Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2019.10.003

The Effects of Workplace Rest Breaks on Health Problems Related to Long Working Hours and Shift Work among Male Apartment Janitors in Korea  

Park, Sungjin (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Cheonan Medical Center)
Lee, June-Hee (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine)
Lee, Wanhyung (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine)
Publication Information
Safety and Health at Work / v.10, no.4, 2019 , pp. 512-517 More about this Journal
Abstract
Background: Rest breaks at work are reported to reduce fatigue and job stress. Apartment janitors in Korea who perform night shift work and work long hours can be exposed to various health problems (HPs). However, few studies have evaluated relationships between their rest breaks and HPs. This study was conducted to examine the relationships between long working hours, shift work, and insufficient rest breaks and HPs among Korean apartment janitors. Methods: Data on 1,212 selected male apartment janitors were obtained from the 3rd and 4th Korean Working Conditions Surveys. Demographic and occupational characteristics were collected using self-reported questionnaires. Rest breaks at work were classified as "sufficient" or "insufficient." Long working hours were considered as working more than 60 hours per week. Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression was performed to investigate the effects of shift work and long working hours on HPs and the effects of rest breaks on relationships between HPs and long working hours and shift work. Results: Among those with insufficient rest breaks at work, significant associations were found between long working hours and the risk of HPs [odds ratio (OR) = 1.489; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.038-2.136] and work-related HPs (WRHPs) [OR 1.621; 95% CI = 1.156-2.272], and between shift work and HPs [OR = 1.603; 95% CI = 1.084-2.372]. These relationships became nonsignificant when sufficient rest breaks were provided. Conclusion: It is important to provide breaks at work to reduce HPs because of long working hours and shift work among aged workers such as apartment janitors.
Keywords
Microbreak; Night work; Security officer; Work hours; Working condition;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 2  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Button M, Park H. Security officers and the policing of private space in South Korea: profile, powers and occupational hazards. Policing Soc 2009;19(3):247-62.   DOI
2 Choi EH, Jung HS. The effects of violence experience and job stress on depression by long working hours of private security business. J Korean Soc Private Security 2018;17(1):231-54 [in Korean].
3 Park J, Kim Y, Han B. Long working hours in Korea: based on the 2014 Korean working conditions survey. Saf Health Work 2017;8(4):343-6.   DOI
4 Park MH, Jeong BY. Occupational injuries and risk assessment of apartment guards work. Hum Factor. Ergon Manuf 2018;28(4):220-6.   DOI
5 2017 Korean Standard Classification of Occupations. Daejeon (Korea). Statistics Korea; 2017. 986 p [in Korean].
6 Ministry of Employment and Labor. Occupational Labor Force Survey at Establishments [Internet]. Sejong (Korea): Ministry of Employment and Labor. 2019 [cited 2019 August 1]. Available from: https://mdis.kostat.go.kr/extract/extSurvSearchByDate.do?extcTypeDivCD=E&curMenuNo=UI_POR_P1070.
7 Virtanen M, Ferrie JE, Gimeno D, Vahtera J, Elovainio M, Singh-Manoux A, Marmot MG, Kivimaki M. Long working hours and sleep disturbances: the Whitehall II prospective cohort study. Sleep 2009;32(6):737-45.   DOI
8 Drake CL, Roehrs T, Richardson G, Walsh JK, Roth T. Shift work sleep disorder: prevalence and consequences beyond that of symptomatic day workers. Sleep 2004;27(8):1453-62.   DOI
9 Haus E, Smolensky M. Biological clocks and shift work: circadian dysregulation and potential long-term effects. Cancer Causes Control 2006;17(4):489-500.   DOI
10 Costa G. Shift work and health: current problems and preventive actions. Saf Health Work 2010;1(2):112-23.   DOI
11 Costa G. The impact of shift and night work on health. Appl Ergon 1996;27(1):9-16.   DOI
12 Lee W, Kang YJ, Kim T, Choi J, Kang MY. The impact of working hours on cardiovascular diseases and moderating effects of sex and type of work: results from a longitudinal analysis of the Korean working population. J Occup Environ Med 2019;61(6):e247-52.   DOI
13 Kang MY, Cho SH, Yoo MS, Kim T, Hong YC. Long working hours may increase risk of coronary heart disease. Am J Ind Med 2014;57(11):1227-34.   DOI
14 Bannai A, Tamakoshi A. The association between long working hours and health: a systematic review of epidemiological evidence. Scand J Work Environ Health 2014;40(1):5-18.   DOI
