Studies on the association between job satisfaction and depression have often been reported. However, no study has examined how job satisfaction impacts depression while considering satisfaction with other aspects of life. In this study, we evaluated the effect of job satisfaction on depression after adjusting for satisfaction with other domains of life.
We used data from the 16th wave of the Korean Welfare Panel Study. A total of 3568 current employees without depression who completed a survey were included. Depression was measured using the abbreviated version of the CES-D scale. Various types of satisfaction, including job satisfaction, were measured using single-item questions and a 5-point Likert scale. The association between job satisfaction and depression after considering satisfaction with other life domains was analyzed using a multiple logistic regression model.
Crude models showed a significant association between job satisfaction and depression in males (odds ratio [OR]: 7.90; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.11–15.23) and females (OR: 7.12; 95% CI: 4.40–11.50). When adjusted for sociodemographic factors, health-related factors, and work-related factors, the association remained significant in males (OR: 6.20; 95% CI: 3.10–12.41) and females (OR: 6.28; 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.79–10.40). However, when satisfaction with other life domains was included, the association remained significant only in females (OR: 3.55; 95% CI: 1.93–6.50).
This study shows an association between job satisfaction and depression in Korean employees. However, when satisfaction with other life domains was considered, this association remained significant only in women. Regular screening of job satisfaction should be considered as a means of preventing and managing depression among female employees.
Studies on the association between occupational stress and depression have been frequently reported. However, the cross-sectional designs of studies limited insight into causal associations. In this study, we investigated the longitudinal association between occupational stress and new-onset depression among employees in a single manufacturing plant.
The annual health checkup data of employees at a manufacturing plant in Korea were collected. A total of 1,837 male employees without depression who completed a health checkup during two consecutive years were included. Occupational stress was measured using a short form of the Korea Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS-SF), and depression was assessed using a Patient Health Questionnaire-2. The association between occupational stress change over the two years and newly developed depression was investigated using two logistic regression models.
Across all sub-factors of KOSS-SF, employees who reported increased occupational stress had a higher risk of new-onset depression. Newly developed depression was significantly associated with job demand (odds ratio [OR]: 4.34; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.37–7.96), job insecurity (OR: 3.21; 95% CI: 1.89–5.48), occupational climate (OR: 3.18; 95% CI: 1.91–5.31), lack of reward (OR: 2.28; 95% CI: 1.26–4.12), interpersonal conflict (OR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.18–3.86), insufficient job control (OR: 1.93; 95% CI: 1.05–3.56), and the organizational system (OR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.01–3.36).
For every sub-factor of the KOSS-SF, occupational stress increase and persistent high stress were associated with the risk of developing new-onset depression. Among the seven sub-factors, job demand had the most significant effect. Our results show that occupational stress should be managed to promote employee mental healthcare.
Although many studies have been conducted on worker fatigue and sickness absence, the association between fatigue and sickness absence is unclear in Korean workers. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of worker fatigue on future sickness absence.
The study was conducted on workers who received medical check-ups at a university hospital for two consecutive years (2014–2015). During check-ups in the first year, the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) was used to assess fatigue levels, and during check-ups in the second year, sickness absence was surveyed to determine whether they had been absent from work due to physical or mental illness during previous 12 months. The χ2 test was used to analyze relationships between sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, fatigue levels, and sickness absence. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by logistic regression analysis controlled for confounding factors.
A total of 12,250 workers were included in the study, and 396 (3.2%) workers experienced more than one day of sickness absence during the study period. Adjusted ORs for sickness absence were 3.35 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.64–4.28) in the moderate-fatigue group and 6.87 (95% CI: 4.93–9.57) in the high-fatigue group versus the low-fatigue group. For men in the moderate- and high-fatigue groups, adjusted ORs for sickness absence were 3.40 (95% CI: 2.58–4.48) and 8.94 (95% CI: 6.12–13.07), and for women in the moderate- and high-fatigue groups, adjusted ORs for sickness absence were 2.93 (95% CI: 1.68–5.10) and 3.71 (95% CI: 1.84–7.49), respectively.
Worker fatigue is associated with sickness absence during the following 12 months, and this association appears to be stronger for men than women. These results support the notion that sickness absence can be reduced by evaluating and managing work-related fatigue.
Many studies have been conducted on presenteeism and absenteeism, but the relationship between presenteeism and absenteeism is unclear. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of presenteeism on future absenteeism.
This study was conducted on non-white collar workers that underwent general health examinations in 2014 and 2015. We asked subjects to fill out a questionnaire about their experiences of presenteeism for the past one year in 2014. In 2015, it was checked whether the same subjects had any experience of absence from work due to injury or disease during the past year. The χ2 test was used to analyze relationships between sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, presenteeism, and absence. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by logistic regression analysis controlled for confounding factors.
