Considering the low birth rate and aging workforce of Korea, an increase in foreign workers will be inevitable for the sustainable growth of the Korean economy and competitiveness of Korean businesses. For an ideal migration of workforce, highly speci...
Considering the low birth rate and aging workforce of Korea, an increase in foreign workers will be inevitable for the sustainable growth of the Korean economy and competitiveness of Korean businesses. For an ideal migration of workforce, highly specialized foreign professionals rather than unskilled workers should be recruited by Korean corporations. However, it is not easy to employ outstanding foreign talents if Korea has been portrayed to them as an unattractive country.
It takes corporations more time and money to recruit eligible foreign professionals than it does to recruit Koreans. The corporations are also obliged to pay them a salary that is equal to or greater than that of a local employee, give move-related benefits and pay for settlement costs. Therefore, the employed foreign professionals should be expected to work for a reasonable period of time, or until they contribute to their employers' income with professional achievements.
As most Korean corporations suffer from a lack of talents, they need to employ more foreign professionals. However, many foreign professionals recommended for working visas by KOTRA edly left their employer in a year. Thus, it is not easy for Korean employers to recruit suitable talents and retain them with expected outcomes on a long-term basis.
The purpose of this is to find the factors and implications that affect the long-term employment of foreign professionals at corporations in Korea and to contribute to the sustainable businesses activities of Korean corporations and the policy-making of the Korean government.
For purposes of a policy review, the policies and performance of the Korean government were evaluated and the channels for recruiting foreign professionals were discussed. Taking a theoretical approach, major migration theories as well as motivation and turnover intention were discussed, and past literature and studies on foreign workers in Korea were reviewed.
For this ’s empirical study, 996 professionals were given a PDF survey file, and 211 valid answers in English and Japanese were received via email. The collected Excel data was imported to STATA 13.1 for three analyses. First, the summarized statistics were simply analyzed by comparing the mean values of variables. Second, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was made to select proper variables through rotated factor loadings. Then, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with variables extracted from the EFA in order to finalize latent variables for multiple regression and structural equation modeling (SEM).
The process used to find the factors affecting long-term employment and the cause-and-effect relationship between dependent and independent variables through various regressions are summarized as follows. First, a stepwise selection method was used to choose the significant latent variables and control variables influencing dependent variables. Next, multiple regressions with independent variables (selected factors) and dependent variables (contract renewal and long-term employment intention) were made to test the hypotheses of this study. Also, generalized SEMs were made to estimate the path-coefficients between selected variables. The intention of establishing a business in Korea was added as another dependent variable for logistic regression. Finally, the answers to open-ended questions were classified and evaluated to confirm the pull-and-push factors selected via factor analyses and regressions.
The results of this empirical analysis by factors are summarized as follows. First, the level of information obtained before the employment of foreign professionals influences mid- and post-employment satisfaction, but does not significantly promote the intention of contract renewal or long-term employment in Korea. Second, the high mid-employment job satisfaction level of foreign professionals increases their intention of long-term employment, especially if they are satisfied with their working environment. Therefore, it is essential that the working environment be improved to induce the long-term employment of foreign professionals. Third, the level of information related to their lifestyle before coming to Korea was found to be rather low, but their satisfaction with life in Korea was much higher than other variables. Therefore, this factor can be used to attract foreign professionals.
The influences of control variables on dependent ones are summarized as follows. It should be noted that the long-term employment intention of professionals - such as those with advanced degrees or longer careers or those from developed countries - tend to be lower than others. Therefore, the workable factors that affect their long-term stay in Korea should be studied. Also, the respondents who were foreign students at Korea’s universities have a lower intention of long-term employment, but an interest in establishing a business in Korea. They can be expected to start or join enterprises.
For the open-ended questions, many professionals gave comments and expressed dissatisfaction with Korean-style work practices, such as habitual overtime, communication barriers, short job training, a military-like office culture, etc. It was confirmed that a difficult workplace environment could be the most serious factor influencing foreigners to leave Korea in the short-term. They also asked the Korean government to provide more opportunities to learn the Korean language and culture.
Based on the survey results, the following suggestions are being made to induce the long-term employment of foreign professionals in Korea.
First, it should be a priority to improve the work environment of Korean employers. Corporations intending to employ foreign professionals should at least strive to upgrade their work practices or style to global standards. Sufficient on-the-job training and education programs should be offered to newcomers in the begi
，韩语论文，韩语论文 |
