• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.95-105
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aims to explore the distribution of work-life integration against COVID-19 and its Implications by analyzing remote work in Switzerland. Research design, data and methodology: The study performed literature review and descriptive analyses using various data such as perception surveys, statistics, and related documents. Results: The infectious disease was a turning point for many people in Switzerland by changing where and how people want to live. Since the COVID-19 crisis demonstrated that disease could be spread by proximity, negative perception about urban areas expanded, and rural areas are increasingly preferred due to fresh and clean air and a more ecological lifestyle. In addition, increased remote work, a change brought about by COVID-19, has subsequently led to changes in household habits and needs. Distance from work is no longer an important factor when someone chooses where to live. A trend is now emerging where households wanting to improve the quality of life leave the city center and move to the suburbs. Conclusions: Paradoxically, such trend accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis has an unintendedly positive impact on the distribution of work-life integration across society while providing more flexibility in terms of place and time management and lowering the burden on roads and infrastructure.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-137
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the influences of hospital employees' daily life posture habits and work-related factors upon musculoskeletal subjective symptoms. Methods: This study was a descriptive survey study. Data were collected using structured a self-report questionnaire between April 1 and May 31, 2015. One hundred and ninety two employees were recruited in three hospitals. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ${\chi}^2$ test, t-test, and binomial logistic regression. Results: The habit of leaning on one side and the habit of bending the back in an improper posture are key postures based on lifestyle affecting musculoskeletal subjective symptoms in neck, shoulders, arms, waist, and legs. Labours accompanying repeated arm movements for a long time are key work-related risk factors affecting musculoskeletal subjective symptoms in arms. Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed that, to prevent musculoskeletal diseases, it is necessary to identify and mediate personal factors like daily life posture habits as well as work-related risk factors. They may be utilized as basic materials for education of musculoskeletal health promotion and development of life guidance programs.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.77-83
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• 2013

There is still a considerable burden of occupational diseases and injuries in the world. It is not well known which interventions can effectively reduce the exposures at work that cause this burden. The objective of this article is to summarize evidence from systematic reviews of interventions to prevent occupational diseases and injuries. We included systematic reviews of interventions to reduce the incidence of work-related cancer, dust-related diseases, occupational asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, noise induced hearing loss, back pain, and occupational injuries. We searched Medline and Embase with predefined search strategies to locate systematic reviews of these interventions. We found 23 systematic reviews of which the results are also applicable to low- and middle income countries. Effective measures to reduce exposure leading to work-related cancer, dust-related diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, noise, and injuries are available. However, better implementation of these measures is needed. Regulation, enforcement of regulation, and incentives for employers are effective interventions to achieve this goal. There is evidence that feedback and rewards for workers help in reducing occupational injuries. There is no evidence in many studies that back pain can be prevented. Personal protective equipment technically has the potential to reduce exposure but this is difficult to put into effect. There is no evidence in the studies regarding the effectiveness of education and training, preventive drugs, or health examinations. There is evidence that the implementation of technical measures enforced by regulation can prevent occupational diseases and injuries. For other interventions such as education or health examinations, there is no evidence that supports their effectiveness. More systematic reviews are needed in the area of injury prevention.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.31.1-31.14
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• 2022

Background: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) in occupational disease claims and identify patterns of WRMSDs for each body part by industry and occupation. Methods: This study analyzed the raw data of occupational disease claims for musculoskeletal disorders deliberated by the Occupational Disease Decision Committee of the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service in 2020. The data was classified into 6 body parts with the highest numbers of occupational disease cases by using the complete enumeration data on principal diagnoses and 4 types of subdiagnoses in the raw data. The characteristics and approval rates of WRMSDs by body part, industry and occupation were examined and summarized. Results: A total of 13,015 occupational disease cases for WRMSDs were classified, and lumbar spinal (back) diseases accounted for the largest proportion of claimed diseases, followed by shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee, and neck diseases in a descending order. The occupations with the highest and second highest numbers of occupational disease cases by body part were found to be automobile assemblers and production-related elementary workers for the neck, school meal service workers and cooks for the back, construction frame mold carpenters and school meal service workers for the shoulder, elementary workers in mining and food service workers for the elbow, food service workers and automobile parts assemblers for the wrist, and ship welders and school meal service workers for the knee. Conclusions: This study examined the characteristics and approval status of WRMSDs by body part and occupation. Based on the study results, management strategies for the prevention of WRMSDs should be established regarding occupations with a high risk of WRMSDs for each body part.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.75-85
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• 2003

