Because the world races to remain forward within the deep tech revolution — from AI and semiconductors to quantum computing — innovation has turn into the brand new foreign money of energy. For a lot of firms, that strain has translated into heavier workloads and extra intense work cultures. But they face an actual dilemma: they’ll’t merely ease up whereas opponents throughout the globe push more durable to win.

Once I got here throughout information concerning the intense “996” work tradition — working 9 am to 9 pm, six days per week, a 72-hour work week — spreading from China to Silicon Valley, it made me marvel how totally different international locations strategy work hours and office cultures within the tech trade. I used to be particularly interested by how issues examine right here in South Korea, the place I’m at the moment primarily based.

In South Korea, the usual workweek is 40 hours, with as much as 12 hours of additional time, normally paid at 1.5 occasions the common price 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 yr, 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 have been quickly prolonged from three to 6 months, although native media studies counsel that only some firms really took benefit of it. Wanting forward, the South Korean authorities plans to cut back these particular exemptions and tighten working-hour laws, at the same time as some lawmakers argue that the present tips are enough, per the report.

TechCrunch spoke with a number of tech buyers and founders primarily based in South Korea about how the 52-hour workweek restrict impacts their companies and their R&D tasks as they attempt to compete with world firms.

“The 52-hour workweek is certainly a difficult issue when making funding choices in deep tech sectors,” Yongkwan Lee, CEO of South Korea-based enterprise capital agency Bluepoint Companions, instructed TechCrunch. “That is significantly related when investing in globally aggressive sectors like semiconductors, synthetic intelligence, and quantum computing. Labor challenges are significantly advanced in these sectors, the place founders and groups typically face intense workloads and lengthy hours throughout important progress phases.”

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 might probably affect the tempo at which key enterprise milestones are reached.

In South Korea, 70.4% of workers at startup firms responded that they’d be prepared to work an extra 52 hours per week if sufficient compensation is supplied, per native studies.

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 fastened hours. It’s about utilizing creativity and deep focus to unravel challenges and create new worth. When an concept strikes or a technical breakthrough occurs, the idea of time disappears. If a system forces you to cease at that second, it breaks the stream and might really cut back effectivity.”

Kim added that whereas short-term, intense focus is essential as challenge deadlines strategy or when refining key algorithms, inflexible authorized limits can generally get in the way in which, together with relying on the form 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 could 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 challenge 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 enable us to work round 60 hours per week earlier than a launch and 40 hours per week afterward, sustaining a mean of 52 hours whereas making certain operational effectivity,” Lee continued. “I additionally consider it’s value contemplating differentiated requirements for deep tech and R&D-focused firms. On the identical time, for startups with fewer than 10–20 workers, it’s important to determine 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 workforce members typically are inclined to put in longer hours, he stated. However fairly than in search of rewards for the additional time, these high performers concentrate on reaching outcomes and advancing rapidly inside the firm.

“Engineers are way more motivated to dive in when their efforts are acknowledged, whether or not by 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 companies the place technical experience is vital, choices about versatile work hours needs to 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 choices.

“In the mean time, there don’t seem like any main considerations. Whereas it’s at all times tough to foretell how labor laws or monitoring practices would possibly evolve, many enterprise firms as we speak don’t strictly observe workers’ working hours. To my understanding, there’s at the moment no requirement for firms to submit formal proof proving that workers keep inside the 52-hour weekly restrict.”

If an worker have been to file a grievance, the VC famous, “the absence of detailed time data might increase compliance questions. That stated, most R&D or deeptech companies usually worker extremely self-motivated professionals who handle their very own schedules responsibly, so such instances appear comparatively unusual.”

The higher problem possible lies in additional labor-intensive industries, comparable to logistics, supply, or manufacturing, the place a big portion of employees earn near the minimal wage. “In these sectors, the 52-hour workweek regulation can considerably improve labor prices on account of necessary additional time pay and paid go away. Because of this, sustaining productiveness and reaching economies of scale can turn into tougher for companies working underneath tight margins,” this investor stated.

How different international locations work

To grasp the place South Korea’s 52-hour restrict matches within the world panorama — and why its deep tech firms really feel squeezed between competing pressures — it’s value inspecting how different main tech hubs regulate working hours.

In Germany, the UK, and France, commonplace workweeks usually vary from 33 to 48 hours. In Australia and Canada, the usual workweek is 38 and 40 hours, respectively, with necessary additional time pay, providing a stability between labor rights and office flexibility.

Within the U.S., the Truthful Labor Requirements Act (FLSA) units an ordinary 40-hour workweek. Non-exempt workers earn time-and-a-half for any additional time, and there’s no restrict on whole hours. (In California, the foundations solely require double-time pay for sure additional time.)

In China, the usual work schedule can also 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 additional time per 30 days and 370 hours per yr underneath regular circumstances. Employers who exceed these limits can face fines and administrative penalties, as in different international locations.

Singapore’s workweek is barely longer at 44 hours, with a most of 72 additional time hours per 30 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 midst of this spectrum, stricter than the U.S. and Singapore however extra versatile than a lot of Europe. Both method, 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 extraordinary, uneven workflows that characterize early-stage R&D.