Effect of Working Time Quality on the Work-Life Imbalance of Nurses / 간호행정학회지

Relationship between occupational injuries and the provision of safety and health information: data from the 4th Korean working conditions survey

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the provision of safety and health information (PSHI) and occupational injuries. METHODS: This study was based on data from the 4th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) (2014). The sample consisted of data from 24,527 wage workers and was divided into high-risk and low-risk groups, depending on the probability of occupational injury. The high-risk group included subjects who could cause harm to themselves or others due to errors during work. We applied chi-squared tests and logistic regression analyses to examine the relationship between PSHI and occupational injuries. RESULTS: In the high-risk group, workers with no PSHI showed an adjusted odds ratio of 1.81 for occupational injury (95% CI 1.33–2.47). In contrast, there was no statistically significant relationship between PSHI and the incidence of occupational injury in the low-risk group. CONCLUSIONS: To prevent occupational injuries, multi-faceted approaches that take different levels of injury risk into account are needed. Among workers with a high risk of occupational injury, more a stringent safety education program is required.

The work–life balance and psychosocial well-being of South Korean workers

BACKGROUND: It is challenging to balance work and life, and little attention has been paid to the work–life balance and psychosocial well-being of South Koreans. We assessed the association between work–life balance and psychosocial well-being among paid Korean workers. METHODS: This study was based on data from the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey. We evaluated only paid workers, which constituted 30,649 of the total of 50,007 subjects surveyed. Poor work–life balance was defined based on the goodness of fit between working hours and social commitments. Well-being was measured using the World Health Organization WHO-5 index. Poisson regression with robust variances was used to calculate the estimated prevalence ratios (PRs) with confidence intervals. RESULTS: Poor work–life balance was associated with poor psychosocial well-being (PR = 1.25; 95% CI 1.21 to 1.28) even after adjusting for work-related and individual characteristics. Poor well-being was associated with low-level job autonomy (PR = 1.06; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.09), working for ≥53 h per week (PR = 1.10; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.14), blue-collar status (PR = 1.16; 95% CI 1.11 to 1.21), low-level support at work (PR = 1.32; 95% CI 1.29 to 1.36), age ≥ 50 years (PR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.15 to 1.26), the female gender (95% CI PR = 1.04; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.07), and cohabitation (living with somebody) (PR = 1.08; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.12). Good well-being was associated with high-intensity work (PR = 0.96; 95% CI 0.94 to 0.99), being the secondary earner in a household (PR = 0.82; 95% CI 0.79 to 0.85), and higher income (PR = 0.75; 95% CI 0.71 to 0.79). CONCLUSION: Work–life balance was associated with psychosocial well-being after adjusting for both work-related and individual characteristics.

Relationship between simultaneous exposure to ergonomic risk factors and work-related lower back pain: a cross-sectional study based on the fourth Korean working conditions survey

BACKGROUND: It is well known that ergonomic risk factors and back pain are related. However, few studies have examined the relationship between simultaneous exposure to these risk factors and back pain in a Korean population. We aimed to investigate the relationship between simultaneous exposure to ergonomic risk factors and work-related lower back pain (LBP) based on the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). METHOD: The fourth KWCS (2014) was used for this study. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to assess relationship between 5 ergonomic risk factors and work-related LBP. We also analyzed the relationship between simultaneous exposure to 2 risk factors and work-related LBP. RESULTS: All 5 ergonomic risk factors (fatigue-inducing and painful posture; lifting or moving people; dragging, pushing, or moving heavy objects; standing posture; and repetitive hand or arm movements) were significantly correlated with work-related LBP in the severe exposure group (adjusted odd ratios [aOR] 5.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.46–5.83; aOR 1.98, 95% CI 1.62–2.42; aOR 2.09, 95% CI 1.82–2.40; aOR 1.79, 95% CI 1.60–2.01; aOR 2.04, 95% CI 1.82–2.30, respectively). When exposed to 2 risk factors simultaneously, the relationship between exposure and work-related LBP was not greater than exposure to only 1 risk factor in our study (usually exposed to ‘fatigue-inducing or painful posture’ aOR 2.17, 95% CI 2.02–2.34; high exposure to both ‘fatigue-inducing or painful posture’ and ‘dragging, pushing, or moving heavy objects’ aOR 2.00, 95% CI 1.82–2.20). CONCLUSIONS: There was a strong relationship between severe exposure to each ergonomic risk factor and work-related LBP. However, when exposed to 2 ergonomic risk factors simultaneously, the relationship between exposure and work-related LBP was not stronger than when exposed to only 1 risk factor in our study.