A total of 12,572 workers were included in the study. For workers who experienced presenteeism, the OR for injury absence was 2.705 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.044–3.581), and the OR for disease absence was 4.906 (95% CI: 3.996–6.024) after adjusting for sociodemographic and occupational confounding factors. For men that experienced presenteeism, the OR for injury absence was 3.035 (95% CI: 2.258–4.081), and the OR for disease absence was 5.508 (95% CI: 4.340–6.989). For women that experienced presenteeism, the OR for injury absence was 1.322 (95% CI: 0.577–3.028), which was not significant, and the OR for disease absence was 3.629 (95% CI: 2.405–5.475).
This study suggests that presenteeism can influence future absenteeism. The effect of presenteeism may depend on cause of absence. Men who experienced presenteeism showed greater effects on injury and disease absence than women. For women, experience of presenteeism had a significant effect on disease absence but not on injury absence.
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The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between fatigue and occupational injury.
This study was conducted at a university hospital in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, the fatigue severity scale (FSS) was used to evaluate workers' fatigue levels. Later, when the same workers were examined in 2015, a questionnaire survey was conducted to determine whether they had experienced absences or treatment for work-related accidents. The χ2 test was used to analyse the relationship between demographic characteristics, fatigue levels, and occupational injuries. After controlling for confounders, a logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate the odds ratios (ORs).
In 2014, 19,218 workers were screened during health examination and their fatigue level were evaluated using FSS questionnaires. in 2015, workers' occupational injury was evaluated. In result, men in the moderate- and high-fatigue groups, after adjusting for age, smoking and drinking habits, chronic diseases, and occupational factors such as size of company industrial classification and type of work (shift or non-shift), adjusted ORs for hospital treatment due to occupational injury were 1.76 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39–2.24) and 2.61 (95% CI:1.68–4.06), respectively. Among men in the medium- and high-fatigue groups, the adjusted ORs for absence due to occupational injury were 2.06 (95% CI: 1.52–2.80) and 3.65 (95% CI: 2.20–6.05), respectively. No significant association was observed between fatigue and occupational injury in women.
Male workers with high fatigue levels have a higher risk of experiencing work injuries. This study suggests that active intervention be considered to prevent injuries in workers with high scores on workplace fatigue evaluation scales.
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The relationship between smoking status or second-hand smoking and occupational injuries has been the subject of considerable study, but few have studied the relationship between nicotine dependence and occupational injuries. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between nicotine dependence and occupational injury among employees at a range of Korean companies.
Initially, the personal and occupational characteristics and nicotine dependences of workers were measured, and 12 months later a survey was used to determine whether subjects had experienced any occupational injury. This study was conducted in several workplaces on 6,893 male workers in manufacturing and service industries that received health screening at Inha University Hospital in Incheon.
The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of occupational injury in the low, moderate, and high nicotine dependence groups were 1.38 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04–1.84), 1.52 (95% CI: 1.10–2.10), and 1.71 (95% CI: 0.92–3.19), respectively. For smokers only, adjusted ORs tended to increase linearly (
The study shows nicotine dependency might affect occupational injury. From a short-term perspective, addressing worker's nicotine dependence by giving an adequate break time or smoking area might reduce work-related injuries.
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Most of the studies that have examined the association between the sub-factors of occupational stress and depressive symptoms have used cross-sectional data. However, our study has longitudinally measured the occupational stress and depressive symptoms of Korean workers of a semiconductor manufacturing company across six years to intending to investigate the associations between the sub-factors of occupational stress and depressive symptoms using longitudinal data.
Data collected from the workers of a semiconductor manufacturing company. Out of 1,013 recruited workers, 405 (40.0%) completed the survey questionnaires at 3 and 6-year follow-ups. Occupational stress was measured using a shorter version of the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS), whereas depressive symptoms were assessed using the Korean version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depressive Symptoms Scale (CES-D). The data of male and female participants independently analyzed. Longitudinal associations were analyzed using panel data analysis with fixed effects.
In panel data analysis with fixed effects, job insecurity (B = 0.048,
Temporal changes in the sub-factors of occupational stress were associated with changes in depressive symptoms within the same period. There was a gender difference in occupational stress sub-factors related to depressive symptoms.
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The global labor market is moving towards increasing job instability. Relatively few studies have examined the relationship between precarious employment and subjective well-being using quantitative scales. We evaluated the association between wage workers' employment status and their subjective well-being through the Cantril ladder scale using Korean Welfare Panel Survey data (KOWEPS).
