The Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) is a state-approved statistical survey that has been conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute (OSHRI) every 3 years since 2006 to monitor changes in the working conditions of Koreans. This cross-sectional national survey involves a sample of 50,000 employed people aged 15 or older. KWCS measures various working conditions through > 130 survey questions, including questions regarding working hours, labor intensity, work–life balance, degree of exposure to risk factors, and subjective health status. Professional survey interviewers visit households and conduct face to face interviews. KWCS provides data and statistics for occupational safety and health polices and research in Korea. Furthermore, OSHRI holds academic conferences every year, awards high-quality academic papers, and supports researchers using data. Microdata is publicly available through the OSHRI website (
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This study was conducted to identify the success rate for smoking cessation over time after participation in a therapeutic smoking cessation camp, and to identify how participant characteristics, including a supportive workplace environment for smoking cessation (SWESC), affect the success rate for smoking cessation.
In all, 296 participants at smoking cessation camps in Ulsan between 2015 and 2020 were investigated. The success rates of smoking cessation after weeks 4, 6, 12, and 24 at camp were investigated. The participants were grouped as workers with an SWESC, and workers without an SWESC, and variables (age, education, household income, marital status, drinking, exercise, body mass index, morbidity, job, number of counseling sessions, cigarettes smoked per day and smoking initiation age) were investigated. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted at each time point. In addition, Cox regression analysis was performed to evaluate the variables affecting the success rate for smoking cessation over time.
The smoking cessation success rate of workers with an SWESC at week 24 (90.7%) was higher than that for workers without an SWESC (60.5%). Multiple logistic regression was performed to determine the relationship between each variable and the success rates for smoking cessation at week 6, 12, and 24. SWESC was confirmed as significant (
At a professional treatment smoking cessation camp, participants with an SWESC showed a significantly higher success rate for smoking cessation. Supportive workplace environment for workers’ health is expected to be an important factor for smoking cessation projects as well as other health promotion projects at workplace.
ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize occupational medicine by providing a powerful tool for analyzing data, improving communication, and increasing efficiency. It can help identify patterns and trends in workplace health and safety, act as a virtual assistant for workers, employers, and occupational health professionals, and automate certain tasks. However, caution is required due to ethical concerns, the need to maintain confidentiality, and the risk of inconsistent or inaccurate results. ChatGPT cannot replace the crucial role of the occupational health professional in the medical surveillance of workers and the analysis of data on workers’ health.
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Owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, being exposed to work from home and work during nonwork time simultaneously can lead to sleep disturbance; however, their combined effect is unclear. We aimed to investigate the combined effect of work from home and work during nonwork time on sleep disturbance.
This study used data from the Sixth Korean Working Condition Survey and included 27,473 paid workers. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between work from home, work during nonwork time, and sleep disturbance according to sex. We re-classified participants into 4 groups based on their working from home (No/Yes) and working during nonwork time (No/Yes). The relative excess risk due to interaction was calculated to examine the effect of exposure to both telecommuting and non-regular work hours on sleep disturbance.
Workers exposed to work from home and work during nonwork time had significantly higher risks of sleep disturbance for all, men, and women workers (OR [95% CI]: 1.71 [1.46–2.02], 1.79 [1.43–2.23], and 1.64 [1.29–2.08] for work from home and 3.04 [2.70–3.42], 3.61 [3.09–4.22], and 2.41 [2.01–2.90] for work during nonwork time, respectively). Compared to those who were not exposed to both factors, when workers had both job factors, the ORs (95% CI) of sleep disturbance for all, men, and women were 3.93 (2.80–5.53), 5.08 (3.21–8.03), and 2.91 (1.74–4.87), respectively. The relative excess risk due to interaction of work from home and work during nonwork time was not significant for sleep disturbance.
Work from home and work during nonwork time were each associated with sleep disturbance, but the interaction between the two factors on sleep disturbance was not observed in both men and women.