The association between long working hours and work-related musculoskeletal symptoms of Korean wage workers: data from the fourth Korean working conditions survey (a cross-sectional study)

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that long working hours are hazardous to the workers’ health. Especially, work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) have been considered as one of the significant health issues in workplace. The objective of this study was to identify the association between long working hours and work-related musculoskeletal symptoms. METHODS: The analysis was conducted using data from the Fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Subjects of this study were 24,783 wage workers and divided into three groups according to the weekly working hours, which were ≤ 40, 41–52 and > 52 h. The relationship between long working hours and work-related musculoskeletal symptoms was analyzed by multivariate logistic regression method after adjusting for general, occupational characteristics including specific working motions or postures and psychosocial factors. RESULTS: Approximately 18.4% of subjects worked more than 52 h per week and 26.4 and 16.4% of male subjects and 33.0 and 23.4% of female subjects experienced work-related upper and lower limb pains, respectively, over the last 12 months. Moreover, the prevalence of upper and lower limb pain was increased in both genders as the weekly working hours increased. The odds ratios (ORs) of upper limb pain for those working 41–52 h and more than 52 h per week when adjusted for general, occupational characteristics including specific motions or postures and psychosocial factors were 1.36 and 1.40 for male workers and 1.26 and 1.66 for female workers compared to the reference group, respectively. Furthermore, ORs of lower limb pain for the same weekly working hour groups were 1.26 and 1.47 for male workers and 1.20 and 1.47 for female workers, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Long working hours were significantly related to work-related musculoskeletal symptoms in Korean wage workers and appropriate interventions should be implemented to reduce long working hours that can negatively affect workers’ health.

Association between working time quality and self-perceived health: analysis of the 3rd Korean working conditions survey (2011)

BACKGROUND: Self-perceived health, a subjective assessment of one's health condition, is an important health indicator at the level of quality of life. In this study, working time quality refer to job factors with qualitative aspects of working time. This study was conducted to investigate the association between working time quality and self-perceived health in paid workers in Korea. METHODS: In this study, 35,902 paid workers were analyzed based on the 3rd Korean working conditions survey. For independent variables, working time quality (working at night, working in the evenings, working on Sundays, working on Saturdays, and working more than 10 h a day) were set as major job-related variables. Other occupational characteristics were divided into 6 groups and general characteristics were divided into 6 groups, and univariate analysis was conducted with self-perceived health, a dependent variable. Variables that had significance in the univariate analysis were used for multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: In the univariate analysis using Chi-square test, variables showing significance in self-perceived health were age, income, education, occupation, employment type, work hours per week, and shift work. Working time quality showed a significant association with self-perceived health. After adjusting for these variables using logistic regression analysis, working at night, working in the evening, working on Sundays, and working more than 10 h a day showed significant association with self-perceived health. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a statistically significant association between working time quality of employees with self-perceived health.

The association between perceived discriminations and well-being in Korean employed workers: the 4th Korean working conditions survey

BACKGROUND: Around the globe, discrimination has emerged as a social issue requiring serious consideration. From the perspective of public health, the impact of discrimination on the health of affected individuals is a subject of great importance. On the other hand, subjective well-being is a key indicator of an individual's physical, mental, and social health. The present study aims to analyze the relationship between Korean employed workers' subjective health and their exposure to perceived discrimination. METHODS: The Fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS, 2014) was conducted on a representative sample of the economically active population aged 15 years or older, who were either employees or self-employed at the time of interview. After removing inconsistent data, 32,984 employed workers were examined in this study. The data included general and occupational characteristics, perceived discrimination, and well-being. Well-being was measured through the WHO-Five index (1998 version). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between perceived discrimination and well-being. RESULT: As a group, employed workers who were exposed to discrimination had a significantly higher likelihood of “poor well-being” than their counterparts who were not exposed to discrimination. More specifically, the workers exposed to age discrimination had an odds ratio(OR) of 1.51 (95% CI: 1.36–1.68), workers exposed to discrimination based on educational attainment had an OR of 1.43 (95% CI: 1.26–1.61), and workers exposed to discrimination based on employment type had an OR of 1.68 (95% CI: 1.48–1.91) with respect to poor well-being. Furthermore, workers exposed to a greater number of discriminatory incidents were also at a higher risk of “poor well-being” than their counterparts who were exposed to fewer such incidents. More specifically, the workers with three exposures to discrimination had an OR of 2.60 (95% CI: 1.92–3.53), the workers with two such exposures had an OR of 1.69 (95% CI: 1.44–1.99), and the workers with one such exposure had an OR of 1.32 (95% CI: 1.20–1.45). CONCLUSION: The present study found that discrimination based on age, educational attainment, or employment type put workers at a higher risk of “poor well-being,” and that the greater the exposure to discrimination, the higher the risk of poor well-being.

