Harmonious Relationship of Family and Workplace

A middle school student who left Korea for the States to continue his education, with the intention of returning to Korea to work, explains why he felt frustrated when he returned here during summer vacation and got a job as an intern.  "I graduated from a good school and with exceptional credentials; how is it that day and night I'm being exploited. I don't want to work in Korea."

The desk columnist for the Catholic Times, tells us this  is a true story. The young man, characterized his frustration as "being fed up" with the job situation in Korea.Those who have to go through the hell of college entrance exams and have to deal with the competition of finding a job and put up with the intensity of the work can handle it, the columnist said, but the young man from the States was not able to.

Among the many difficulties with the work situation in Korea, the most serious is not having enough time to spend with the family. Excessive concern for the quality of one's work does not allow for an amicable relationship with family life; time spent at work and time spent with the family are often in conflict.

Many workers believe that in the beginning of their middle years they will be out of work, which will mean hard times for the family. This would be truer for women then for men. No matter how could the laws are in the country, if  not followed,  they will have little influence on the the betterment of family life.

Society has changed much and  there are many companies that realize that peace in the home allows the workers to increase their work output. As a result, some companies are finding ways of  helping this to happen, but only a small fraction of the companies are doing this.  How about the Church? he asks. To what degree does the Church promote  a harmonious relationship between work and the family?

He gives another example of a young woman, 20 years old, who was looking for a job in a Catholic kindergarten. When the sister interviewed her for the job, there were only two questions asked: Are you planning to get married, and when? She was engaged and marriage was imminent, so the sister told her it would be difficult for her to fulfill the requirements of the job. The young women gave up her search within church circles, which the columnist understood, but for him it did not make it any less of a problem for job seekers.  

Cardinal Dionigi Tettamannzi, in the Seventh World Meeting of Families, said that there should be a friendly alliance between the concerns of labor and the concerns of the family, concerns that should also be promoted by the Church. A harmonious relationship between the workplace  and the family is a right and a duty, and should be safeguarded by all those who are in positions of authority, whether secular or religious.