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In Korea, little research has focused on the relationship between discrimination in the workplace and sleep health. Thus, this study aims to investigate the association between such discriminatory experiences and insomnia, a common sleep disorder, using Korean employees’ data.
This study used data from the 6th Korea Working Conditions Survey. Discrimination experiences due to age, ethnic background, nationality, race, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, educational level, hometown, and employment status were investigated. The Minimal Insomnia Symptom Scale estimated insomnia symptoms. The association between discrimination experience and insomnia symptoms were analyzed using survey-weighted logistic regression analysis.
Based on experiences of discrimination over the past 12 months, insomnia symptoms were associated with discrimination experience due to religion (odds ratio [OR]: 3.70; 95% confidential interval [CI]: 1.58–8.69), sex (OR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.87–3.37), age (OR: 2.30; 95% CI: 1.88–2.81), hometown (OR: 2.07; 95% CI: 1.44–2.97), employment status (OR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.37–2.10), and educational level (OR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.31–2.14). Furthermore, the prevalence of insomnia symptoms increased with the number of discrimination experiences.
In this study, discrimination experiences due to religion, sex, age, hometown, employment status, and educational level were significantly associated with insomnia symptoms. Furthermore, as the number of discrimination experiences increased, so did the prevalence of insomnia. Preventing workplace discrimination may improve workers’ sleep health.
Circadian rhythm disturbance caused by shift work has adverse effects on the metabolic homeostasis of the liver. Disruption of the metabolic homeostasis of the liver causes fat accumulation in the liver. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between shift work and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among male workers in the steel manufacturing industry of Korea.
Based on medical examination data collected in June 2020, 2,511 male subjects from one steel manufacturing company in Korea were selected in total. NAFLD was evaluated using abdominal ultrasound, which was performed by two experienced radiologists. The multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed by adjusting for age, physical activity, smoking history, alcohol consumption, body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood glucose, lipidemia, liver function test, employment duration, and hepatotoxic materials exposure status.
Compared to daytime workers, the odds ratio (OR) of moderate-severe NAFLD in shift workers was 1.449 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.028–2.043). Compared to daytime workers, the ORs of moderate-severe NAFLD were significantly higher for the group that engaged in total shift work for more than 20 years (OR, 2.285; 95% CI, 1.051–4.970), the group that was not allowed to sleep during night shift work (OR, 1.463; 95% CI, 1.030–2.078), and the group that consumed food during night shift work (OR, 1.580; 95% CI, 1.093–2.284).
There was a correlation between shift work and moderate-severe NAFLD in male steel manufacturing workers. There will be a need for more research related to the correlation of shift work with steatohepatitis and cirrhosis in the future.
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Work is an inseparable element of a person’s life, and violence in the workplace has various effects on individual workers and companies. While most studies have focused on specific industries, very few studies have investigated the influence of workplace violence by co-workers. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the association between workplace violence and work-related depression/anxiety in various occupations by differentiating the perpetrators of violence as co-workers and clients.
This study was conducted based on data from the 4th and 5th Korean Working Conditions Surveys (KWCS). The experience of workplace violence was classified in terms of the perpetrator: workplace violence by co-workers and that by clients. Work-related depression and anxiety were assessed using questions about health problems related to depression and anxiety and whether the problems were related to work. Descriptive statistics, χ2 tests, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed using the SPSS 26.0.
After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics (age, education, income, subjective health status) and occupational characteristics (occupation, weekly working hours, type of employment, size of workplace, and shift work), male workers with experience of workplace violence by co-workers were found to be at a higher risk of work-related depression/anxiety (odds ratio [OR], 11.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 8.65–15.36). The same was confirmed for female workers (OR, 10.89; 95% CI, 7.90–15.02).
Employees who experienced workplace violence from co-workers were found to be more vulnerable to work-related depression/anxiety. Continuous contact between the victim and the perpetrator may occur, and the possibility of a secondary assault can frighten the victim. Appropriate prevention and intervention measures that focus on the perpetrators of violence are needed.
