• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.44.1-44.12
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• 2022

Background: Recently, use of work-related communication technology-smartphones, tablets, and laptops-is increasing rapidly by development of technology with the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Some studies have suggested that work-related communication technology has a significant link with work-family conflict (WFC) but these studies included only limited number of participants and lacked essential covariates. Therefore, this study analyzes this association using large representative data sample and selected waged workers who were married-couples with children. Methods: This study was conducted based on data from the 6th Korean Working Conditions Surveys (KWCS). A total of 17,426 waged workers having a marriage partner and one or more children were selected. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine whether WFC was associated with communication technology use. The odds ratios (ORs) for WFC were stratified by sex and working hours. Results: In fully adjusted model, WFC was higher those who used communication technology outside regular working hours compared with those who did not use it (OR: 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39-1.97). When stratified by sex and working hours, the effect was greater in women than in men (OR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.42-2.26 vs. OR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.17-1.97) and women who worked over 52 hours per week had the highest OR (3.40; 95% CI: 1.25-9.26). Conclusions: This study revealed that the work-related communication technology use outside regular working hours was associated with WFC. The association were greater among those having longer working hours and female workers. These results suggest that appropriate policy should be implemented to reduce working hours and right to disconnect after work, particularly in female workers.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.37-70
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• 2011

The 40-hour work week system has brought positive impact on shortening working hours, eliminating long-time work, increasing leisure-time with family, etc. And this has brought about an increase in leisure-life satisfaction and happiness level. The type of leisure activities has changed from passive activities such as rest to active activities such as sports, tourism. And the 40-hour work week system has positive impact on social activities such as participation in volunteer work and, club activities. Thus all efforts need to be made to establish 40-hour work week system as soon as possible in all workplace. Firstly, 40-hour work week system needs to be introduced to every workplace with less than 5 persons, enlarge 5-day school week system into every primary and secondary school, and create conditions for positive leisure activities. Secondly, labor standards supervision and administration needs to be strengthened to eliminate long-time work over 52 hours per week, below-minimum wage work.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.24 no.6_2
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• pp.809-818
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of oral health knowledge and awareness of caregivers in charge on the oral health-related quality of life of the elderly in nursing homes. Data were collected from 115 elderly without dementia and their 115 caregivers in nursing facilities in S and C cities. The data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 22.0 program. The average score for oral health knowledge and awareness of the caregivers were 11.62, 39.22 points each and the oral health-related quality of life of the elderly was 40.62 points. Oral health knowledge, awareness of caregivers and oral health-related quality of life of the elderly showed a difference according to oral health education experience of the caregivers (𝜌<.001), the nursing facility evaluation grade (𝜌=.016), and the oral health education experience (𝜌=.008), working hours of 40 hours or less per week of caregivers (𝜌=.008) each in order. The influencing factors on the oral health-related quality of life of the elderly were the oral health education experience, the working hours per week of the caregivers and the facility evaluation grade. This findings imply that developing customized program and the work environment improvement for caregivers should be considered to improve the oral health-related quality of life of the elderly in nursing homes.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.329-339
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of job insecurity on job related depression and anxiety in large- and small-sized company employees. Methods: Data of the third Korean Working Condition Survey in 2011 were used. Subjects were 2,050 large-sized company employees and 18,924 small-sized company workers. $x^2$ test and multiple logistic regression using SAS 9.2 were conducted. Results: Large- and small-sized company employees showed significant differences in terms of demographic, health-related, and job-related characteristics. From the bivariate analysis, gender, income, self-rated health, occupation, working hours per week, job-related stress, workplace violence, and job insecurity were significantly related to job-related depression/anxiety in large-sized company employees. From the multivariate analysis, higher income (AOR: 0.22, 95%CI: 0.07~0.71), better health perception (AOR: 0.05, 95%CL: 0.01~0.18), 40 or more working hours per week (AOR: 0.20, 95%CI: 0.05~0.79) showed lower risk for job-related depression/anxiety. From the bivariate and multivariate analysis, better health perception (AOR: 0.32, 95%CI: 0.20~0.53), higher job-related stress (AOR: 2.57, 95%CI: 1.68~3.93, workplace violence experience (AOR: 4.26; 95%CI: 2.88~6.30), and job insecurity experience (AOR: 1.90, 95%CI: 1.18~3.05) were significantly related to job-related depression/anxiety in small-sized company employees. Conclusion: Results of this study suggest that job insecurity experience was significantly related to job-related depression/anxiety in small-sized company employees but not in large-sized company employees. Therefore, small-sized company workers who have experienced feeling of job insecurity are vulnerable population in terms of job-related depression/anxiety.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.35
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• pp.29.1-29.10
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• 2023

