Public officials reluctant to dine with coworkers

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 07:19

Society

Public officials reluctant to dine with coworkers

Posted : 2023-03-20 08:55

Updated : 2023-03-21 08:52

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By Jun Ji-hye

Public officials of all ages appear reluctant to engage in team lunches, according to a research report published by the Korea Institute of Public Administration, Sunday.

The Institute surveyed 1,021 public officials of various ages from May to June last year.

It found both the MZ Generation and older generations showed negative responses to the question of whether having lunch with co-workers is necessary.

The MZ Generation is a term referring to Millennials and Generation Z.

There was a slight difference in their degree of reluctance though. Responses of the MZ Generation stood at 2.23 points on a 5-point scale, while those of the older generations were tallied at 2.70 points.

Among the MZ Generation, the younger Generation Z appeared to be more reluctant than Millennials about team lunches with 1.95 points and 2.30 points, respectively.

The institute categorized those born in 1981 or earlier as belonging to older generations, and those born in 1982 or later as the MZ Generation.

Those born between 1982 and 1994 were categorized as Millennials, while those born between 1995 and 2004 were categorized as Generation Z.

During an interview with the institute, public officials from older generations said they hesitate to have lunch with co-workers as they are worried that younger people may feel uncomfortable when having lunch with older or more senior co-workers.

When asked whether it is important for team members to get to know each other, responses of the MZ Generation and older generations stood at 3.44 and 3.70, respectively.

According to statistics tallied by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, public officials from the MZ Generation accounted for 41.4 percent of the total as of 2020.

"As the ratio of public officials from the MZ Generation is expected to keep increasing, the way of working in the public sector should be adjusted in a way to respect how younger generations want to utilize their time," an official from the institute said.

jjh@koreatimes.co.kr