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Influenza illness causes several disruptions to the workforce. The absenteeism that often ensues has economic implications for employers. This study aimed to estimate the cost-benefit of influenza vaccination in a healthcare setting from the employer’s perspective.
A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in a private hospital in 2018–2019 comparing voluntary vaccinated with non-vaccinated employees with influenza vaccine. The analyses were made based on self-reporting on absenteeism and presenteeism from Influenza-like illnesses (ILIs). The costs incurred, both direct and indirect costs, were included in the study. A cost-benefit analysis was performed by measuring the cost of the vaccination program. The costs of absenteeism and reduced productivity were calculated using 3 hypothesised levels of effectiveness in the following percentage of productivity of 30%, 50%, and 70%. The costs were also calculated based on four scenarios: with and without operating income and with and without replacement. The benefits of the influenza vaccination from the employer’s perspective were analysed. The benefit to cost ratio was determined.
A total of four hundred and twenty-one respondents participated. The influenza vaccination rate was 63.0%. The rate of ILI of 38.1% was significantly lower among vaccinated. The ILI-related absenteeism reported was also significantly lower amongst vaccinated employees at 30% compared to 70% non-vaccinated. Employers could save up to USD 18.95 per vaccinated employee when only labour cost was included or 54.0% of cost savings. The cost-saving rose to USD 155.56 when the operating income per employee was also included. The benefit to cost ratio confirmed that the net cost-benefit gained from the vaccination was more than the net cost of vaccination.
Influenza vaccination for working adults was cost-saving and cost-beneficial when translated into financial investments for the employer. A workplace vaccination demonstrates a significant cost-benefit strategy to be applied in any institutional setting.
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The study aimed to determine the association between shift work and metabolic syndrome and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the shift and day work groups among workers working in chemical plants.
Based on medical examination data collected in February 2019, 3,794 workers working at a chemical plant in Korea were selected. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed by adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), drinking, exercise, smoking, employment period and organic compounds exposure.
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the entire study group was 23.4%, and the prevalence and components of metabolic syndrome in shift worker; waist circumference were higher than those of day workers (84.77 ± 8.64 vs. 83.41 ± 9.42,
Shift work in chemical plant workers increased the risk of metabolic syndrome, even after adjusting for general factors. To analyze the occupational cause and risk control, it is necessary to analyze the hazardous substances the workers were exposed to and their working environment. Additionally, a large-scale prospective analysis including general factors not analyzed in this study, such as eating habits, is required.
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The digital health care field is expanding from the daily monitoring of chronic diseases to the detection of acute diseases, such as arrhythmia. Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, a congenital cardiac disorder due to accessory pathways, causes tachycardia, syncope, and even sudden death.
We presented a 26-year-old female office worker with WPW syndrome managing the disease with a wearable device and discussed its significance in occupational medicine. After reviewing the worker's electrocardiogram results, symptoms, and pulse rate records extracted from the wearable device, we referred the worker to a cardiologist for further evaluations such as electrophysiology study. The worker monitors her symptom recurrence with the wearable device following successful radiofrequency catheter ablation of the bypass tract.
A case of an office worker with WPW syndrome managing the disease using a smart watch is presented. Further research is required to ensure its scientific validity, and we suggest policymakers promptly introduce digital health care to occupational environments.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected many individuals worldwide. Individuals in contact with unspecified people during their work, may be at risk of occupational exposure. On June 22, 2020, 1,435 overseas patients were identified in the Republic of Korea. Considering the influx of overseas patients, aircraft-mediated COVID-19 transmission is a major concern.
We presented two flight attendants diagnosed with COVID-19 who shared the crew's resting area and ground transportation, and discussed the risks experienced by flight attendants.
