This document discusses smart work, which allows employees to work remotely from co-working hubs located near their homes. Technological advances have changed how and where people work. Smart work initiatives in some countries aim to capitalize on benefits like improved productivity and work-life balance. The document outlines benefits of smart work for employees, like reduced commuting times, and for employers, like cost savings and a wider talent pool. It provides examples of smart work programs in countries like the Netherlands and analyzes South Korea's efforts to change its traditional work culture through smart work initiatives like KT Corp's program.

1. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
1
Chris
Leong
August
2014

2. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
Contents
1
Executive
Summary
.........................................................................................................................
3
2
Introduction
....................................................................................................................................
4
2.1
Changing
Nature
Of
Workplace
...............................................................................................
4
2.2
Call
to
Action
............................................................................................................................
4
3
Smart
Work
.....................................................................................................................................
5
3.1
The
Benefits
of
Smart
Work
.....................................................................................................
5
3.2
Smart
Work
Australia
...............................................................................................................
6
3.3
International
Smart
Work
Initiatives
........................................................................................
6
4
Smart
Work
and
social
Change
in
Korea
.........................................................................................
8
5
Case
Study:
KT
Corp
......................................................................................................................
10
5.1
KT
Background
.......................................................................................................................
10
5.2
KT’s
Strategic
Direction
Towards
Smart
Work
.......................................................................
10
5.3
KT
Smart
Work
.......................................................................................................................
11
5.4
KT
Smart
Work
Performance
.................................................................................................
11
5.5
KT
Talent
................................................................................................................................
13
6
Conclusion
.....................................................................................................................................
14
7
References
....................................................................................................................................
15
8
Appendices
....................................................................................................................................
18
2

3. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
3
1 Executive
Summary
Exponential
Information
Communication
Technology
(ICT)
advances
are
changing
every
aspect
of
people’s
lives.
The
workplace
is
no
exception
and
smart
work
centres
represent
a
significant
innovation
in
this
area.
Smart
work
is
a
mode
of
working
that
allows
employees
to
perform
telework
in
a
co-­‐working
facility
that
is
located
close
to
the
employee's
residence.
This
“smart
work
hub”
provides
“smart
workers”
with
desk
spaces,
wireless
computer
networks,
video
conferencing
facilities
and
other
office
support
facilities.
Smart
work
has
numerous
benefits
for
both
staff
and
organisations.
It
can:
• Increase
work-­‐life
balance
which
will
improve
employee
performance
and
motivation;
• Promote
innovation
and
collaboration
amongst
employees;
• Reduce
office
space
requirements
and
associated
costs
for
organisations;
and
• Lower
city
congestion
rates
thereby
reducing
carbon
emissions.
Furthermore,
smart
work
represents
an
opportunity
for
increasing
diversity
in
the
workplace.
For
example,
in
Australia
it
can
link
regional
workers
to
urban
centres
by
removing
the
obstacle
of
distance.
Smart
work
has
been
adopted
successfully
in
a
number
of
countries
already,
notably
the
Netherlands,
where
the
program
was
first
started
and
where
millions
of
euros
have
been
saved
every
year
from
reductions
in
urban
congestion
as
a
result
of
the
program.
In
South
Korea,
smart
work
has
only
recently
been
adopted,
but
has
already
shown
significant
results.
There,
the
aim
is
to
change
the
social
fabric
of
that
society-­‐-­‐from
its
traditional
hierarchical
and
collective
culture
toward
a
flatter
and
more
individualistic
one
that
is
more
flexible
and
innovative,
and
better
able
to
compete
in
the
global
marketplace.
However,
ingrained
and
out-­‐dated
organisational
and
cultural
attitudes
pose
a
significant
barrier
to
the
successful
adoption
of
smart
working
practices.
Through
a
case
study
analysis
of
KT
Corp
in
Korea,
this
paper
will
explore
how
those
attitudes
can
be
overcome,
should
organisations
align
smart
work
practices
toward
specific
strategic
goals
and
implement
such
programs
with
the
active
participation
of
employees.
The
KT
case
demonstrates,
through
independently
verified
surveys
along
with
external
awards
and
acknowledgment,
that
improvements
in
work-­‐life
balance,
innovation
and
productivity
as
well
as
diversity
can
be
achieved.
As
Australia
has
only
just
begun
to
implement
smart
work
programs
and
will
be
assessing
the
economic
benefits
of
such
programs
accordingly,
Australian
organisations
should
take
note
of
cases
such
as
this
one,
where
governmental
and
organisational
support
of
smart
work
has
been
invaluable
to
the
successful
implementation
of
this
modern
work
practice.
Finally,
organisations
should
take
note
of
the
opportunity
that
adopting
smart
work
represents
for
becoming
innovators,
by
adopting
best
practice
for
working
in
the
information
age,
in
order
to
attract
the
finest
talent
of
the
future.

4. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
4
2 Introduction
2.1 Changing
Nature
Of
Workplaces
Technological
change
is
occurring
at
an
exponential
rate.
It
is
changing
the
way
that
we
live
our
lives
in
profound
ways.
We
can
shop
for
any
goods
online
in
global
marketplace;
from
groceries
to
clothes
to
high-­‐
ticket
items
such
as
electrical
goods.
We
do
banking,
pay
bills
and
buy
insurance
policies
online.
We
can
educate
ourselves
online
through
digital
TAFE
and
university
courses.
We
socialize
online
through
Facebook,
twitter,
and
other
social
networking
sites.
We
network
for
jobs
on
LinkedIn
and
other
job
search
websites.
People
meet
and
marry
online
through
dating
websites.
And
we
can
do
all
of
these
activities,
from
consuming,
socialising,
networking,
educating
and
match
making
in
any
location
on
portable
devices
such
as
smart
phones,
tablet
computers
and
notebook
PCs
so
long
as
we
have
a
viable
internet
connection.
In
short
we
live
in
a
digital
age
where
every
aspect
of
our
lives
can
be
transacted
digitally.
This
digital
age
is
also
affecting
the
way
we
work.
Improvements
in
online
security
and
the
rise
of
cloud
computing
applications
allow
workers
to
operate
from
home-­‐-­‐or
any
location
that
has
an
internet
connection.
WiFi
technology
and
broadband
infrastructure
rollouts
in
every
developed
country
in
the
world
(such
as
the
NBN
in
Australia)
are
making
this
mode
of
work
more
viable
than
ever
before.
Workers
are
thus
not
bound
by
constraints
of
geography
or
time;
rather
they
are
knowledge
workers,
autonomous
from
traditional
organisational
structures
and
spaces.
This
autonomy
has
the
potential
to
improve
work/life
balance,
and
evidence
would
suggest
that
this
also
greatly
improves
worker
performance
and
motivation
(Maitland
and
Thomson,
2011).
Furthermore,
this
mode
of
work
can
have
a
significant
impact
on
the
environment-­‐-­‐reducing
carbon
emissions
by
negating
the
need
to
travel
as
well
as
reducing
natural
resource
consumption,
through,
for
example,
utilising
a
paperless
office
(Maitland
and
Thomson,
2011).
However
Maitland
and
Thomson
(2011)
argue
that
organisations
have
not
fully
realised
the
potential
of
Hub
Melbourne
co-­‐working
space
(Institute
For
Sustainable
Futures,
2014)
this
new
work
mode,
being
bound
to
a
command-­‐and-­‐
control
mentality
in
the
belief
that
giving
workers
too
much
autonomy
invites
them
to
slack
off.
However,
research
suggests
that
there
will
be
a
power
shift
from
institutions
to
individuals
with
ideas
and
insight
becoming
a
worker’s
major
currency,
being
transferable
through
global
data
networks,
rather
than
the
traditional
institutional
commodity
of
time
(Deloitte
and
AMP
Capital,
July
2013).
Thus,
organisations
cannot
ignore
this
emerging
trend.
2.2 Call
to
Action
To
this
end,
there
have
been
a
number
of
initiatives
in
a
few
countries,
by
both
public
and
private
enterprise,
to
initiate
“smart
work”
practices
within
a
“smart
city”,
in
order
to
capitalise
on
the
potential
benefits
in
productivity,
improved
work/life
balance
quality
and
environmental
sustainability.
A
smart
city
is
an
investment
in
human
and
social
capital,
modern
information
communication
technology
(ICT),
and
traditional
transport,
to
improve
life
quality
and
fuel
sustainable
growth
through
participatory
action
and
engagement
(Caragliu
et
al.
2009).
Smart
work
is
a
mode
of
working
that
makes
the
best
use
of
both
ICT
and
traditional
infrastructure
to
facilitate
the
autonomy
of
the
knowledge
worker,
and
in
some
cases
to
promote
real
social
change.
Smart
work
initiatives,
if
managed
successfully,
have
the
potential
to
change
traditional
organisational
perspectives
on
managing
their
workforce.

5. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
5
3 Smart
Work
3.1 The
Benefits
of
Smart
Work
Smart
work
is
a
mode
of
working
that
allows
workers
to
perform
telework
in
a
co-­‐working
facility
(Regional
Development
Australia,
2013).
Central
to
the
smart
work
concept
is
the
provision
of
a
smart
work
centre
or
hub.
Smart
work
centres
offer
a
space
to
work
outside
of
the
office
and
away
from
home.
Ideally
they
are
located
in
key
geographic
locations
within
20
minutes’
travel
time
from
the
worker’s
residence,
and
provide
desk
spaces,
wireless
computer
networks
video
conferencing
facilities
and
other
office
support
facilities
(Regional
Development
Australia,
2013).
Smart
work
hubs
have
numerous
benefits
for
both
employers
and
employees.
For
employees,
they
negate
some
of
the
disadvantages
from
performing
telework
at
home
such
as:
• OH&S
issues;
• Home
distractions
such
as
children
and
housework;
• Lack
of
ICT
resources
and
high
internet
speed;
• Transferral
of
working
costs
to
the
individual;
• Isolation
and
lack
of
collaboration
opportunities;
and
• Difficulty
in
billing
hours,
leverage
mechanisms
within
company
promotion
and
wage
incrimination.
(Institute
For
Sustainable
Futures,
2014;
CoActiv8,
2014;
and
Regional
Development
Australia,
2013).
The
advantages
for
an
employee
are:
• Employees
have
feeling
of
‘going
to
work’
and
avoiding
home
distractions;
• Employees
are
supported
by
appropriate
OHS;
• The
ability
to
work
closer
to
services
such
as
day
care
and
disability
services;
• Improved
health
and
wellbeing
due
to
stress
reduction,
by
being
able
to
spend
more
quality
time
with
family
as
a
result
of
less
commuting;
• Financial
savings
due
to
less
commuting;
• Professional
opportunities
to
work
with
employers
far
from
home;
and
Hub
Adelaide
co-­‐working
space
(Institute
For
Sustainable
Futures,
2014)
• Connection
to
community
affording
individuals
a
sense
of
belonging
and
opportunities
to
network
with
other
knowledge
workers
and
the
local
community.
(Institute
For
Sustainable
Futures,
2014;
CoActiv8,
2014;
and
Regional
Development
Australia,
2013).
The
advantages
for
employers
are:
• Becoming
employers
of
choice
through
flexible
work
practice
and
leading
to
higher
engagement
and
retention
of
talent;
• Increased
employee
productivity
as
a
result
of
less
office
distractions
as
well
as
more
work
performed
due
to
less
time
spent
commuting;
• Wider
talent
pool
able
to
include
those
in
remote
locations
and
older
employees;
• Significant
workspace
cost
savings
through
hot
desk
and
a
flexible
workspace,
lowering
occupancy
and
usage
rates
of
standard
office
buildings;
• Reduced
utilities
costs
such
as
electricity;
• Reduced
absenteeism
because
employees
can
work
from
home
even
if
ill;
• Mitigation
of
OHS
concerns
because
smart
work
hubs
provide
a
controlled
and
safe
environment.
(Institute
For
Sustainable
Futures,
2014;
CoActiv8,
2014;
and
Regional
Development
Australia,
2013).
Additionally,
smart
work
hubs
not
only
afford
a
space
that
will
accommodate
knowledge
workers
but
will
alleviate
some
of
the
out-­‐dated
organisational
attitudes
suggested
Maitland
and
Thomson
above
by

6. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
6
providing
organisations
some
of
the
‘control’
lost
to
the
knowledge
worker
by
providing
them
autonomy
but
within
a
more
structured
environment.
3.2 Smart
Work
Australia
The
above
benefits
to
employers
and
employees
have
been
supported
by
a
lot
of
qualitative
and
quantitative
evidence
collected
by
the
institutions
cited
above.
There
are
also
four
major
research
groups
formed
within
Australia
in
2013
addressing
the
issue:
• The
Sustainable
Digital
Cities
Network
(SDCN);
• Australia
Anywhere
Worker
Research
Network;
• Teleworkforce
Participation
and
Social
Inclusion
Network;
and
• Telework
Leadership
and
Management
Network.
(Regional
Development
Australia,
2013).
In
Australia
there
are
a
number
of
significant
smart
work
initiatives
only
recently
underway
by
a
number
of
public
organisations.
In
2013
Regional
Development
Australia
commenced
The
Digital
Work
Hub
Project
with
the
aim
of
studying
the
economic
and
social
benefits
of
connecting
the
rapidly
growing
locale
of
South
East
Queensland
(SEQ)
to
Brisbane
(the
traditional
centre
of
Queensland’s
economic
activity)
via
smart
work
hubs
in
Moreton
Bay,
Sunshine
Coast,
Logan,
and
the
Gold
Coast
(Regional
Development
Australia,
2013).
Their
report
has
identified
significant
direct
and
indirect
economic
value
(worth
hundreds
of
$millions),
as
well
as
infrastructure
savings
and
environmental
benefits
(by
reducing
traffic
congestion)
inherent
in
implementing
smart
work
programs
and
making
policy
recommendations
for
building
a
smart
work
network
in
SEQ
(Regional
Development
Australia,
2013).
In
NSW
the
Institute
For
Sustainable
Futures
has
conducted
a
significant
study
on
the
benefits
of
smart
work
centres
(Institute
For
Sustainable
Futures,
2014)
and
a
smart
work
pilot
program
will
be
implemented
by
the
NSW
government
as
a
priority
initiative
under
the
NSW
Economic
Development
framework
(NSW
Government
Trade
and
Investment,
2014).
The
pilot
program
is
expected
to
be
operational
by
31
December
2014
and
is
located
in
five
locations
in
Western
Sydney
and
the
NSW
central
coast:
Penrith,
Rouse
Hill,
Oran
Park,
Gosford
and
Wyong
(NSW
Government
Trade
and
Investment,
2014).
The
pilot
will
examine
five
major
performance
indicators
to
see
if
smart
work
hubs
can:
• Increase
business
productivity
and
revenue;
• Decrease
infrastructure
costs;
• Promote
regional
economic
development;
• Introduce
new
technology
and
skills
to
NSW;
and
• Enhance
development
capacity
through
cross
fertilisation
of
industries.
(NSW
Government
Trade
and
Investment,
2014)
In
addition
to
these
major
public
enterprises,
there
are
a
number
of
private
smart
work
hub
networks
operating
already
across
Australia.
A
major
player
is
the
Third
Spaces
Group,
which
includes
Hub
Australia
(CoActiv8,
2014).
Hub
Australia
is
part
of
a
global
hub
network
that
consists
of
40
hubs,
spans
5
continents
and
has
over
5000
members
(Hub
Australia
Website,
2014).
Hub
Australia
operates
smart
work
hubs
in
Melbourne,
Sydney,
and
Adelaide
and
offers
its
members
access
to
its
entire
worldwide
network
of
hubs
(Hub
Australia
Website,
2014).
3.3 International
Smart
Work
Initiatives
Although
the
smart
work
concept
may
be
new
to
Australia
it
has
been
implemented
Hub
Sydney
co-­‐working
space
(Institute
For
Sustainable
Futures,
2014)
successfully

7. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
7
internationally.
In
Amsterdam,
where
it
was
first
implemented
in
1996,
significant
successes
have
been
reported:
• Public
office
space
reduced
by
a
third;
• Traffic
congestion
significantly
reduced;
and
• The
government
has
saved
more
than
€10 million
($14
million)
a
year
as
a
result
of
these
reductions.
(Nickless,
2013)
Based
on
the
success
of
smart
work
in
Amsterdam,
South
Korea
has
committed
to
a
smart
work
program
in
order
to
change
Korean
working
habits.
In
Korea,
smart
work
has
become
a
major
government
initiative,
as
well
as
a
significant
economic
driver
when
coupled
with
Korea’s
dynamic
uptake
of
ICT
and
infrastructure
that
supports
ICT
use.
Interest
is
high
in
the
Korean
market
for
smart
work:
for
example,
The
Smart
Work
Mobile
Office
Fair
in
Seoul
has
attracted
over
30,000
visitors
per
annum
since
2011
(Smart
Work
Mobile
Office
Fair
2014).
Korea’s
rise
as
a
modern
manufacturing
and
technological
powerhouse
means
that
the
world
is
now
looking
at
Korea’s
lessons
on
smart
work
(Nickless,
2013;
Regional
Development
Australia,
2013).
This
paper
will
further
explore
smart
work
and
its
social
impact
in
the
Korean
context
and
examine
a
case
study
of
a
private
smart
work
initiative
at
Korea’s
second
largest
telecommunications
(Telco)
company,
KT
Corp.
Hub
Global
Hub
Network
(Hub
Australia
Website,
2014)

8. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
8
4 Smart
Work
and
social
Change
in
Korea
Korea
is
committed
to
becoming
a
global
leader
in
ICT
by
building
smart
cities.
The
ICT
industry
has
contributed
significantly
to
economic
growth
in
Korea
accounting
for
11.2%
of
Korea’s
GDP
in
2011
(YI,
2012).
Indeed
Samsung
Electronics
has
been
the
world’s
largest
ICT
company
by
revenue
since
2009
(Song
&
Oliver,
2010)
and
has
overtaken
Apple
as
the
world’s
most
profitable
smart
phone
maker
(Garside,
2013).
IT
hardware
sales
such
as
tablets,
solid-­‐state
disks
and
smart
phones
dominate
ICT
sector
sales
(YI,
2012).
However,
cloud
computing
and
mobile
applications
are
leading
sector
growth
(YI,
2012).
As
a
result
of
this
strong
uptake
of
smart
devices,
there
has
been
a
sharp
rise
in
consumer
interest
for
mobile
offices
in
a
smart
work
environment
to
make
best
use
of
mobile
devices
(Yi,
2012).
Current
smart
work
practice
has
been
limited
to
utilising
mobile
phones
and
portable
PCs,
however
it
is
expected
that
the
scope
of
application
will
expand
through
cloud
computing
and
enterprise
resource
planning
(ERP)
systems,
once
security
issues
are
addressed
(Yi,
2012).
Korea
adopted
the
smart
work
program
as
one
of
its
2010
Informatization
White
Paper
action
plan
projects,
designed
to
advance
Korea’s
development
through
ICT
(NISA,
2010;
Yi,
2012).
The
program
involves
implementing
flexitime,
telecommuting,
remote
work,
virtual
meetings
and
freer
office
environments
in
public
and
private
organisations
(NISA,
2013;
Yi,
2012;
Shin,
2011).
Smart
work
is
designed
to
achieve
a
number
of
broad
social
changes:
• Resolve
the
low
birth
rate;
• Combat
low
productivity;
and
• Reduce
social
costs
of
urban
traffic
jam.
(Ministry
of
Security
and
Public
Administration.
2011)
In
Korea
it
is
expected
that
smart
work
will
reduce
carbon
emissions
and
traffic
congestion
by
lessening
the
necessity
to
work
in
the
office
every
day.
It
will
allow
greater
participation
of
female
workers
in
the
workforce,
as
they
will
be
able
to
balance
childcare
with
flexible
working
hours.
Also,
it
will
improve
productivity
by
changing
Korean
attitudes
to
work.
Korea
has
been
noted
KT
Smart
Work
Centre
as
significantly
less
(KT
Sustainability
Report
2010)
productive
than
other
OECD
countries
in
terms
of
hours
worked
and
dollars
created
(Ahn,
2010)
(Appendix
2).
A
major
cause
of
unproductivity
is
the
incentive
of
Korea’s
high
overtime
rates
(Lee,
2008)
and,
more
significantly,
an
out-­‐dated
work
culture
that
sees
subordinate
workers
remain
in
the
office
for
fear
of
upsetting
senior
managers
(Lee,
2008;
Shin,
2011;
Hicks,
2010).
Smart
work
initiatives
aim
to
promote
efficient
use
of
work
hours
by
changing
perceptions
of
necessary
time
spent
in
the
office.
However
Korea’s
out-­‐dated
work
culture
has
cultural
underpinnings
from
within
Korean
society,
which
is
hierarchical
and
collectivist
(The
Hofstede
Centre,
2014;
Mark
&
Birkinshaw,
2011).
As
a
result,
Korean
workers
tend
to
be
very
accepting
of
their
position
within
the
hierarchy
and
accepting
of
inequalities
between
higher
ups
and
subordinates
(The
Hofstede
Centre,
2014).
Thus,
they
are
unlikely
to
demand
smart
work
practices
that
allow
better
work-­‐life
balance.
A
major
difference
between
the
adoption
of
smart
work
practices
in
Korea
and
Western
countries
can
be
understood
from
this
cultural
perspective.
Korea’s
National
Information
Society
Agency’s
(NISA)
Yong-­‐
Tak
Cho,
who
oversees
public
relations
at
Korea’s
public
smart
work
centres,
explains
that
in
Western
countries
that
have
adopted
smart
work
(The

9. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
9
Netherlands,
U.K.,
Germany
and
U.S.)
it
is
employees
who
are
demanding
better
work-­‐life
flexibility,
with
employers
responding
accordingly.
By
contrast,
in
Korea
it
is
the
government
that
is
pushing
for
employees
to
use
them,
whilst
employees
are
uncomfortable
doing
so
(Cha,
2014).
However,
reports
Cho,
attitudes
are
changing,
particularly
in
younger
generations
who
want
to
spend
time
with
their
families
(Cha,
2014).
Through
smart
work
the
Korean
government
hopes
to
change
the
fabric
of
its
society
and
has
set
the
following
goals
by
2015:
1. 30%
of
the
employed
population
to
become
smart
workers;
2. Establish
50
public
and
450
private
sector
smart
work
centres.
(Ministry
of
Security
and
Public
Administration,
2011;
Cho,
2012;
Shin,
2011).
Koreans
are
adopting
this
change
rapidly,
and
recent
surveys
suggest
that
89%
of
Koreans
already
identify
themselves
as
smart
workers
(VMware,
2013;
see
appendix
3).
However,
the
adoption
of
smart
work
will
ultimately
depend
on
private
firm
input
in
terms
of
infrastructure,
expertise
and
leading
practice,
particularly
if
small
to
medium
enterprises
are
to
adopt
ICT
technologies
and
their
benefits
(APEC,
2004).
Furthermore,
if
cultural
attitudes
to
work
life
balance
are
to
be
successfully
changed
widely
across
Korean
society,
then
private
enterprises
will
play
a
large
role
in
doing
so.
With
this
in
mind,
the
government
is
considering
tax
incentives
to
encourage
smart
work
implementation
(NISA,
2011),
and
many
large
Korean
firms
such
as
KT
Corp
are
adopting
smart
work
programs
as
a
result.
KT
smart
work
centre
(KT
Sustainability
Report
2013)

10. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
10
5 Case
Study:
KT
Corp
5.1 KT
Background
Korea
Telecommunications
Corporation
(KT
Corp)
is
a
market
leader
in
South
Korean
ICT
industry.
Founded
in
1981,
the
company
has
transitioned
from
a
public
to
a
privately
owned
organisation
in
2002.
KT
offers
fixed
line
telecommunications
services,
integrated
fixed
line
and
wireless
voice,
data
and
entertainment
services
to
individuals
and
organisations.
KT
operates
in
15
countries,
employing
32,186
people
(KT,
2013).
5.2 KT’s
Strategic
Direction
Towards
Smart
Work
When
KT
first
became
a
public
company,
it
was
a
leading
provider
of
fixed
line
services,
mobiles
and
ADSL
to
the
Korean
Market
(Lim,
2013).
Thus
it
was
a
leader
in
Korea’s
“informatization”
era,
a
program
implemented
by
the
Korean
government
in
the
1990s
to
propel
the
nation
to
world
leadership
status
in
ICT
technologies
and
lifestyle
(Lim,
2013).
By
2010,
however,
KT
was
in
a
state
of
crisis
due
to
changes
in
the
Telco
industry
that
saw
a
drop
in
demand
for
fixed
line
services
(KT’s
cash
cow)
and
entry
into
the
market
of
new
players
like
Apple
and
Google
offering
increasingly
demanded
mobile
technologies
(Lim,
2013).
KT’s
obsolete,
“public
service
mentality”
corporate
culture
was
resistant
to
innovation
because
of
the
hierarchical
structure
typical
of
Korean
companies,
and
needed
a
shake
up
in
order
to
compete
in
this
new
environment
(Lim,
2013).
In
response,
former-­‐
CEO
Dr
Suk-­‐Chae
Lee
sought
advice
from
Strategos
(an
innovation
consultancy
firm)
and
set
about
creating
an
environment
of
innovation
and
collaboration
at
KT.
After
close
consultation
with
all
staff
levels,
a
number
of
core
innovation
values
were
identified
(appendix
1)
and
the
company
set
about
trying
to
become
more
lean,
inject
new
blood
and
find
innovative
input
from
the
bottom
up
in
order
to
achieve
sustainable
growth
in
the
changing
Telco
market
in
Korea
(Lim,
2013).
What
emerged
from
KT’s
change
initiatives
was
a
number
of
strategies
designed
to
achieve
its
vision
of
“Becom(ing)
a
global
IT
leader
through
convergence-­‐
based
innovation”
(KT
website,
2014).
At
the
core
of
achieving
its
strategic
objectives
are
KT’s
commitment
to
sustainable
business
practice
and
providing
jobs
and
therefore
growth
to
the
ICT
sector.
Thus
KT
has
a
commitment
to
job
provision
through
attracting
promising
candidates
to
KT
by
being
a
“great
workplace”
characterised
by
diversity,
creativity
and
engagement
(KT
Sustainability
Report
2013).
KT
adopted
“smart
work”
as
a
major
initiative
to
achieve
the
above
goals
and
“the
concept
has
become
a
key
part
of
KT’s
corporate
culture”
(KT
Sustainability
Report
2013).
KT
implemented
smart
work
practices
to
alter
their
work
culture
to
achieve
the
following
objectives:
1. Create
a
flexible
working
environment;
KT
initiatives
to
improve
sustainable
business
practice
(KT
Sustainability
Report
2013)

11. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
11
2. Encourage
diversity,
particularly
for
women
with
family
requirements;
3. Promote
innovation
through
expanding
networking
abilities
across
employees
from
multiple
regions
and
sites;
and
4. Promote
socially
and
environmentally
responsible
practices.
(KT
Sustainability
Report
2013).
5.3 KT
Smart
Work
KT
opened
its
first
smart
work
centre
in
2010
at
its
central
office
in
Bundung.
The
centre
was
equipped
with
high-­‐definition
video
conferencing
facilities,
individual
work
spaces
and
cloud
computing
(KT,
2011).
A
pilot
program
was
initiated
and
2900
employees
participated,
utilizing
the
center
as
well
as
being
able
to
work
from
home
or
any
location
they
wished.
The
program
was
deemed
a
success,
and
by
2011
KT
had
opened
16
centres
in
key
locations
across
Seoul
(KT,
2011;
see
Figure
1).
By
2013,
20,000
of
KT’s
employees
had
utilized
the
program
and
KT
was
committed
to
opening
30
centers
in
total
by
the
end
of
that
period
(KT,
2013).
Upon
its
inception
in
2010
KT
officials
expected
the
program
to
achieve
the
following
tangibles
by
2015:
•
Reduce
commutes
by
25,000
hours;
•
Lower
carbon
emissions
by
550,000
tons;
and
•
Curb
direct
expenses
by
330
billion
won.
(Cho,
2012)
In
addition
to
smart
work,
KT
has
been
committed
to
high
employee
engagement
in
the
form
of
innovation
training
to
develop
creative
sustainable
innovation
from
the
bottom
up
(Lim,
2013)
as
well
as
environmental
programs
to
reduce
carbon
emissions;
for
example
implementing
a
paperless
office
by
supplying
all
employees
with
Apple
iPads
(KT,
2011;
Kim,
2011).
In
essence,
smart
work
is
the
physical
space
manifestation
of
a
number
of
policies
designed
to
promote
organisational
change
at
KT
in
order
to
become
a
great
workplace,
a
world
ICT
leader
and
a
driver
of
ICT
practice
and
growth
in
Korea
in
support
of
the
Government’s
informatization
policies.
5.4 KT
Smart
Work
Performance
KT
has
reported
a
15%
increase
in
productivity
since
smart
work
initiatives
were
undertaken
(Pyo,
2012).
However,
KT’s
primary
metric
of
the
success
of
smart
work
has
been
employee
satisfaction
surveys.
Other
related
metrics
include
employee
immersion
levels
as
well
as
a
greenhouse
emission
levels.
Employee
satisfaction
with
smart
work
has
grown
from
70.4%
in
March
2011
to
81.6%
in
2012.
This
indicates
a
positive
reception
of
the
program
over
time.
In
the
2011
survey,
respondents
reported
that
they
were
less
tired
during
commute
(94
minutes
travel
time
was
saved
on
average
per
person
(Pyo,
2012)),
had
more
time
to
relax,
were
more
focused
at
work
and
some
were
less
stressed.
These
figures
indicate
improvement
of
work
life
balance.
Figure
1.
KT
Smart
Work
Centre
Locations
in
Seoul
(KT
Sustainability
Report
2012)

12. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
12
Figure
2
displays
KT’s
survey
responses
to
smart
work
in
2012.
68.8%
of
respondents
indicated
that
they
were
satisfied
with
work.
Significantly,
73.2%
reported
that
their
family
relationships
had
improved
which
would
indicate
that
the
program
has
successfully
improved
work/life
balance.
The
survey
also
reports
significant
improvments
in
focus,
creativity,
quality
of
work
and
autonomy.
Employee
satisfaction
levels
have
been
recorded
since
2010
and
have
risen
from
75%
to
78%
in
2012.
This
would
indicate
that
initiatives
designed
to
change
KT’s
corporate
culture-­‐-­‐including
smart
work-­‐-­‐have
been
successful.
In
2013,
the
employee
satisfaction
survey
was
altered
to
use
a
“Trust
Index”,
which
focuses
on
the
relationship
between
managers
and
employees
and
is
therefore
not
comparable
to
previous
surveys.
However
the
trust
index
was
ranked
at
75%,
which
is
4%
higher
than
the
general
service
segment
and
1%
higher
than
Korea’s
top
100
companies
(KT,
2014).
Overall
employee
immersion
or
engagement
has
risen
by
3%.
This
measure
includes
analysis
of
interdepartmental
two-­‐way
communication
in
an
effort
to
improve
deficiencies
and
promote
innovation.
In
Figure
3,
the
survey
notes
that
female
immersion
has
risen
7.1%
in
the
last
year,
as
a
direct
result
of
policies
aimed
at
assisting
women
such
as
smart
work
(see
fig.
5).
These
results
indicate
success
in
building
a
culture
more
receptive
to
innovation
and
one
that
promotes
diversity.
Furthermore,
KT
has
been
recognised
for
its
diversity
initiatives,
winning
the
Great
Place
for
Korean
Women
(Working
Moms)
award
in
2013
(KT,
2014).
Figure
3.
Poll
results
on
employee
immersion
at
KT
(KT
Sustainability
Report
2013)
Finally,
KT
has
been
committed
to
green
energy
for
a
number
of
years,
and
it
would
seem
that
a
combination
of
strategies
such
a
smart
work,
cloud
computing
and
network
simplification
redesigns
has
been
largely
successful
in
reducing
carbon
emissions.
In
and
of
itself,
smart
work
is
estimated
to
reduce
CO2
emissions
by
144
tons
per
year
(KT,
2014).
Figure
2.
Adapted
from
poll
results
on
smart
work
at
KT
(KT
Sustainability
Report
2014)

13. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
13
5.5 KT
Talent
A
primary
driver
of
KT’s
smart
work
strategy
has
been
to
attract
new
talent.
45%
of
new
employees
surveyed
responded
that
smart
working
impacted
their
decision
to
join
KT
(KT,
2014).
In
addition
to
the
work/life
balance
improvements
afforded
by
smart
work,
a
major
incentive
driving
the
above
response
has
been
the
economic
value
of
the
program
of
KRW
2.4
million
saved
(US
$2300)
per
year
on
average
per
employee
due
to
reduced
commuting
(KT,
2014).
KT
has
been
recognised
as
an
employer
of
choice
for
its
efforts
in
smart
work
and
other
initiatives,
having
won
the
Grand
Prize
of
Korea
Great
Place
to
Work
for
three
consecutive
years
and
being
awarded
as
one
of
Korea’s
top
100
employers
in
2013
(KT,
2014).
Additionally
KT
won
the
19th
Presidential
Corporate
Innovation
Grand
Prize
in
2012
(Lim,
2013),
and
as
of
2012,
it
was
awarded
the
Global
Supersector
Leader
for
Telecommunications
by
Dow
Jones
Sustainability
Indexes
for
two
consecutive
years
(RobecoSAM
and
S&P
Dow
Jones,
2013).
These
awards
indicate
that
KT
has
succeeded
in
achieving
its
strategic
goal
of
becoming
an
IT
leader,
a
nationally
respected
company
and
an
employer
of
choice.
Furthermore,
it
would
seem
that
the
company
has
achieved
its
objective
to
contribute
to
growth
in
the
ICT
industry;
it
has
increased
its
employees
by
4.5%
from
30,800
in
2010
to
32,186
in
2013
(KT,
2013).
These
facts
indicate
that
change
management
has
been
successful
and
that
the
smart
work
program
has
been
a
key
driver
of
this
success.
Nevertheless,
getting
used
to
changes
has
taken
time.
One
executive
commented
to
CEO
Lee
Suk-­‐Chae
that:
“In
Korean,
the
phrase
―taking
your
desk
away
means
that
you’ve
been
fired.
So
it
was
quite
difficult
at
first
for
the
team
to
wrap
their
heads
around
the
fact
that
they
could
work
remotely
without
facing
consequences.”
(Mark
&
Birkinshaw,
2011).
Ironically,
a
year
after
the
program
was
implemented
an
executive
informed
Lee
that
he
couldn’t
attend
a
meeting
because
he
was
“smart
working.”
Lee
responded:
“I
asked
why
he
couldn’t
just
call
into
the
meeting
(and)
the
look
on
my
direct
report’s
face
indicated
to
me
that
the
thought
of
teleconference
did
not
even
occur
to
him...”
(Mark
&
Birkinshaw,
2011).
The
first
comment
exemplifies
the
Korean
cultural
dissonance
toward
smart
work
and
better
work-­‐life
balance.
However,
the
second
comment
indicates,
ironically,
that
although
attitudes
to
smart
work
can
change,
a
full
understanding
of
how
new
technologies
can
change
work
practices
will
not
happen
overnight,
particularly
amongst
the
old
guard.
Yet,
given
the
ratification
of
smart
work
by
Korean
government
support,
the
high
consumption
of
smart
devices
in
Korea
and
the
expectation
by
younger
generations
to
fully
utilise
smart
devices
in
mobile
workspaces,
as
well
as
positive
survey
results,
it
seems
that
the
smart
work
program
has
promise
for
changing
the
social
landscape
of
work-­‐life
balance
at
KT.

14. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
14
6 Conclusion
The
economic,
environmental
and
social
benefits
of
smart
work
are
hard
to
ignore.
This
contemporary
work
practice
is
an
inevitable
result
of
the
exponential
advancement
of
ICT
into
every
aspect
of
people’s
lives.
This
paper
has
demonstrated
that
smart
work
can
be
an
agent
of
real
social
change
also,
which
will
differ
from
one
culture
to
another.
In
South
Korea,
smart
work
can
harbour
a
more
diverse
workforce,
harness
changing
attitudes
to
work-­‐life
balance
in
that
country
and
change
cultural
work
habits
to
better
suit
the
increasingly
competitive
global
marketplace.
The
KT
case
study
exemplifies
some
early
successes
to
this
end
thus
far.
In
Australia,
although
smart
work
is
in
its
infancy,
it
can
potentially
link
regional
workers
to
urban
centres
by
removing
the
obstacle
of
distance,
thereby
increasing
productivity
and
global
competitiveness
by
harnessing
more
talent
from
our
pool
of
knowledge
workers.
However,
in
order
for
smart
work
to
be
successful,
organisational
and
cultural
barriers
must
be
addressed
and
overcome.
Finally,
organisations
cannot
afford
to
ignore
the
lessons
of
smart
work,
given
that
the
power
balance
of
the
relationship
between
organisations
and
individuals
is
shifting
in
favour
of
the
individual.
The
best
talent
of
the
future,
who
have
fully
adopted
a
lifestyle
afforded
by
ICT,
will
demand
smart
work
as
a
matter
of
course
from
top
employers.
Therefore,
the
adoption
of
smart
work
practice
represents
an
opportunity
for
organisations
to
gain
competitive
advantage
by
attracting
and
retaining
the
talent
of
the
generations
to
come.
KT
Smart
Workers
(Yoon,
2011)

15. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
15
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18. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
18
8 Appendices
Appendix
1:
KT’s
Innovation
Values
“Identifying
5
Core
Values:
Moving
From
Current
To
Future
Values”
“From
April
of
2010,
KT
staff
and
external
consultants
started
KT’s
innovation
competency
diagnosis
for
10
weeks
with
a
series
of
interviews
with
40
executives,
15
seminars
for
employees,
6
workshops,
and
company-­‐wide
online
survey
(to
6,500
employees
with
21%
of
response
rate).
This
way,
they
could
find
5
major
barriers/issues
that
KT
should
overcome,
which
helped
them
finally
to
identify
5
core
values
to
resolve
those
barriers
against
innovation”
(Lim,
2013).

19. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
Appendix
2:
Productivity
Comparison
Between
Korea
and
Other
OECD
Countries
(Ahn,
2010)
Australian
productivity
in
the
same
period
was
78,923
dollars
for
1,712,
(OECD,
2014)
which
is
at
a
mid
level
on
par,
in
terms
of
productivity,
with
Canada
as
shown
in
the
chart
above.
19

20. Smart
Work:
Future
Work
Today
Appendix
3:
VMWare
Survey
on
Smart
Work
Uptake
in
Korea
20
(VMware,
2013)