Recently, WRMSD(Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders) that can be frequently found among simple and repetitious works has been a big occupational safety issue, and has begun to being studied actively by many Korean researchers. However, those researches have been largely relied on foreign ones, due to the lack of basic data in Korea. In this study, we have tried to search the actual conditions and factors on WRMSD of press workers in a local company. In addition, we examined how the contents of works and postures of the workers affect the disease. It is expected that the data collected in this study will be able to used for planning the preventive measures on WRMSD effectively and for implementing its corresponding programs.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.522-535
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• 2014

Purpose: This study was constructed in order to examine factors that influence work-related musculoskeletal disease (WMSD) approvals and current status according to the company size. Method: This is a descriptive study that utilized Industrial Accident Compensation Claim Data. Workplaces with over 35,811 workers derived from the 2012 claim data, which comprised approximately 91.5%, were selected for this study. Then workplaces were divided into three groups according to the number of workers: less than 5, 5~299, and 300 and over. Results: Since 2008, the number of small sized workplaces has increased. The 2012 data showed that 32.5% of workers at small sized workplace had WMSD. However, workplaces with 5~299 workers showed WMSD approval rate of 60%. Of note most WMSD approved workers were employed by manufacturing and construction companies, regardless of the workplace size. Most of them were engaged in elementary tasks. The days of medical treatment at OPD and IPD were most prevalent among workers at the largest workplaces. Conclusions: It is certain from this study that WMSD has been polarized by the company size. More policy attention should be paid to the WMSD status of workers at small sized workplaces which usually do not have their own health office.

• Journal of Wellbeing Management and Applied Psychology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.49-56
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• 2024

Purpose: Construction sites are currently facing a socialization problem as the incidence of thermal disease-related disasters increases due to summer heat waves, exacerbated by factors like the concentration of middle-aged and older workers and global warming. The reason why construction sites are particularly vulnerable to heat waves is that there are many outdoor work, which is the peculiarity of the construction industry, and most of the construction workers are elderly. This study analyzes disaster statistics of workers at construction sites for five years to investigate the occurrence of thermal diseases and analyze factors through disaster cases to provide basic data for future disasters to be reduced. Research design, data, and methodology: According to the Construction Workers' Mutual Aid Association, as of June, more than 60% of the construction workers working in the field were in their 50s and 60s. More than 24% are in their 60s and older. Thermal diseases caused by heat waves occur when exposed to high heat or strong sunlight for a long time, accompanied by headaches and dizziness. The problem is that many elderly people have underlying diseases, so if they lose consciousness, they cannot easily recover and are likely to die. Results: According to industrial accident statistics, 182 people were injured by heat-related diseases in the summer from 2016 to 2021, of which 29 died. In particular, in the construction industry, which has a lot of outdoor work, 87 people were injured and 20 people died. Conclusions: In order to prevent heat diseases caused by outdoor work, it is emphasized that exposure time is controlled, and sufficient rest and hydration are essential. Rest, water, and shade are in line with the three principles.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.379-386
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• 2022

Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel are at high risk for adverse mental health outcomes during disease outbreaks. To support the development of evidence-informed mitigation strategies, we conducted a scoping review to identify the extent of research pertaining to EMS personnel's mental health during disease outbreaks and summarized key factors associated with mental health outcomes. We systematically searched three databases for articles containing keywords within three concepts: EMS personnel, disease outbreaks, and mental health. We screened and retained original peer-reviewed articles that discussed, in English, EMS personnel's mental health during disease outbreaks. Where inferential statistics were reported, the associations between individual and work-related factors and mental health outcomes were synthesized. Twenty-five articles were eligible for data extraction. Our findings suggest that many of the contributing factors for adverse mental health outcomes are related to inadequacies in fulfilling EMS personnel's basic safety and informational needs. In preparation for future disease outbreaks, resources should be prioritized toward ensuring adequate provisions of personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control training. This scoping review serves as a launching pad for further research and intervention development.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.1-10
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• 2017

The aim of this survey is to investigate the occupational musculoskeletal disease and stress levels of restaurant cooks and to provide a basic data of programs in order to prevent occupational diseases. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 220 subjects in Gangwon province. The results show that there was no significant difference in the degree of occupational musculoskeletal disease between male cooks and female cooks. However, western cuisine cooks were more likely to have a higher degree of occupational musculoskeletal disease than other cuisine cooks and showed a higher degree of occupational stress from work overload as well as irregular meal stresses. Cooks aged from 30 to 40 years showed a higher level of occupational musculoskeletal disease in the neck, shoulder, and hand/wrist compared to those in other age groups. The job tenure was related to the degree of musculoskeletal disease in knee. Additionally, the hours of working per day were statistically significantly related to musculoskeletal disease in the knee and to the occupational stress levels in irregular meals stress. The findings of this study suggest that it is essential to design customized education for cooks to lessen their occupational musculoskeletal diseases and stresses in order to ensure the health and safety of the culinary workers.