Smart Work: Future Work Today - White Paper

Smart Work: Future Work Today

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Chris Leong August 2014


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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


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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.


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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

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.

Hub Melbourne co-‐working space (Institute For Sustainable Futures, 2014)


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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

• Connection to community affording individuals a sense of belonging and opportunities to network with other knowledge workers and the local community.


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.


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

Hub Adelaide co-‐working space (Institute For Sustainable Futures, 2014)


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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 successfully Hub Sydney co-‐working space (Institute For Sustainable Futures, 2014)


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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)


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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 as significantly less 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

KT Smart Work Centre (KT Sustainability Report 2010)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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).

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 3. Poll results on employee immersion at KT (KT Sustainability Report 2013)

Figure 2. Adapted from poll results on smart work at KT (KT Sustainability Report 2014)


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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.


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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)


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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).


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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.


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Appendix 3: VMWare Survey on Smart Work Uptake in Korea

(VMware, 2013)