A workplace flexibility system permits workers, with the consent of employers, to choose what hours they want to work and where they perform their duties. This mode even encompasses home-based work and remote employment.

"With people calling for a work-life balance, there has been rising demand for workplace flexibility," the think tank said.

It said among South Korean companies, 63 percent of big companies did not have flexible work hours, with numbers for SMEs with fewer than 300 employees hovering in the 73.8-82.5 percent range.

Even among SMEs, those with 100 to 299 employees, 26.2 percent allowed for flexible hours, with numbers falling to 22.7 percent for companies with fewer than 99 people but more than 30.

For companies with five to nine people, the adoption rate for flexible time stood at just 17.5 percent.

The think tank under the Industrial Bank of Korea said that in Germany, large and smaller companies were enthusiastic about flexible time.

It said data provided by German official sources revealed that 58 percent of that country's SMEs were giving flexible working hours to employees.

"Numbers for German companies were high across the board, with some half of SMEs with 100-299 employees adopting flexible working hours," IBK research showed.

It said German employees were favorably inclined toward this arrangement and claimed it greatly improved their quality of life and motivated them to work harder. (Yonhap)