This study used KOWEPS data. A total of 4,423 wage workers were divided into permanently employed workers, temporarily employed workers and daily employed workers. The relationship between precarious employment and subjective well-being was analyzed by multiple linear regression adjusted for potential confounding factors.
The more unstable the employment status, the lower the subjective well-being, which can be expressed by the Cantril ladder scale. The mean score of both temporarily employed and daily employed workers were statistically significantly lower (B = −0.454,
The more unstable the employment status, the lower the subjective well-being score according to the Cantril ladder scale.
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The risk factors for renal cancer include smoking, obesity, hypertension, and exposure to trichloroethylene. Recent studies have shown that low sunlight exposure increases the risk of developing a range of cancers, including renal cancer. Given that most of the daytime is spent at work, a lack of occupational sunlight exposure can be a risk factor for renal cancer. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between occupational sunlight exposure and the incidence of renal cancer.
This was a university hospital-based case-control study on renal cancer. Of the 706 newly diagnosed patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), 633 cases were selected; 73 who had no occupational history were excluded. In addition, 633 controls were selected from the general population after 1:1 matching with respect to sex, age (within 5 years), and residential area (constituency-level). Information on sunlight exposure by the occupational group was referred to data from France. To estimate the association between occupational sunlight exposure and the RCC risk, the odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression analysis.
Sunlight exposure was divided into quartiles and the risk of RCC was analyzed. The adjusted OR of RCC (OR: 0.664, 95% confidence interval: 0.449–0.983) was significantly lower for the Q4 group than Q1 group but the Q2 and Q3 groups did not show significant results. The risk of RCC tended to decrease with increasing exposure to sunlight (
Higher occupational sunlight exposure reduces the risk of RCC.
Occupational injuries increase burden on society as well as personal health. Low satisfaction with life may not only increases the risk of occupational injuries directly, but also influences other factors that increase the risk of occupational injury. Along with previous studies on the risk of occupational injury, we sought to explore the relationship between satisfaction with life and occupational injury.
The study participants were 6234workers health screened at a university hospital in Incheon. Information on occupational injury and satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) was obtained in a self-report format. Participants were allocated to one of four SWLS groups; the dissatisfied group, the slightly dissatisfied group, the slightly satisfied group, and the satisfied group. The analysis was performed using the chi-square test primarily and by logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders.
In men, the un-adjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of low satisfaction with life (SWLS< 20) were 1.98(CI1.55–2.53) and 1.81(CI 1.41–2.32), respectively. When the SWLS were divided into four groups, the adjusted ORs of the slightly satisfied (20–25), slightly dissatisfied(15–19), and dissatisfied(≤14) groups were 1.21, 1.72, and 2.70, respectively. That is ORs tended to increase linearly with decreasing SWLS score (p for trend < 0.001). In women, this relation was of borderline significance at best.
When subjects were dichotomized based on SWLS scores, for males, the cured and adjusted RRs of occupational injury in the low satisfaction with life group were1.91 (95% CI: 1.50–2.42) and 1.66 (95% CI: 1.30–2.13), and for females, the adjusted-RR was marginally significant (1.67; 95% CI: 0.93–2.99).
When subjects were divided into four groups by SWLS scores, adjusted RRs tended to increase linearly with decreasing SWLS score for males (slightly satisfied: 1.18, 95% CI: 0.77–1.82; slightly dissatisfied: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.08–2.52; dissatisfied: 2.22, 95% CI: 1.44–3.42; p for trend < 0.001) and for females (slightly satisfied: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.42–3.30; slightly dissatisfied: 1.56, 95% CI: 0.56–4.36; dissatisfied: 2.38, 95% CI: 0.84–6.74; p for trend = 0.040).
This study suggests that the risk of occupational injury was higher in workers not satisfied with life, and indicates attention to satisfaction with life may promote the health of workers.
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Worldwide, exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) has been responsible for more than 0.6 million deaths and 10.9 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYS) lost in never smokers in 2004. The world health organization (WHO) reported smoking-related death of 58,000 per year in South Korea. There is recent emerging evidence of the associations of SHS exposure with anxiety or depression and poor mental health. Although exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) has been associated with various physical health conditions and mental health, we are unaware of any studies examining its association with psychological well-being as mental factor. This study aimed to investigate the association between self-reported exposure to SHS and well-being among non-smoking wageworkers.
