• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.327-328
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• 2017

Despite provision of drinking water as the most common method of occupational heat stress prevention, there remains confusion in hydration messaging to workers. During work site interactions in a hot and humid climate, workers commonly report being informed to consume tepid fluids to accelerate rehydration. When questioned on the evidence supporting such advice, workers typically cite that fluid absorption is delayed by ingestion of chilled beverages. Presumably, delayed absorption would be a product of fluid delivery from the gut to the intestines, otherwise known as gastric emptying. Regulation of gastric emptying is multifactorial, with gastric volume and beverage energy density the primary factors. If gastric emptying is temperature dependent, the impact of cooling is modest in both magnitude and duration (${\leq}5$ minutes) due to the warming of fluids upon ingestion, particularly where workers have elevated core temperature. Given that chilled beverages are most preferred by workers, and result in greater consumption than warm fluids during and following physical activity, the resultant increased consumption of chilled fluids would promote gastric emptying through superior gastric volume. Hence, advising workers to avoid cool/cold fluids during rehydration appears to be a misinterpretation of the research. More appropriate messaging to workers would include the thermal benefits of cool/cold fluid consumption in hot and humid conditions, thereby promoting autonomy to trial chilled beverages and determine personal preference. In doing so, temperature-based palatability would be maximized and increase the likelihood of workers maintaining or restoring hydration status during and after their work shift.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.587-596
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to determine health consciousness and eating habits of workers at Deluxe hotels in Seoul and Gyonggi-do. To determine health levels, this study focused on quality of sleep, current state of health, smoking, drinking, regular exercise, dietary behavior patterns, dietary habits, and food intake patterns. Out of 228 subjects, 145 (63.6%) were males and 83 (36.4%) were females. Majority of workers (86.9%) graduated from university. A majority (57.0%) worked more than 10 years. Average health condition was 'little tired', whereas 18.4% of subjects were 'always tired'. Male percentages for smoking and drinking were higher than those for females. A total of 44.3% of workers ate twice a day. Regular physical activity was high, but regular exercise rate was slightly low. Male average eating speed was faster than that of females and had lower scores for desirable eating habits. Shift workers ate night meals more than non- shift workers. This study shows that workers at Deluxe hotels need to take better care of their health.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.384-388
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• 2019

The horse stable hand workers are one of the most important occupations in horse-racing industry. However, suicide problem of the horse stable hand workers in Korea has raised the necessity of new study on how these workers experience mental health problems such as occupational stress and depression in organizational situation. Therefore, this study investigated the occupational stress and depression level of the horse stable hand workers and identified the structural relationship in the horse-racing industry through a detailed interview. A total of 207 horse stable hand workers participated in this study, and occupational stress and depression level were surveyed using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) and Korean version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). The results of this study showed that the occupational stress level of horse stable hand workers was higher than the median of Korean population. The significant difference in occupational stress among the detail job grade was also identified. In addition, 34% of the horse stable hand workers showed high risk of depression, and job demand, organizational system, and inappropriate compensation as the subfactors of occupational stress were showed to mainly affect depression. Although there are some limitations according to the field survey, this study also has significant meaning in that it identifies the relationship between the occupational characteristics of the horse stable hand workers and the mental health. It will be necessary to study the diverse organizational situation and individual mental health for new occupations.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.104-111
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• 2022

Background: The IMPPAC cohort (Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial aspects and work ability among Brazilian workers) seeks to understand the impact of the pandemic on Brazilian workers. This article describes the occupational profile, psychosocial aspects, and work ability determined during the baseline and follow-up measurements of the cohort. Methods: Workers were invited to participate through media advertisements, social networks, and emails. From June to September 2020, 1211 workers were included in the cohort. Follow-up measurements finished on October 2021 with 633 workers. Data were collected through standardized questionnaires using Google Forms. Psychosocial aspects were assessed using the COPSOQ II-Br. Work ability was assessed using the Work Ability Index (WAI). Results: At baseline and follow-up, high proportion of workers were in the risk zone with regard to work pace, emotional work demands, influence on work, work-family conflict, burnout, and stress. Approximately 75% of the workers reported good to excellent work ability at baseline and follow-up. Conclusion: The occupational profile, psychosocial aspects, and work ability of Brazilian workers from the IMPPAC cohort were described. Psychosocial aspects and WAI were similar at baseline and follow-up.