15 Violanti JM, Fekedulegn D, Andrew ME, Charles LE, Hartley TA, Vila B, Burchfiel CM. Shift work and the incidence of injury among police officers. Am J Ind Med 2012;55(3):217-27.   DOI
16 Yoon CG, Bae KJ, Kang MY, Yoon JH. Is suicidal ideation linked to working hours and shift work in Korea? J Occup Health 2015;57(3):222-9.   DOI
17 Violanti JM, Charles LE, Hartley TA, Mnatsakanova A, Andrew ME, Fekedulegn D, Vila B, Burchfiel CM. Shift-work and suicide ideation among police officers. Am J Ind Med 2008;51(10):758-68.   DOI
18 Dembe AE, Erickson JB, Delbos RG, Banks SM. The impact of overtime and long work hours on occupational injuries and illnesses: new evidence from the United States. Occup Environ Med 2005;62(9):588-97.   DOI
19 Olds DM, Clarke SP. The effect of work hours on adverse events and errors in health care. J Saf Res 2010;41(2):153-62.   DOI
20 Lee J-G, Kim GH, Jung SW, Kim SW, Lee J-H, Lee K-J. 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). Ann Occup Environ Med 2018;30(1). 67-11.   DOI
21 Takahashi M, Matsudaira K, Shimazu A. Disabling low back pain associated with night shift duration: sleep problems as a potentiator. Am J Ind Med 2015;58(12):1300-10.   DOI
22 Costa G, Sartori S. Ageing, working hours and work ability. Ergonomics 2007;50(11):1914-30.   DOI
23 Hunter EM, Wu C. Give me a better break: choosing workday break activities to maximize resource recovery. J Appl Psychol 2016;101(2):302-11.   DOI
24 Kim S, Park Y, Niu Q. Micro-break activities at work to recover from daily work demands. J Organ Behav 2017;38:28-44.   DOI
25 Zaninotto P, Falaschetti E. Comparison of methods for modelling a count outcome with excess zeros: application to Activities of Daily Living (ADL-s). J Epidemiol Community Health 2011;65(3):205-10.   DOI
26 Geurts SA, Sonnentag S. Recovery as an explanatory mechanism in the relation between acute stress reactions and chronic health impairment. Scand J Work Environ Health 2006;32(6):482-92.   DOI
27 Trougakos JP, Hideg I. Momentary work recovery: the role of within-day work breaks. Current perspectives on job-stress recovery. Research in occupational stress and well being. Bingley (United Kingdom): JAI Press/Emerald Group Publishing; 2009. p. 37-84.
28 Park S, Oh S-K, Seok H, Kim S-K, Choi JR, Oh S-S, Koh S-B. Long working hours and poor self-rated health in the young working population in Korea. J Occup Environ Med 2019;61(6):e291.   DOI
29 Lee KE, Sargent LD, Williams NSG, Williams KJH. Linking green micro-breaks with mood and performance: mediating roles of coherence and effort. J Environ Psychol 2018;60:81-8.   DOI
30 Tucker P. The impact of rest breaks upon accident risk, fatigue and performance: a review. Work Stress 2003;17(2):123-37.   DOI
31 de Bloom J, Kinnunen U, Korpela K. Recovery processes during and after work: associations with health, work engagement, and job performance. J Occup Environ Med 2015;57(7):732-42.   DOI
32 Blasche G, Szabo B, Wagner-Menghin M, Ekmekcioglu C, Gollner E. Comparison of rest-break interventions during a mentally demanding task. Stress Health 2018;34(5):629-38.   DOI
33 Sheahan PJ, Diesbourg TL, Fischer SL. The effect of rest break schedule on acute low back pain development in pain and non-pain developers during seated work. Appl Ergon 2016;53 Pt:64-70.   DOI
34 Michishita R, Jiang Y, Ariyoshi D, Yoshida M, Moriyama H, Yamato H. The practice of active rest by workplace units improves personal relationships, mental health, and physical activity among workers. J Occup Health 2017;59(2):122-30.   DOI
35 Caldwell JA, Caldwell JL, Schmidt RM. Alertness management strategies for operational contexts. Sleep Med Rev 2008;12(4):257-73.   DOI
36 McLean L, Tingley M, Scott RN, Rickards J. Computer terminal work and the benefit of microbreaks. Appl Ergon 2001;32(3):225-37.   DOI
37 Lim J, Lo JC, Chee MWL. Assessing the benefits of napping and short rest breaks on processing speed in sleep-restricted adolescents. J Sleep Res 2017;26(2):219-26.   DOI
38 Sio UN, Ormerod TC. Does incubation enhance problem solving? A metaanalytic review. Psychol Bull 2009;135(1):94-120.   DOI
39 Liu X, Ikeda H, Oyama F, Wakisaka K, Takahashi M. Hemodynamic responses to simulated long working hours with short and long breaks in healthy men. Sci Rep 2018;8(1):14556.   DOI
40 Meijman TF, Mulder G. Psychological aspects of workload. Handbook of work and organizational: work psychology. In: Handbook of work and organizational psychology. 2nd ed., vol. 2. Hove (England): Psychology Press/Erlbaum (UK) Taylor & Francis; 1998. p. 5-33. 2nd ed.
41 Hobfoll SE. Conservation of resources. A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. Am Psychol 1989;44(3):513-24.   DOI
42 Abdelmagid SM, Barbe MF, Safadi FF. Role of inflammation in the aging bones. Life Sci 2015;123:25-34.   DOI
43 Bonnet MH, Arand DL. Hyperarousal and insomnia: state of the science. Sleep Med Rev 2009;14(1):9-15.   DOI