• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.272-282
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• 2004

Stress is a primary health promotion issue in worksite research because psychological distress is closely related not only to workers　 health status but also to their job performance. This study identified the work environment and work condition factors affecting workers　 stress symptoms among the Korean manufacturing factory workers. A total of 7,818 factory workers employed in 1,562 manufacturing companies participated in the Korean nation-wide occupational health survey conducted by the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency in 2003. Participants were selected by the stratified proportional sampling process by standardized industry classification, company size, and locations. Trained interviewers visited the target companies and interviewed the factory workers randomly selected in each company. Work environments included physical work environments (temperature, noise, hazardous organic compounds, and so on) and psychological work environments (job demands, job control, and social support at work), and work conditions included daily working hour, rest time, and so on. Men were 71.5% and the mean age was 34.0 years old. The average working period in the present company was 6.9 years. The average stress score was 26.2 under the perfect score, 50, which means the moderate level of stress. Perceived stress had significant correlations with young age, poor physical work environment, high fatigue, bad perceived health status, and high job demands in Pearson's simple correlation analysis. Perceived health status and perceived fatigue explained 21% variance of stress symptoms and the work environment factor explained 4.8% of that; however, work condition did not have the sufficient effect. In particular, psychosocial work environment variables (job demand, job control, and social support at work) had a clear effect on stress symptoms rather than the physical work environments. Poor perceived health status, severe perceived fatigue, poor physical work environment, high job demands, low social support, heavy alcohol consumption and little exercise were significantly related to high stress symptoms in the Korean manufacturing workers.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.149-155
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• 2012

This study primarily analyzed the use of shipping companies' welfare program by the characteristics of crew's demography and working condition on board, and next examined the effect of the satisfaction to the program on the organizational commitment and job satisfaction to the companies, in order to survey the shipping companies' welfare reality which has performed an influential role to meet the various welfare needs of personal crew. According to the findings in the recent survey of 459 seamen on board, there are differences among the use of the program by crew's the tolerance to work on board and personal characteristics, for example, age, marriage, position, period on board, and years of service. Moreover, the study verified the fact that the higher satisfaction to the use of those program, the higher organizational commitment and job satisfaction of crew.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.85-92
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• 2023

Background: Presenteeism is closely related to work performance, work quality and quantity, and productivity at work. According to the job demand-control-support model, job demand, job control, and support play important roles in presenteeism. The present study investigated job characteristics profiles based on the job demand-control-support model and identify the association between job characteristics profiles and presenteeism. Methods: This secondary data analysis used the Sixth Korean Working Condition Survey, a nationwide cross-sectional dataset. The study included 25,361 Korean wage workers employed in the workplace with two or more workers. Participants were classified into four job characteristics profiles based on the job demand-control-support model, using latent profile analysis, and logistic regression was performed to examine the association between study variables. Results: Overall, 11.0 % of study participants reported experience of presenteeism in the past 12 months. Age, sex, location, monthly income, shift work, work hours, health problems, and sleep disturbances were significantly associated with presenteeism. The rate of presenteeism was the highest in the passive isolate group. The passive collective, active collective, and low-stain collective groups had a 23.0%, 21.0%, and 29.0% lower likelihood of experiencing presenteeism, respectively, than the passive isolate group. Conclusions: The job demand-control-support profiles and the risk of presenteeism were significantly associated. The most significant group that lowered the experience of presenteeism was the low-strain collective group, which had a low level of demand and high levels of control and support. Therefore, we need a policy to reduce job demand and increase job control and support at the organizational and national levels.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.273-287
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• 2020

Purpose: This descriptive correlation study was conducted to investigate factors affecting the absence of adult workers according to their gender. Methods: Secondary data analysis was carried out using data from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey. Data on respondents' demographic characteristics, working conditions, health status, and absence were analyzed; a descriptive analysis, χ²-test, t-test, and logistic regression analysis were carried out. Results: The factors that had the greatest impact on male workers' absence from work were service workers (2.74 times; B=.99), having more than 53 hours of work per week (1.17 times; B=.52), and when subjective health conditions were not satisfied (2.27 times; B=.82), whereas the factors that affected female workers' absence the most were a monthly income of 3 million won or more (2.74 times; B=1.34), a weekly work time of 53 hours (2.02 times; B=.71), and having a fewer number of sleep disorders (B=-.36). Conclusion: This study suggests that not only the national interest should be considered in investigating the factors affecting absence but also the enterprise. Systematic support for the health care of workers is also needed.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2020

Background: As the impact of climate change intensifies, exposure to heat stress will grow, leading to a loss of work capacity for vulnerable occupations and affecting individual labor decisions. This study estimates the future work capacity under the Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 scenario and discusses its regional impacts on the occupational structure in the Republic of Korea. Methods: The data utilized for this study constitute the local wet bulb globe temperature from the Korea Meteorological Administration and information from the Korean Working Condition Survey from the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute of Korea. Using these data, we classify the occupations vulnerable to heat stress and estimate future changes in work capacity at the local scale, considering the occupational structure. We then identify the spatial cluster of diminishing work capacity using exploratory spatial data analysis. Results: Our findings indicate that 52 occupations are at risk of heat stress, including machine operators and elementary laborers working in the construction, welding, metal, and mining industries. Moreover, spatial clusters with diminished work capacity appear in southwest Korea. Conclusion: Although previous studies investigated the work capacity associated with heat stress in terms of climatic impact, this study quantifies the local impacts due to the global risk of climate change. The results suggest the need for mainstreaming an adaptation policy related to work capacity in regional development strategies.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.160-171
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• 2020

