• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.295-303
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• 2021

Objective: Paint manufacturing industry workers are exposed to various lung cancer carcinogenic substances including hexavalent chromium and crystalline silica. Studies have been conducted on lung cancer in Paint manufacturing industry workers and the concentration of hexavalent chromium in paint industry; however, the concentration of crystalline silica and hexavalent chromium and cases of lung cancer in a single Paint factory has never been reported in Korea. Methods: To determine whether the cancer was related to his work environment, we assessed the level of exposure to carcinogens during pouring and mixing talc and pigment. In addition, a mask fit test was performed for the worker. Results: Analysis of talc and silica bulk powder materials showed that crystalline silica (quartz) was 5% in talc and 100% in silica. The green and yellow pigments contained 87% and 92% of lead chromate, respectively. Our quantitative analysis of pigment powder samples showed that the hexavalent chromium contents quantified in the green and yellow pigment samples were 87% and 92%, respectively. In order to estimate his exposure level of hexavalent chromium, we measured a personal exposure level of hexavalent chromium for a worker in accordance with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health #7605 method. The results showed that the worker was exposed to the high level of hexavalent chromium (0.033 mg m-3). In addition, the talc powder also contained 5% quartz, and the worker's exposure level to respirable quartz exceeded OEL. As a result of the respiratory protection fit test for workers, the overall Fit Factor was '15' when wearing a second-grade mask and '25' when wearing a first-grade mask, significantly lower than the US Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) pass value of "100". Conclusion: Workers who pouring and mixing powder materials such as talc or colored pigments in paint manufacturing company may be exposed to high concentrations of carcinogenic substances. These findings indicate that it is necessary to local ventilation system inspection, safety and health education for employers and workers, and periodically monitoring and manage the working environment.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.324-338
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• 2021

Background: We hypothesized that the growing demand of Korean workers for work-life balance would change the factors influencing job satisfaction. We sought to verify our hypothesis by conducting a conjoint analysis based on the Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Methods: We analyzed the raw data of the KWCS, conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute from 2006 to 2017. To complete the analysis, we counted on a conjoint model of analysis, typically used in the analysis of customer satisfaction. The dependent variable was the satisfaction of workers with their working conditions, and the independent variables were the job quality indicators identified by Eurofound. Results: The factors that have the greatest impact on working conditions satisfaction are summarized as follows: "physical environment" for the first wave, "adverse social behavior" for the second wave, "occupational status" for the third and fourth waves, and "management quality" for the fifth wave. "Earnings" were not a major factor in determining employee job satisfaction, and the relative importance index is decreasing. Conclusion: According to the results of the analysis of the tendencies of Korean workers, the factors that affect the satisfaction with the working conditions have changed over time. It is crucial to identify factors that affect working conditions to assure the health and productivity of workers. The results of this study demonstrate that policymakers and employers are required to attentively consider human relations and social environment at work to improve working conditions in the future.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.201-215
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• 2021

Owing to COVID-19 pandemic and global recession, enterprises are facing more and more fierce competition. Under this situation, retaining as much as recruiting good employees has become a top priority for organization. However, post 90s, with very different characteristics from traditional workers, entered the labor market, and both employers and employees suffered from post-90's high turnover rate. Therefore, this study focuses on Chinese post-90s and examined the effects of work values they pursue (utilitarian orientation, interest congruence, long-term development, and innovativeness) on job satisfaction and turnover intention. In addition, the groups with less than or more than one year of service were compared and analyzed. A total of 267 Chinese workers born in the 90s participated in the survey. Our research findings show that utilitarian orientation affects both job satisfaction and turnover intention, but interest congruence only affects job satisfaction while innovation only affects turnover intention. And the moderating effect of tenure of service was partially verified. Various implications based on the result were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.229-260
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• 2018

Workaholism refers to a state in which work is the center of self, a state in which other life other than work is deemed worthless, and a state in which one feels that his or her life ends when things get lost. There are concerns that South Korea's work-centered institutions, cultures and long-time labor practices expose workers to workaholism. This study identifies the prevalence of workaholism and its risk factors among workers using a representative sample from Korean Labor and Income Panel Study. The results of empirical analysis of the wide range of workaholism showed that 7.0% of Korean workers were work-addicts. Male, workers working long hours, daily workers, employers, the self-employed were more likely to be work-addicts. Those who think that workload is high beyond regular working hours are more likely to be work-addicts. These results were also confirmed by regression analysis. It suggests that policies to shorten working hours and strengthen job and income stability can reduce the risk of workaholism and balance between work and life.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.803-825
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• 2009