Background: Lone workers are generally defined as individuals who work alone without supervision, including self-employed people. While lone workers are considered a vulnerable group in some countries, there is a lack of research on their health status in domestic studies. Globally, the number of lone workers has been increasing, and this trend has been further accelerated since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with the rise of remote work. Methods: The study analyzed data from 44,281 participants, excluding unpaid family workers, soldiers, and those with missing data. Lone workers were defined as individuals who reported having no colleagues with the same job at their current workplace. Self-rated health status was categorized as "good" or "poor." Results: This study found a statistically significant higher number of lone workers among women compare to men. The largest occupational category for lone workers was service and sales workers, followed by agriculture and fisheries workers. A majority of non-lone workers reported working 40 hours or less per week, while the majority of lone workers reported working 53 hours or more per week. In addition, lone workers had significantly poorer health status evaluations compared to non-lone workers (odds ratio: 1.297; 95% confidence interval: 1.165-1.444). Conclusions: Further research is needed to investigate the causal relationship between lone work and health, using data collected after the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.85-89
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• 2015

Background: The study was designed to assess the changes in working conditions through a comparative analysis of the characteristics of working conditions in 2006 and 2010. Methods: We performed a comparative analysis of the data related to the first Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) and the second KWCS in the categories of demographic characteristics, quality of labor, exposure to hazards, and health problems. Results: From our analysis of the demographic characteristics, we saw an increase in labor force participation rate of women and elderly people. As a result of the investigation with regards to working hours, the ratio of employees who worked for ${\geq}49$ hours per week was decreased and the ratio of employees who worked for ${\geq}40h/wk$ increased. As for exposure to hazards, exposure to tobacco smoke notably decreased in 2010 compared with 2006. With regards to health problems, there was a sharp increase in the number of people who complained of muscle pain in their arms and legs. Conclusion: KWCS data included many aspects of working conditions as a nationwide sample. In addition, because this is a periodic nationwide survey, the labor force, working hours, harmful factor exposure, and the change in health problems characteristics according to the flow of time could be investigated. The information comparing the main results of the first survey conducted in 2006 and the second survey conducted in 2010 obtained through this study can be used as an important base material for the establishment of the national policy.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.96-101
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• 2021

Background: Many studies have reported noticeable increases in the proportion of employees working either relatively short or relatively long hours. Such trends have been accompanied by an increasing concern regarding work hour mismatches defined as a discrepancy between actual and preferred work hours. The aim of this study was to investigate association between work hour mismatch and depression. Methods: Data regarding work hour mismatches for 47,551 adults were extracted from the 2017 Korean Working Conditions Survey. The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index was used to measure depression. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between work hour mismatch and depression. Results: Men and women workers with work hour mismatch were more likely to have depression [underemployed males: odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14-1.49, overemployed males: OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.18-1.40; underemployed females: OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.20-1.56, overemployed females: OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.02-1.23]. Underemployed workers, workers who worked more than 52 hours per week, and workers with a high income level, all had higher ORs for depression. The greater the discrepancy between actual and preferred work hours, the higher OR for depression among both underemployed and overemployed workers. Conclusions: A difference between actual and preferred work hours was associated with depression. Underemployed workers had a higher risk of depression than that of overemployed workers. As a work hour mismatch negatively affected workers' mental health, it is important to reduce work hours mismatches as well as shorten the absolute number of work hours.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.187-192
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• 2017