Biosafety guidelines for cabin crews should be intensified, and their COVID-19 risks must be further investigated. Policymakers must consider comprehensive surveillance systems for workers with high risks of occupational exposures and transmissions, such as flight attendants.
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Farmers are often exposed to dust, molds, pollen, animal products, insects, and chemicals. Accordingly, they have a high prevalence of respiratory and allergic diseases. Some studies have shown that farmers have a high prevalence of respiratory diseases and symptoms depending on where farmers work. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether certain types of agricultural workplaces are associated with the prevalence of allergic reactions in skin prick tests (SPTs) in South Korea.
A total of 149 farmers, grouped according to their workplaces in greenhouses, poultry houses, or outdoors, answered a self-reported questionnaire about the prevalence of respiratory diseases and symptoms. They were skin-tested using 12 allergens. The questionnaire and the prevalence of positive skin tests were determined for each of the participant groups, and the results were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.
There were significant differences in the prevalence of allergic reactions to the SPT, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPDs) and asthma symptoms (wheezing) among the subgroups. The allergic reaction to SPT was the highest in greenhouse workers (30.9%), followed by poultry house workers (15.9%), and outdoor workers (8.1%). The prevalence of COPD was 6.8% in poultry house workers alone and not in other groups. The prevalence of wheezing was the highest at 9.1% in poultry house workers. According to the results of the logistic analysis, the prevalence of allergic reactions to SPT had positive correlations with the types of workplaces. Greenhouse workers had higher risk of SPT sensitization compared to outdoor workers (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 5.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.32–32.24). The prevalence of SPT positivity also had an association with the symptoms of sneezing, rhinorrhea, or nasal congestion (adjusted OR: 6.64, 95% CI: 2.06–23.63).
These data demonstrate that the types of workplaces were associated with the prevalence of allergic sensitization. This could be explained by the difference in the type or level of airborne exposures in each workplace. It is also likely that this was caused by differences between groups of individual factors such as age and BMI that influence SPT sensitization.
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The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is causing tremendous damage globally. The Republic of Korea (ROK), a highly export-dependent nation, is a leader in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and coping well with the disaster. Like the drive-through COVID-19 testing, which reflects the brilliant flexibility of the Korean medical system, onsite mass workplace testing for COVID-19, which our hospital has been performing over the past few months, is a unique and valuable countermeasure. We believe it is time that the current health examination system for workers in the ROK considered the risk of transmissible diseases.
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To investigate the risk of injury for indirect employment in Korea, we compared work environment, workplace exposure, and injury risk according to the type of employment contract between Korea and European Union (EU) countries.
We analyzed data of blue-collar workers from the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey (2014) and the sixth European Working Conditions Survey (2015) and compared workplace risk factors and preventive factors for occupational injuries. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the relationship between occupational injury and the type of employment contract after adjusting for age and sex.
For descriptive characteristics, a relatively older age, lower income, lower proportion of full-time work, greater proportion in small-sized companies, and fewer unionizations were noted in indirect employment in Korea than in direct employment. Workplace exposure was significantly higher in indirect employment in both Korea and Europe. Among safety-related factors, indirect employment in both Korea and Europe lacked the support of company education, coworkers, and supervisors. Indirectly employed blue-collar workers had a significantly higher risk of occupational injury than those directly employed in Korea (odds ratio [OR]: 1.876), whereas there was no significant difference between directly and indirectly employed workers in EU countries (OR: 1.038).
Indirectly employed blue-collar workers have an increased risk of occupational injury in Korea.
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No tool is available for the multidimensional measurement of workplace well-being among Korean workers. In this study, the Workplace Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA)-Profiler, a multidimensional workplace well-being measure, was translated into Korean, and its validity and reliability were assessed.
The Workplace PERMA-Profiler, including the positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment domains, was translated according to international guidelines. The questionnaires included the Workplace PERMA-Profiler, Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, Psychosocial Well-being Index-Short Form, and Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form. A total of 316 Korean workers completed a web-based survey with adequate response. Cronbach's alpha values were calculated to assess scale reliability, and correlational and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess validity.