• Korean Journal of Artificial Intelligence
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.15-19
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• 2022

This study is to understand the relationship between turnover and various conditions. Turnover refers to workers moving from one company to another, which exists in various ways and forms. Currently, a large number of workers are considering many turnover rates to satisfy their income levels, distance between work and residence, and age. In addition, they consider changing jobs a lot depending on the type of work, the decision-making ability of workers, and the level of education. The company needs to accept the conditions required by workers so that competent workers can work for a long time and predict what measures should be taken to convert them into long-term workers. The study was conducted because it was necessary to predict what conditions workers must meet in order to become long-term workers by comparing various conditions and turnover using regression and decision trees. It used Microsoft Azure machines to produce results, and it found that among the various conditions, it looked for different items for long-term work. Various methods were attempted in conducting the research, and among them, suitable algorithms adopted algorithms that classify various kinds of algorithms and derive results, and among them, two decision tree algorithms were used to derive results.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.95-106
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• 2022

Purpose - The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of employee competence on the relationship between the utilization of non-regular workers and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach - This study utilized 427 firm level data from HCCP. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and the multiple regression analysis were conducted to verify the hypotheses. Findings - We found that the utilization of non-regular workers is not significantly related to firm performance. However, the utilization of non-regular workers had a negative relationship with employee competence, and that employee competence mediated the relationship between the utilization of non-regular workers and firm performance. Research implications or Originality - As environmental uncertainty and competition between firms intensify, more and more firms are utilizing non-regular workers. Research on the relationship between the utilization of non-regular workers and firm performance is continuously conducted, but research on the process of explaining the specific relationship between them is still insufficient. Our study contributes the related research area by identifying the mediating role of employee competence on the utilization of non-regular workers and firm performance relationship.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.81-89
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• 2023

Purpose - Several previous studies have been completed on oriental art therapy's impact on problem-solving and innovation in business workers. However, there is a definite research gap in how it reduces stress within the impacts oriental art therapy on business workers. Therefore, this research will be significant in finding out what oriental art therapy has reduced work-related stress and increased satisfaction among business workers. Research design, data, and methodology - For this research, the dependent variable was the significance of oriental art therapy, and the dependent variable was reducing work-related stress and increasing the satisfaction of business workers. The study's hypothesis was oriental art therapy reduces work-related stress and increases the satisfaction of business workers. A quantitative quasi-experimental pilot design was the most appropriate for this study. Result - This research figured out that the art therapy affect significantly reducing work-related stress among business workers, removing the level of anxiety, improving employee's feeling, and so leading to improvement in communication and collaboration each other in the organization. Conclusion - The results of the investigation imply that oriental art therapy can significantly improve the workers' satisfaction in a business. The research shows how successfully some of the interventions introduced in the medical supply company fully transformed the workers' lives.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.17-29
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• 1999

Objectives. This study was carried out to analyze the hearingthreshold levels and relating factors of 1,048 workers with noiseinduced hearing loss$(D_1)$. Methods. We analyzed the hearing-threshold levels and relating factors of 1,048 workers with noise-induced hearing loss$(D_1)$ examined by the summary reports of specific health examination results of industries and personal reports of specific health examination results reported by 58 specific health examination institutes and 8 secondary pneumoconiosis examination institutes in 1996. Results. Among 1,048 workers at 510 workplaces, male workers were 1,009 (96.3%) and female workers were 39 (3.7%). The mean ages of workers initially exposed to noise and at present were 28.7 and 47.2, respectively. The duration of total exposure was 16.5 years. Average hearing-threshold levels analyzed by three-divided classification of the study subjects were 43.7dB(Lt) and 42.6dB(Rt). Those analyzed by six-divided classification were 50.5dB(Lt) and 48.6d8(Rt). Among workers with noise-induced shearing loss$(D_1)$, 16.3% was unilateral hearing loss and 84.6% was classified to compensation case. 8.8%(Rt) and 10.2%(Lt) of them were suspected to be conductive hearing loss by differences of air-bone hearing-threshold levels. Hearing-threshold levels of workers in manufacturing industry were significantly increased during the short exposure compared with the levels in mining industry. Among manufacturing industries, hearing-threshold levels of workers in trailer and other transportation equipment manufacturing industry were significantly increased. Age and duration of total noise exposure were not significantly related to the average hearing-threshold levels analyzed by three-divided classification. Hearing-threshold levels of female workers were significantly increased during the short exposure compared with those of male workers. Hearing-threshold levels of workers at the high risk group, ages of 20s, 30s and total exposure duration of less than 10 years, were not significantly increased compared with those of the other groups. However, they were exposed at young ages. The 3 leading industries of workers at high risk group were trailer and other transportation equipment manufacturing, automobile manufacturing and assemble-metal manufacturing industries. Conclusions. This study was the first nationwide analysis of the hearing-threshold levels and relating factors of workers with noise. induced hearing loss$(D_1)$. We found the differences of the real number by the statistics of the department of labour and the expected number of worker' s compensations for occupationally-induced hearing loss estimated by this study. According to the results of this study, we should carefully examine the methods to narrow this difference.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.4 s.48
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• pp.747-761
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• 1994

