• The data from the 12th WPS Conference provide identification information for small and medium-sized enterprises in accordance with the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises, and this study uses them to compare working conditions between large and small enterprises.

• The working conditions of large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises show the following differences.

- Except for 2022, the average weekly working hours of small and medium-sized enterprises are longer than those of large enterprises, and the difference in average weekly working hours between large and small enterprises is decreasing.

- The proportion of enterprises that have introduced/implemented flexible working hours systems is increasing, and the proportion of large enterprises that have introduced/implemented flexible working hours systems is significantly higher than that of small and medium-sized enterprises.

- The annual leave exhaustion rate of large enterprises (70.7-77.5%) is higher than that of small and medium-sized enterprises (70.7-75.7%), but the difference is not large, and the rate of allowances paid in proportion to the remaining number of annual leave days in large enterprises is 67.9-76.8%, which is higher than that of small and medium-sized enterprises (61.3-69.0%).

- There was no significant difference in the wage composition of middle managers in large and small enterprises, but the share of performance bonuses in the wage composition was high in large enterprises for all occupations.

- In 2021, the relative wage level of small and medium-sized enterprises compared with large enterprises was about 90% at entry, but dropped to 85% at promotion to manager or general manager, which means that the difference in wage levels for the same position between large and small enterprises appears to be widening.

- The relative wage level of first-year managers in small and medium-sized enterprises compared to large enterprises increases from 80.3% in 2015 to 85.0% in 2021, and the relative wage level of first-year senior managers increases from 78.4% in 2015 to 85.2% in 2021. This indicates that the gap in wage levels for middle managers is narrowing somewhat.

- As of 2021, the implementation of performance sharing system for large enterprises is 35.1%, which is 14.8%p higher than that for small and medium-sized enterprises (20.3%). The proportion of respondents who reported having a pre-determined performance distribution formula was also 68.9% for large enterprises, which was 13.1%p higher than that of small and medium-sized enterprises (55.8%).

• The above analysis confirmed that although the overall gap in working conditions between large and small enterprises is not small, there is a tendency for the gap to narrow somewhat in terms of working hours and wage levels.