Cronbach's alpha values for the Korean Workplace PERMA-Profiler ranged from 0.70 to 0.95. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 5-factor model had a marginally acceptable fit [χ2(80) = 383.04, comparative fit index = 0.909, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.881, root mean square error of approximation = 0.110, and standardized root mean square residual = 0.054]. The 5-factor PERMA domains were correlated positively with work engagement and mental well-being in life, and negatively with burnout, occupational stressors, and stress responses. These results showed that the Workplace PERMA-Profiler has good convergent and divergent validity.
The Korean version of the Workplace PERMA-Profiler had good reliability and validity. It might be used as an indicator or evaluation tool for positive mental health interventions in the workplace.
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Workplace violence is the intentional use of power, threatened or actual, against another person or against a group, in work-related circumstances, that either results in or has a high degree of likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal development, or deprivation. The aim of this study is to assess magnitude and predictors of workplace violence among healthcare workers in health facilities of Gondar city.
Institutional based cross sectional study design was employed to conduct this study. The study conducted in Gondar town from February 21 to march 21, 2016. Five hundred fifty three health care workers selected from health facilities of Gondar City administration. A stratified sampling technique was used for selecting the study subjects through simple random sampling. Data was collected by structured self administered questionnaire which is adapted from ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI after it is pretested & prepared in Amharic. The data was coded and entered in to EPI info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 20 software for analysis. The degree of association for variables was assessed using odds ratios with 95% confidence interval and
The prevalence of workplace violence was found to be 58.2% with [95% confidence interval (CI): (53.7, 62.3)] in which verbal abuse 282(53.1%) followed by physical attack 117(22.0%) and 38(7.2%) sexual harassment. Working at emergency departments [AOR = 3.99,95% CI:(1.49,10.73)], working at shifts [AOR = 1.98,95%, CI: (1.28,3.03)],short experiences [AOR = 3.09,95% CI: (1.20,7.98)], being nurse or midwife [AOR = 4.06, 95% CI: (1.20,13.74)] were positively associated with workplace violence. The main sources of violence are visitors/patient relatives followed by colleagues and patients.
workplace violence is major public health problem across health facilities and the Ministry of Health should incorporate interventions in its different health sector development & management safety initiative.
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This study conducted to investigate work-related factors in relation to smoking among women working in call centers in Gwangju, South Korea.
From 56 call centers (7320 employees), we selected 10 and conducted a survey using a structured questionnaire by randomly selecting 10% of workers from each center. A total of 387 subjects participated in this survey We analyzed for 375 respondents, after excluding men and those with missing responses. We analyzed the relationships of work-related factors such as emotional labor, workplace violence, employment type, annual salary, working hours, employment period with smoking, using multiple logistic regression analysis. Emotional labor and workplace violence were measured using the Korean Emotional Labor Scale (K-ELS) and Korean Workplace Violence Scale (K-WVS).
The prevalence of current smoking among call center female workers was 13.6%. Univariate analysis showed that “Emotional disharmony and hurt”, “Experience of psychological and sexual violence from supervisors and co-workers” among items of K-ELS and K-WVS, working hours, annual salary correlated with smoking. After adjusting for emotional labor, workplace violence, employment type, annual salary, working hours, employment period, and age, only working hours show a significant association with smoking. Women who worked 40–49 h had 3.50 times (95% CI = 1.04–11.80) and worked more than 50 h had 8.68 times (95% CI = 1.89–39.78) greater odds of smoking as compared with women who worked less than 40 h.
Smoking was associated with working hours among female workers in call center. However, emotional labor and workplace violence did not show significant relationships with smoking.
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This study aimed to identify the difference of perception about the role of appointing health officers by comparing and analyzing the response of entrustment workplace (EW) and specialized health management institution (SI). This is considered an important aspect of an institutional assessment to improve the quality of health management services.