Workers' periodic health examination is the main tools used to manage the health problems of most workers in Korea. The most common health problem found in workers' periodic health examination is liver disorder. Liver disorder is also one of the most common health problems in general population and one of the leading causes of mortality in adult population. Regulation proposed by government (No. 207, Ministry of Labor, 1992) defines the criteria for selection of workers with the liver dysfunction for further evaluative examination and the examination items used for diagnosis of the workers with liver dysfunction. This study was designed to evaluate the proficiency of each examination items presently defined in Regulation and propose the optimal examination items for detection of the liver disorders found by workers' periodic health examination. Study subjects are 186 workers with abnormal liver function tests in screening examination of workers' periodic health examination. Questionnaire survey including past history of liver disorder, drinking history, height and weight was done. Physical examination by physician, routine test items defined by Regulation (SGOT, SGPT, $\gamma$-GTP, protein, albumin, total and direct bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, $\alpha$-feto protein, HBsAg and anti-HBs), anti-HCV antibody test and liver ultrasonography were done. Results are as follows; 1. Result of evaluative examination utilizing only the items defined in Regulation was; There were 75 workers with suspected live. disorder(40.3%), 63 with no liver dysfunction (33.9%), 13 with suspected hepatitis B(7.0%), 10 workers with hepatitis B(5.4%), 10 workers with hepatitis B carrier state(5.4%), 10 with alcoholic liver disorders(5.4%), 5 with fatty liver(2.7%). When alternative diagnostic criteria applying additional examination items (drinking history, body mass index, anti-HCV antibody and ultrasonography) diagnosability of liver disorder was increased. When all four items were included, final results were; 23 workers (17.8%) with hepatitis B (10 carriers, 13 suspects and 10 hepatitis B), 10 (5.4%) with hepatitis C(4 carriers, 5 suspects and 1 hepatitis C), 13(7.0%) with alcoholic liver disorder, 45(24.2%) with fatty liver (40 suspects, 5 fatty liver), 410%) with suspected liver disorders and 44 (23.7%) with normal liver. 2. Of examination items defined by Regulation, only SGOT, SGPT, $\gamma$-GTP and HBsAg were significantly different in abnormal rate and mean value, and all other laboratory findings did not showed significant difference between two groups. Drinking history, body mass index and anti-HCV antibody test which are the items that authors included in this study, also showed significant difference between two groups. Utilization of body mass index (BMI) for abnormal liver function group in diagnosis of fatty liver had high specificity (97.6%) but sensitivity (22.3%) was low. Therefore we suggest that SGOT, SGPT, $\gamma$-GTP, HBsAg, alcohol drinking history, BMI and anti-HCV Ab were useful for diagnosis of liver disorders among worker's periodic health examination.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.96-102
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• 2001

A cross-sectional study was performed to estimate the nutritional status of Korean male lead workers and to assess the relationship between calcium nutritional status and blood lead levels. A flood consumption survey was conducted by the 24-hr recall method with 118 lead workers and 63 non-lead exposed controls. Blood lead levels were analyzed from whole blood and serum calcium concentrations were also assessed. Results of dietary analysis showed Korean lead workers consumed relatively sufficient nutrients (more than 75% of RDA) except, calcium. Mean dietary calcium intake of lead workers was 502.2mg(72% of RDA) while that of the non-lead workers was estimated as 600.8mg(86% of RDA). Intakes of protein, iron, niacin and vitamin C of lead workers were significantly lower than those of non-lead workers. There was a wide range of blood lead levels(5.5 to 73.5$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎗) observed while mean blood lead level of lead workers was 30.9$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎗. However, 98% of lead workers showed normal serum ca1cium concentrations (range ; 8.9 to 10.7mg/㎗, mean ; 9.77mg/㎗) while 66% of lead workers were estimated to intake a dietary calcium lower than 75% of RDA. Mean blood lead levels of non-1ead workers were significantly lower(mean ; 5.1$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎗, p ＜ 0.001) and the serum calcium concentration was significantly higher(mean ; 10.20mg/㎗, p ＜ 0.001) than lead workers. Results of unadjusted correlation showed that serum calcium level and dietary calcium intake were negatively correlated with blood lead concentration. In a multiple regression of blood lead levels with variables known as affecting blood lead 1eve1 such as age, body mass index and occupational lead exposure, serum calcium was insignificant while dietary calcium intake showed statistically significant(p ＜ 0.05) relation. Since calcium is a very important nutrient to reduce hazardous effects of lead, it should be strongly recommended that lead workers need to increase dietary calcium intake.