Samsung Electronics headquarters in Seoul / Yonhap

By Kim Hyun-bin

The resurgence of COVID-19 is keeping major companies on their toes, inevitably strengthening quarantine measures such as refraining from face-to-face meetings and business trips. Some argue that if the government strengthens quarantine regulations, many companies could bring back work-from-home policies.

Samsung Electronics has established quarantine guidelines discouraging dinner gatherings, face-to-face meetings, training sessions and other events. It also recommends against domestic and overseas business trips. Employees over the age of 50 will not be allowed to travel until they have completed their fourth vaccination. Only essential personnel will be dispatched for business trips to the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event scheduled to be held on Aug. 10 and IFA 2022, Europe's largest IT exhibition to be held in Germany next month.

SK Group strengthened its regulations on dinner gatherings and other meetings as well as domestic business trips, overtime work and training. It recommended that meetings be conducted online. SK Group employees should self-diagnose if they have symptoms of COVID-19 and take preventive quarantine measures until their health recovers and they have negative test results.

Hyundai Motor Group strengthened its quarantine guidelines last month. On July 19, Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. changed their guidelines recommending the use of videoconferencing for training and meetings, and measures were taken to discourage gatherings and activities outside of work.

"We have been continuing the work-from-home policies and strengthened restrictions on dinner gatherings and business trips," a Hyundai Motor Group official said.

LG affiliates strengthened their in-house quarantine guidelines during the summer vacation period through Aug. 31. The company recommended maintaining 30 percent of employees work from home and made it mandatory to conduct a COVID-19 self-test before returning to the office.

Some believe companies could return to work-from-home policies for most of their employees if COVID-19 infection rates continue to rise.

"If the government strengthens quarantine rules, such as implementing social distancing measures, there is a possibility that work from home will be fully introduced again," an official from a large corporation said.