A survey questionnaire was mailed to 122 SIs and 319 EWs nationwide. The questionnaire survey was about the general characteristics of SIs and EWs and main occupations for each evaluation item. In total, 81 SIs (66.4%) and 30 EWs responded to the questionnaire. A logistic regression analysis was performed to compare the opinions of SI and EW.
Based on the analysis, the items showing statistically significant differences were as follows. Doctors’ main tasks survey: “Guidance on their wearing personal protective equipment (PPE)” (OR: 4.58), “Guidance of improvement of work environment (WE)” (OR: 3.33), etc.; Nurses’ main tasks survey: “Guidance on their wearing PPE” (OR: 3.86), “Guidance for programs on health process in confined space (CS)” (OR: 0.36), “Guidance on the hearing conservation program (HCP)” (OR: 0.28), etc.; Industrial hygienist (IH)‘s main tasks survey: “Guidance of work through inspection (WTI)” (OR: 0.15), “Guidance on the improvement of WE” (OR: 0.32), “Management confirmation of substances used by process and Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)” (OR: 0.08), “Guidance on posting or keeping of MSDS and warning signs” (OR: 0.03), “Prevention of dust-induced medical problems” (OR: 0.28), “Guidance for programs of health process in CS” (OR: 0.39), etc.
It is necessary to educate the EWs to recognize the need for physicians to perform tasks, such as wearing a PPE, and instruction to improve WE. As for nurses’ tasks, such as education about the CS and the noise work, educating the nurses of the SI is regarded necessary as the demand of the EWs is considered. With respect to the unique tasks of IH, such as WE management and instructions for wearing PPE, among several other tasks of IH, training should be provided for improved IH recognition.
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In modern society, the scale of the service industry is continuously expanding, and the number of service workers is increasing. Correspondingly, physical and mental problems related to emotional labor are becoming a major social problem. In this study, we investigated the relationship between emotional labor, workplace violence, and depressive symptoms in female bank employees, which is a typical service industry.
In this study, the Korean Emotional Labor Scale (K-ELS) and Korean Workplace Violence Scale (K-WVS) were distributed to 381 female workers in their 20s at a bank in Seoul, Korea. Data were obtained from 289 subjects (75.9%) and analyzed for 278 respondents, after excluding those with missing responses. We examined the relationship between emotional labor, workplace violence, and depressive symptoms, using multiple logistic regression analysis.
Among 278 subjects, 27 workers (9.7%) had depressive symptoms. “Emotional disharmony and hurt” (OR 2.93, 95% CI = 1.17–7.36) and “Organizational surveillance and monitoring” (OR 3.18, 95% CI = 1.29–7.86) showed a significant association with depressive symptoms. For workplace violence, the “Experience of psychological and sexual violence from supervisors and coworkers” (OR 4.07, 95% CI = 1.58–10.50) showed a significant association. When the number of high-risk emotional labor-related factors was 1 or more, 13.1% showed depressive symptoms. When the number of high-risk workplace violence-related factors was 1 or more, 14.4% had statistically significant depressive symptoms.
A significant result was found for depressive symptoms related to Emotional disharmony, which is a sub-topic of emotional labor, and those at high risk for “Organizational surveillance and monitoring.” For workplace violence, depressive symptoms were high for the group at high risk for the “experience of psychological and sexual violence from supervisors and coworkers.” In this way, management of emotional disharmony, a sub-factor of emotional labor, is necessary, and improvements to traditional corporate culture that monitors emotional labor is necessary. Violence from colleagues and supervisors in the workplace must also be reduced.
IRB Approval No. SCHUH 2017–01-029. Registered 26 January 2017. Retrospectively registered.