Computer use at work is associated with self-reported depressive and anxiety disorder

BACKGROUND: With the development of technology, extensive use of computers in the workplace is prevalent and increases efficiency. However, computer users are facing new harmful working conditions with high workloads and longer hours. This study aimed to investigate the association between computer use at work and self-reported depressive and anxiety disorder (DAD) in a nationally representative sample of South Korean workers. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was based on the third Korean Working Conditions Survey (2011), and 48,850 workers were analyzed. Information about computer use and DAD was obtained from a self-administered questionnaire. We investigated the relation between computer use at work and DAD using logistic regression. RESULTS: The 12-month prevalence of DAD in computer-using workers was 1.46 %. After adjustment for socio-demographic factors, the odds ratio for DAD was higher in workers using computers more than 75 % of their workday (OR 1.69, 95 % CI 1.30−2.20) than in workers using computers less than 50 % of their shift. After stratifying by working hours, computer use for over 75 % of the work time was significantly associated with increased odds of DAD in 20–39, 41–50, 51–60, and over 60 working hours per week. After stratifying by occupation, education, and job status, computer use for more than 75 % of the work time was related with higher odds of DAD in sales and service workers, those with high school and college education, and those who were self-employed and employers. CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of computer use at work may be associated with depressive and anxiety disorder. This finding suggests the necessity of a work guideline to help the workers suffering from high computer use at work. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40557-016-0146-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The association of relational and organizational job stress factors with sleep disorder: analysis of the 3rd Korean working conditions survey (2011)

BACKGROUND: Sleep disorder is a disease that causes reduction in quality of life and work efficiency of workers. This study was performed to investigate the relationship between job-related stress factor and sleep disorder among wageworkers in Korea. METHODS: This study was based on analysis of the 3rd Korean working conditions survey. We analyzed 35,902 workers whose employment status is wageworker. We classified the job-related stress factor into 12 sections. Logistic regression was performed to estimate the relationship between job-related stress factor and sleep disorder and Odds ratio and 95 % CI were calculated using the SPSS version 23.0 program. RESULTS: Many categories of Job-related stress factor were correlated with sleep disorder (8 of 12 for women, 10 of 12 for men). The results of the regression analysis, corrected for general and occupational characteristics, indicated that sleep disorder was significantly correlated with the following categories of job-related stress: discrimination experience (OR 3.37, 95 % CI = 2.49 ~ 4.56 in women, OR 1.96, 95 % CI = 1.53 ~ 2.51 in men), direct customer confrontation (OR 2.72, 95 % CI = 1.91 ~ 3.86 in women, OR 1.99, 95 % CI = 1.45 ~ 2.72 in men), emotional stress (OR 2.01, 95 % CI = 1.30 ~ 3.09 in men), work dissatisfaction (detailed) (OR 1.99, 95 % CI = 1.36 ~ 2.93 in men), work dissatisfaction (overall) (OR 2.30, 95 % CI = 1.66 ~ 3.20 in women, OR 2.40, 95 % CI = 1.88 ~ 3.08 in men), expression of opinion difficulty (OR 0.66, 95 % CI = 0.48 ~ 0.92 in women, OR 0.57, 95 % CI = 0.45 ~ 0.73 in men). CONCLUSION: A number of studies have reported that stress affects sleep disorder. In this study, many factors suspected to increase the risk of sleep disorder were added to previously known job stress factors. In particular, this study found a strong correlation between work-associated sleep disorder and relational and organizational job stress factors. Sleep disorder may lead to large decreases in workers’ quality of life and work efficiency. Awareness and interventions are therefore required to reduce workplace stress; additional research of this topic is also required. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40557-016-0131-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.