Objectives: It is difficult to identify exposure factors in the semiconductor industry due to low exposure levels to hazardous substances and because various processes take place in fabrication (FAB). Furthermore, a single worker often experiences a variety of job histories, so it is difficult to classify similar exposure groups (SEG) in the semiconductor industry. Therefore, we intend to develop a new exposure index, the period of working in FAB, that is applicable to the semiconductor industry. Methods: First, in specifying the classification of jobs, we clearly distinguished whether they were FAB workers or non-FAB workers. We checked FAB working hours per week through questionnaires administered to FAB workers. We derived an exposure index called FAB-Year that can represent the period of working in FAB. FAB-Year is an index that can quantitatively indicate the period of working in FAB, and one FAB-Year is defined as working in FAB for 40 hours per week for one year. Results: A total of 8,453 persons were surveyed, and male engineers and female operators occupied 90% of the total. The average total years of service of the subjects was 9.7 years, and the average FAB-Year value was 6.8. This means that the FAB-working ratio occupies 70% of total years of service. The average FAB-Year value for female operators was 8.4, for male facility engineers it was 7.7, and for male process engineers it was 3.5. A FAB-Year standardization value according to personal information (gender, job group, entry year, retirement year) for the survey subjects can be calculated, and standardized estimation values can be applied to workers who are not participating in the survey, such as retirees and workers on a leave of absence (LOA). Conclusions: This study suggests an alternative method for overcoming the limitations on epidemiological study of the semiconductor industry where it is difficult to classify exposure groups by developing a new exposure index called FAB-Year. Since FAB-Year is a quantitative index, we expect that various approaches will be possible in future epidemiological studies.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.113-127
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• 2021

Purpose: This study examined health behaviors, use of health services, and depression among women who perform daytime and shift work in Korea, as well as factors related to depression. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis using data from the 2018 data of the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Data on women, 1,493 regular daytime workers and 322 shift workers, were analyzed. Results: Women shift workers (χ²=43.97, p<.001), had a lower education level (χ²=45.56, p<.001), and lower personal income (χ²=16.85, p=.030) than their daytime counterparts. A higher proportion of shift workers were unmarried (χ²=37.47, p<.001) and they typically worked fewer than 40 hours per week (χ²=69.94, p<.001). The depression score of shift workers was higher than that of daytime workers (t=2.85, p=.005). A higher proportion of shift workers also drank alcohol (χ²=6.49, p=.032) and smoked (χ²=30.79, p<.001). Over 8% of shift workers typically slept fewer than 5 hours per night (χ²=14.17, p=.024). It was confirmed that depression in women shift workers was affected by age, personal income, marital status, health status, and smoking status, in addition to cancer screening participation, unmet medical care needs, and unmet dental care needs. Conclusion: More attention should be given to the health needs of women working shifts. Health promotion programs specific for women shift workers are needed to improve their physical and mental health, encourage use of medical care services, and improve public health policies and systems.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.339-348
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• 2004

This study was peformed to assess the relationships among bone mineral density (BMD), Physiological characteristics and lifestyle factors in 61 premenopausal working women aged 30∼49 y in Busan. The BMDs of the lumbar spines (Ll∼L4), femoral necks (FN), ward's triangles (WT) and trochanters (TC) were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Data for physiological characteristics and physical activity was assessed by questionnaire and usual intakes of coffee, green tea, alcohol, Coca cola by food frequency questionnaire. The BMDs of L14, FN, WT and TC were 1.02 g/$\textrm{cm}^2$, 0.76 g/$\textrm{cm}^2$,0.69 g/$\textrm{cm}^2$ and 0.66 g/$\textrm{cm}^2$respectively The BMD of FN was assessed as osteopenia by T-score. The BMD of WT was positively correlated with age of monarch (p<0.05) and the BMD of Ll4 was positively correlated with delivery number (p<0.05). The BMD of Ll4 was positively correlated with hours of outdoor activity per weekend and week (p<0.05, p<0.05). The BMDs of FN and WT (p<0.05, p<0.05) were positively correlated with intake of green tea per month and the BMD of FN (p<0.05) was positively correlated with intake of wine per month. But the BMD of Ll (p<0.05) was negatively correlated with intake of Coca cola per month. So nutritional education for increasing hours of outdoor activity and decreasing intake frequency of beverage contributing to diminishment of bone mineral density is needed for premenopausal working women to prevent osteoporosis.