The Third Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS, 2011) was conducted on a representative sample of economically active population aged 15 years or over, who were either employees or self-employed at the time of interview. In this study, after removing inconsistent data, 19,879 non-smoking wageworkers among 60,054 workers were participated. Psychological well-being was measured through the WHO-Five Well-Being Index (1998 version). Univariate and multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the association of SHS exposure with psychological well-being.
The unadjusted OR of poor psychological well-being (OR: 1.594, 95 % CI: 1.421-1.787) was significantly higher for SHS exposure group compared to non-exposure group. Multiple logistic regression analysis results indicated that these relationships were still significant after adjusting for potential confounders (adjusted OR: 1.330, 95 % CI: 1.178-1.502).
Exposure to SHS was associated with poor well-being measured by the WHO-5 well-being index, indicating the importance of reducing SHS exposure at the workplace for psychological well-being amongst non-smoking wageworkers.
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Working conditions can exert influence on the physical, mental, and even social health of workers. Well-being is an appropriate index for the evaluation of a person’s overall health. This paper investigated the association between various working conditions and worker’s well-being.
Data from 10,019 interviews were collected from the second wave of the Korean Working Conditions Survey (2010) conducted by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency between June and October 2010. The data from 5,995 employed workers were examined in this study. Well-being was measured through the WHO Five Well-Being Index (1998 version). Sociodemographic and working conditions were analyzed. Adjusted odds ratios for well-being were calculated with adjusted sociodemographic factors, working condition factors, or both.
Workers’ well-being was significantly higher when they were satisfied with their working conditions (OR = 1.656, 95% CI = 1.454–1.885), when their actual working hours were the same as their anticipated working hours (OR = 1.366, 95% CI: 1.120–1.666) or exceeding less than 10 hours (OR = 1.245, 95% CI: 1.004-1.543), and when their employment was stable (OR = 1.269, 95% CI: 1.098–1.467).
This study supports the association between working condition factors and well-being in workers.
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The purpose of the present study was to identify the association between presenteeism and long working hours, shiftwork, and occupational stress using representative national survey data on Korean workers.
We analyzed data from the second Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS), which was conducted in 2010, in which a total of 6,220 wage workers were analyzed. The study population included the economically active population aged above 15 years, and living in the Republic of Korea. We used the chi-squared test and multivariate logistic regression to test the statistical association between presenteeism and working hours, shiftwork, and occupational stress.
Approximately 19% of the workers experienced presenteeism during the previous 12 months. Women had higher rates of presenteeism than men. We found a statistically significant dose–response relationship between working hours and presenteeism. Shift workers had a slightly higher rate of presenteeism than non-shift workers, but the difference was not statistically significant. Occupational stress, such as high job demand, lack of rewards, and inadequate social support, had a significant association with presenteeism.
The present study suggests that long working hours and occupational stress are significantly related to presenteeism.
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Sleep is essential for human beings to live and work properly. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between occupational exposures to workplace risk factors and sleep disturbance in Korean workers.
The data were drawn from the second Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS); a total of 7,112 paid workers were analyzed. The independent variables were occupational exposures such as physical, chemical, biological, and psychosocial risk factor in the workplace, and psychosocial risk factor was divided into five categories (job demand, job control, social support, job insecurity, lack of reward). We estimated the relationship between various occupational exposures and sleep disturbance using multivariate logistic regression analysis.
The results showed that people who exposed to physical, chemical, biological, and psychosocial (high job demand, inadequate social support, lack of reward) risk factors were more likely to increase the risk of sleep disturbance. Furthermore, after adjusting for general and occupational characteristics, we found significant positive associations between exposures to physical (odds ratios [OR] 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-2.07) and psychosocial (high job demand (OR 2.93, 95% CI 2.16-3.98), inadequate social support (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.14-2.15), lack of reward (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.08-1.96)) risk factors and sleep disturbance.
These results suggest that occupational exposures to physical and psychosocial workplace risk factors are significantly related to sleep disturbance.
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Korea is well known for its long work hours amongst employees. Because workers of the manufacturing industry are constantly exposed to extended work hours, this study was based on how long work hours affect their emotional well-being.
The analysis was done using the secondary Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS). Long work hours were defined to be more than 48 hours, and they were subcategorized into units of 52 hours and 60 hours. Based on the WHO (five) well-being index, emotional state was subdivided into three groups - reference group, low-mood group, and possible depression group- where 28 points and 50 points were division points, and two groups were compared at a time. Association between long work hours and emotional state was analyzed using binary and multinomial logistic regression analysis.
Working for extended working hours in the manufacturing industry showed a statistically significant increase (
Long work hours have an adverse effect on emotional well-being. A more diversified research towards variables that affect long work hours and emotional well-being and how they interact with each other and their relationship to overall health is imperative.
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