Purpose: This study explored the association between workplace discrimination and violence and depressive symptoms among Korean employees. Methods: Data were obtained from the 4th Korean Working Condition Survey of 2014, which included 21,902 Korean employees. Depressive symptoms were measured using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index questionnaire scales. Results: A statistically significant relationship between workplace discrimination and workplace violence was found, and these two variables were also associated with depressive symptoms. After adjusting for variables such as sociodemographic characteristics, physical risk, and psychosocial working environment, workplace discrimination (OR=1.22, p<.001) and workplace violence (OR=1.69, p<.001) were both significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Conclusion: This study indicates that to promote employees' psychological health, systems and programs to prevent workplace discrimination and violence are needed. Development of these systems and programs should consider employees' experiences of workplace discrimination and workplace violence, sociodemographic characteristics, physical risk, and psychosocial working environments.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.265-273
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• 1994

In order to investigate the subjective symptoms of VDT workers according to the working condition, this qutionnaire survey was conducted on 477 workers of 11 general hospitals, 15 banks and 9 research institutions in Taejon city and Chungnam province from June, 1993 to october 1933. The following results were obtained : 1. The main subjective symptoms answered by VDT workers were "eye strain". "eye pain". "blurred vision" for eye symptoms, "fatigue", "tendency to be fed up", "impatience" for psychoneurotic symptoms and "shoulder stiffness", "neck stiffness", "low back pain" for musculoskeletal symptoms. Most of these symptoms of VDT workers higher in female than male. 2. The number of VDT workers who complained eye and musculoskeletal symptoms were significantly increased. Smoking VDT workers showed higher complained rate of eye, psychoneurotic and musculoskeletal symptoms than nonsmoking group but alcohol drinking group showed higher rate of symptoms complaints of eye and musculoskeletal symptoms than not drinking alcohol group. 3. The VDT wokers who worked longer hours continuously and more hours of daily work, complained more frequent eye and musculoskeletal symptoms. 4. All subjective symptoms showed positive correlation to the sex and daily VDT working hours.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.351-358
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• 2021

Backgrounds: Irregular and unpredictable work schedules have become more common in most societies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between unpredictable work schedules and depressive symptoms in Korea. Methods: Data from 34,486 workers who participated in the Korean Working Condition Survey in 2017 were used. Unpredictable work schedules were measured by questions about the frequency of changes in work schedule and limited advanced notice. Depressive symptoms were assessed by a single item asking if the participants had depressive symptoms over the last 12 months. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for high depressive symptoms. Results: The OR for depressive symptoms was significantly higher in the workers with unpredictable work schedules compared to those with predictable work schedules after controlling for age, sex, education, salary, marital status, occupation, contract period, full-time versus part-time, shift work, weekly working hours, and having a child under the age of 18 years (OR = 2.43, 95% confidence interval 1.93-3.07). Conclusion: Unpredictable work schedules were associated with depressive symptoms controlling for the other dimensions of precarious employment in a representative working population in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.156-165
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare working condition and health status between parcel delivery workers (PDW) and food delivery workers (FDW) and to examine the factors influencing their health status. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data collected from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Based on existing literature, a set of variables was chosen from the KWCS. Results: The proportion of PDW who carryied/moved heavy loads and experienced high job stress and lack of rest time was significantly higher than that of FDW. However, more FDW than their counterparts worked atypical hours. The differences in fatigue and well-being between PDW and FDW were not statistically significant. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed low temperature, tobacco smoke, standing for long periods, and job stress were significant predictors of fatigue or well-being of FDW. Among PDW, noise, tobacco smoke, sitting for long periods, quantitative demands, hiding emotions, support from colleagues, job stress, no recovery period, and night work were significant predictors of fatigue or well-being. Conclusion: The findings of this study may be useful in developing nursing interventions for disease protection health promotion of delivery workers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.58 no.7
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• pp.43-59
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• 2008

This study aims to improve the uniform functionality of the workers who work in Electric Technology Division, Korea Railroad Corporation. Former study of questionnaire survey was taken to examine the current state of wearing working clothes for the workers. Based on the results of the former study, an experimental clothes, the functionality of which has improved in terms of design, materials, and patterns, was created, and existing working clothes and the treated experimental clothes were compared through simulation wearing evaluation comprising appearance, activity adaptability, quantitativeness, and on-site adaptability evaluation comprising appearance and activity adaptability. The followings are the results of the study: Simulation wearing evaluation is composed of 5subjects and 11experts specializing in costume, and as a result of evaluation the experimental clothes were evaluated superior to the existing working clothes in all items. On-site adaptability evaluation was conducted by workers in the Electric Technology Division, who are the subjects in this study. In that evaluation, the experimental clothes were also evaluated superior to the existing working clothes in all items. While the five subjects who participated in the simulation wearing evaluation move, the quantitative evaluation measured the distance of location transfer of the back length in the jacket and the distance of location transfer of the back waist in the trousers. As the distances in the experimental clothes were measured shorter than the distances in the existing working clothes, the subjective evaluation results are objectively supported.