There have been many critical point of view on the Korean industrial relations arguing that its conflictual nature and combative unions, and too much protective labor laws make the foreign investors to avoid Korea as an investment location. This argument has been raised since IMF' financial bail-out when Korea needed badly foreign FDI. Since then, however, any significant improvement in industrial relations field has not been made. In this kind of dead-lock situation, the Ireland' success story give us an important lesson, in which the strong economic growth had been made through the massive FDI, stimulated by the social partnership between government, unions and employers. Our study has an aim to examine the several success factors for Ireland's economic success, and to take a deep look into the context and characteristics of the Ireland' social partnership, and its outcome. We also try to draw some lessons to Korean economy, in particular, in its economic policy and industrial relations.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Construction Safety
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.16-20
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• 2019

About 50% of disasters occurring at domestic construction sites are caused by the accidents not wearing personal protective equipment. Under the current statutes, employers are required to provide personal protective equipment and workers are required to wear personal protective equipment. However, there is insufficient compliance with wearing personal protective equipment on site. This study is about the measure of improving the system to the way of purchasing, wearing and managing personal protective equipment by individual workers, and refunding the cost of personal protective equipment to workers. It is expected that this thesis will improve the system of personal protective equipment effectively, and contribute to the prevention of disasters by settling the culture of wearing personal protective equipment.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.409-416
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to estimate the macro-economic ripple effect of tax exemption for both high end technology firms and research enterprises in R&D special cluster. We apply the user cost of capital model and the Input-output model to the estimation. Estimation results for 2007-2016 are as follows: the increase in both the production and the value-added is 2,807 and 1,392 hundred million Korean won, respectively. Also, employers are increased by 2,355 people. These imply that keeping the tax exemption item for certain enterprises in R&D special cluster may be beneficial to our economy.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.260-264
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• 2019

Background: Professional dance is a physically demanding career path with a high injury prevalence, yet an ingrained culture of hiding or pushing through injuries. Developing better knowledge surrounding the cultural beliefs and behaviors related to injury reporting is critical to understand their incidence and burden. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate injury fear and injury reporting behaviors in professional dancers in Australia. Methods: This study utilized data collected in a cross-sectional survey of professional dancers in Australia. Descriptive analysis of injury fear and reporting stigma are presented with comparisons between subgroups (full-time versus part-time dancers; men versus women) conducted using two-sided Fisher's exact tests. Results: A total of 146 professional dancers were included. Over half (63%) of the respondents reported that they fear sustaining a dance-related injury, that they believe there is still a stigma surrounding injuries in dance (62%), and that this stigma has led to a delay in reporting or seeking care for an injury (51%). A lower proportion of part-time than full-time dancers reported that they would usually tell someone within their dance employment about an injury (35.1% vs. 59.6%, p = 0.006). Conclusion: Professional dancers are at risk of losing contracts or roles if they are injured, and therefore, it is common to dance through their occurrence. Many dancers, particularly those dancing part-time, are unwilling to tell their employers about their injuries. Action is required to improve this culture regarding injury reporting and help seeking for more effective injury understanding, prevention, and management in dance.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.329-338
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• 2018

The study seeks to widen the discussion from healthcare oriented 'health publicness' to human security oriented 'health publicness'. The shortcomings of previous literatures on health publicness are as follows: (1) the studies have confined the range of discussions to healthcare system, (2) lacked arguments from political perspectives, and (3) failed to provide actionable pathways to achieve the goal. Thereby, we suggest 'health publicness' based on the concept of human security to solve multidimensional healthcare problems. The health publicness based on human security, which aims to secure everybody's freedom from want and fear, enables not only to expand the scope of health problems that can be discussed but also to propose the procedures to achieve health publicness. More specifically, it consists of substantive and procedural health publicness. The former is about 'health security'-protecting, maintaining, and promoting individual's health-whereas, the latter is about 'social dialogue' guaranteeing participation of citizens, government, employers, and worker representatives. In conclusion, this study proposes the 'Regional Healthcare Quadripartite' as the incarnation of health publicness involving a variety of actors within and across the healthcare system.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.125-129
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• 2019

The ultimate goal of the quality control program for special periodic health examination agencies is to diagnose the health condition of a worker correctly, based on accurate examination and analysis skills, leading to protect the worker's health. The quality control program on three areas, chemical analysis for biological monitoring since 1995, and pneumoconiosis, audiometric testing since 1996, has contributed to improve the reliability of occupational health screenings by improving the issues including standardization of testing methods, tools, diagnostic opinions, and reliability of analysis for biological monitoring. It has contributed to improving the reliability of occupational health monitoring by rectifying the following issues associated with previous monitoring: absence of standardized testing methods, testing tools that are not upgraded, mismatching diagnostic opinions, and unreliable results of biological specimen analysis. Nevertheless, there are issues in need of further improvement such as lack of expertise or the use of inappropriate method for health examination, and passive and unwilling participation in the quality control. We suggested solutions to these problems for each area of quality control program. Above all, it is essential to provide active support for health examiners to develop their expertise, while encouraging all the health screening agencies, employers, and workers to develop the desire to improve the system and to maintain the relevance.