 70% of the group who earns less than 3 million won (US$2,447) a month saw their work as valuable.

The survey was done on 8,000 men and women aged 19 and above last September to October, according to The Dong-a-Ilbo.