The online version of this article (10.1186/s40557-018-0229-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Citations
Workplace health promotion (WHP) strongly requires the employer’s efforts to improve the psychosocial, ergonomic, and physical environments of the workplace. There are many studies discussing the socio-economic advantage of WHP intervention programmes and thus the internal and external factors motivating employers to implement and integrate such programmes. However, the socio-economic impacts of the employer’s multifactorial efforts to improve the work environment need to be adequately assessed.
Data were collected from Swedish company Sandvik Materials Technology (SMT) through a work environment survey in April 2014. Different regression equations were analysed to assess marginal effects of the employer’s efforts on overall labour effectiveness (OLE), informal work impairments (IWI), lost working hours (LWH), and labour productivity loss (LPL) in terms of money.
The employer’s multifactorial efforts resulted in increasing OLE, decreasing IWI and illness-related LWH, and cost savings in terms of decreasing LPL.
Environmental factors at the workplace are the important determinant factor for OLE, and the latter is where socio-economic impacts of the employer’s efforts primarily manifest.
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This study aimed to identify the emotional labor and workplace violence status among toll collectors by assessing and comparing the same with that in workers in other service occupation. It also aimed to analyze the relationship between emotional labor and workplace violence.
This study examined emotional labor and workplace violence status in 264 female toll collectors from August 20 to September 4, 2015. The emotional labor was assessed using the Korean Emotional Labor Scale (K-ELS), and a questionnaire was used to examine the presence or absence, and type and frequency of workplace violence experienced by the subjects. A linear regression analysis was also performed to analyze the relationship between workplace violence and emotional labor.
The scores on “emotional demanding and regulation (
This study found that the toll collectors engaged in a high level of emotional labor. Additionally, there was a significant relationship between emotional labor and the experience of workplace violence among the toll collectors.
Citations
The present study analyzed relationship of workplace violence and perpetrators of violence on sleep disturbance among wage workers in Korea.
The present study used data from the 4th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) of 2014 in selecting a total of 25,138wage workers as the study population, which excluded those who failed or refused to respond to questions required for the present study. The workplace violence experience group included people who satisfied at least one of six relevant criteria (verbal abuse, unwanted sexual attention, threatening or humiliating behavior, physical violence, bullying/harassment, and sexual harassment) and the group was divided according to whether the perpetrator of violence was a client or colleague. Presence of sleep disturbance was determined based on subjective symptoms felt within the past 12 months by each individual. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the effects on sleep distance according to general, occupational, and psychosocial characteristics, as well as the types of workplace violence and perpetrators of violence.
Workplace violence was found as a factor affecting sleep disturbance (OR = 3.773, 95 % CI = 3.058–4.655), and with respect to perpetrators of violence, complaint of sleep disturbance symptoms was higher when the perpetrator was a colleague or boss (OR = 5.688, 95 % CI 4.189–7.723) than a client (OR = 2.992, 95 % CI 2.301–3.890).
Workplace violence had an effect on occurrence of sleep disturbance and when the perpetrators of violence was a boss or colleague at work, the risk for symptoms such as sleep disturbance increased, which indicated the need for appropriate intervention from a workplace healthcare perspective, including preventive education of workplace violence among employees.
Citations
Harassment means systemic and repeated unethical acts. Research on workplace harassment have been conducted widely and the NAQ-R has been widely used for the researches. But this tool, however the limitations in revealing differended in sub-factors depending on the culture and in reflecting that unique characteristics of the Koren society. So, The workplace harassment questionnaire for Korean finace and service workers has been developed to assess the level of personal harassment at work. This study aims to develop a tool to assess the level of personal harassment at work and to test its validity and reliability while examining specific characteristics of workplace harassment against finance and service workers in Korea.
The framework of survey was established based on literature review, focused-group interview for the Korean finance and service workers. To verify its reliability, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated; and to verify its validity, items and factors of the tool were analyzed. The correlation matrix analysis was examined to verify the tool’s convergent validity and discriminant validity. Structural validity was verified by checking statistical significance in relation to the BDI-K.
Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of this survey was 0.93, which indicates a quite high level of reliability. To verify the appropriateness of this survey tool, its construct validity was examined through factor analysis. As a result of the factor analysis, 3 factors were extracted, explaining 56.5 % of the total variance. The loading values and communalities of the 20 items were 0.85 to 0.48 and 0.71 to 0.46. The convergent validity and discriminant validity were analyzed and rate of item discriminant validity was 100 %. Finally, for the concurrent validity, We examined the relationship between the WHI-KFSW and pschosocial stress by examining the correlation with the BDI-K. The results of chi-square test and multiple logistic analysis indicated that the correlation with the BDI-K was satatisctically significant.
Workplace harassment in actual workplaces were investigated based on interviews, and the statistical analysis contributed to systematizing the types of actual workplace harassment. By statistical method, we developed the questionare, 20 items of 3 categories.
Citations
Presenteeism, a concept that has recently undergone active study, is the act of attending work while sick. This study investigates the association between presenteeism and various psychosocial factors within workplaces.
This study analyzed 29246 wage earners from the third Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS, 2011) data using the logistic regression analysis to investigate the association between presenteeism and various psychosocial factors within workplaces.
Among the 29246 wage earners, 6347 (21.7 %) showed presenteeism. Those who experienced age discrimination at work (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.77: 95 % CI 1.56–2.00), educational background discrimination (aOR 1.35: 95 % CI 1.22–1.51), regional discrimination (aOR 1.55: 95 % CI 1.31–1.83), sexual discrimination (aOR 1.65: 95 % CI 1.41–1.94), employment type discrimination (aOR 2.13: 95 % CI 1.89–2.40), physical violence (aOR 1.92: 95 % CI 1.45–2.55), sexual harassment (aOR 2.90: 95 % CI 2.01–4.19), job insecurity (aOR 1.36: 95 % CI 1.18–1.56), work–life imbalance (aOR 1.38: 95 % CI 1.29–1.47), low job satisfaction (aOR 2.04: 95 % CI 1.91–2.17), no colleague support (aOR 1.11: 95 % CI 1.02–1.21), job stress (aOR 1.89: 95 % CI 1.76–2.02), emotional labor (aOR 1.50: 95 % CI 1.41–1.60), high work intensity (aOR 1.31: 95 % CI 1.23–1.38), and 3 groups of job strain that are passive group (aOR 1.09: 95 % CI 1.00–1.18), active group (aOR 1.39: 95 % CI 1.28–1.51), and high strain group (aOR 1.35: 95 % CI 1.24–1.46) showed an increased risk of presenteeism compared to their respective counterparts (
The study results confirmed the association between presenteeism and various psychosocial factors within workplaces. Considering that presenteeism negatively affects productivity and the mental and physical health of individuals, managing various psychosocial factors within workplaces is proposed to reduce presenteeism.
Citations
To assess the effectiveness of a comprehensive workplace stress management program consisting of participatory action-oriented training (PAOT) and individual management.
A comprehensive workplace stress management program was conducted in a medium-sized enterprise. The baseline survey was conducted in September 2011, using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) and Worker’s Stress Response Inventory (WSRI). After implementing both organizational and individual level interventions, the follow up evaluation was conducted in November 2011.
Most of the workers participated in the organizational level PAOT and made Team-based improvement plans. Based on the stress survey, 24 workers were interviewed by a researcher. After the organizational and individual level interventions, there was a reduction of several adverse psychosocial factors and stress responses. In the case of blue-collar workers, psychosocial factors such as the physical environment, job demands, organizational system, lack of rewards, and occupational climate were significantly improved; in the case of white-collar workers, the occupational climate was improved.
In light of these results, we concluded that the comprehensive stress management program was effective in reducing work-related stress in a short-term period. A persistent long-term follow up is necessary to determine whether the observed effects are maintained over time. Both team-based improvement activities and individual interviews have to be sustainable and complementary to each other under the long-term plan.
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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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