• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.81-101
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to examine support policies regarding work and family reconciliation, to suggest plans to improve workplace policies, and to suggest directions for further studies. This study looks at OECD's work-life reconciliation policies as well as family friendly workplace policies in Korea to find a way to enhance business' receptiveness and implementation of the policies. By examining women's labor conditions, this study finds that family friendly workplace policies are necessarily imminent in our society of low fertility and ageing. Along with the evaluation of benefit level and the effectiveness of current policies, this study uses data from interviews with working mothers who have had the experience of family friendly benefits. The results of the analyses suggest that the government should focus on improving the workplace environment in companies that do not show bias against the use of family friendly policies. In order to farm more successful policies, future studies are needed to analyze the changes of fertility, working conditions, support programs, and benefits.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.421-426
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• 2018

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of shift work on occupational safety in various industrial sectors. The study analyzes the effects of shift work on the health of workers by considering factors such as the workplace environment and welfare. Methods: Focusing on the $4^{th}$ Korean Working Conditions Survey, this study used an ordinary least-square multiple regression analysis. The dependent variable was the annual frequency of injuries reported by workers. Independent variables were categorized as demographic, shift work, workplace environment, and welfare variables. The analysis was conducted on two levels: 1) Shift work and nonshift work groups were compared, and 2) Shift work was compared with fixed and rotating shifts. Results: For the entire group, age, a low level of education, work hours, and daily and dispatch work negatively impacted the frequency of injuries. Shift work was negatively affected by workplace environment and welfare factors. In the shift group, the frequency of injuries was lower than that of regular workers, and the higher the autonomy in the choice of work hours, the lower the frequency of injuries. Furthermore, shift workers in Korea have more extended work hours (49.25 h/week) than other workers (46.34 h/week). Conclusion: Overall, welfare factors such as workplace satisfaction and worke-life balance reduced the frequency of injuries. The effect of shift work was limited, but it was confirmed that shift worker autonomy could reduce the frequency of injuries.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.93-98
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• 2022

Background: Despite a growing number of investigations exploring the health problems in precarious workers, there is still a paucity of studies investigating workplace violence in workers with multi-party employment arrangements (WMPEAs). This study was aimed at comparing the prevalence of workplace violence between non-WMPEA and WMPEA. Methods: The 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey data were used. The study subjects were employees aged 20-74, with 26,239 non-WMPEA and 1,556 WMPEA. WMPEA included temporary agency workers and workers providing outsourced services. Workplace violence including verbal abuse, unwanted sexual attention, threats, and humiliating behaviors were used as outcome variables. The odds ratios of risk of workplace violence were calculated using multiple logistic regression. Results: The age-standardized prevalence of workplace violence was significantly higher among WMPEA. After adjusting for all covariates, the risk of workplace violence among WMPEA was still significant (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.5-2.2) compared with non-WMPEA. The odds ratio of workplace violence among female WMPEA was 1.99 (95% CI 1.53-2.59), which is higher than that of male WMPEA (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.18-1.96). Conclusion: We found that WMPEA were exposed to higher risk of workplace violence. Discrimination against WMPEA in the working environment and management policy need to be corrected. It is also necessary to identify the risk factors of workplace violence in WMPEA and to make efforts to prevent violence.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.184-196
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• 2017

Purpose: We investigated the effects of emotional labor and workplace violence on various physical and mental health outcomes among female workers. Methods: We obtained data from 24,760 female workers who participated in the 4th Korean Working Conditions Survey (2014). Hierarchical logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationships. Results: Female emotional workers were more exposed to workplace violence than were female non-emotional workers. Verbal abuse was the most common type of workplace violence. Logistic regression analyses revealed that (1) emotional labor was significantly associated with higher odds of having musculoskeletal or abdominal pain (physical health outcomes), along with overall fatigue (a mental health outcome), and (2) workplace violence experiences were significantly associated with higher odds of musculoskeletal pain, headache/eye strain, abdominal pain, depression/anxiety disorder, overall fatigue, and insomnia/sleep disturbance, after controlling for covariates. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that both emotional labor and workplace violence have negative effects on physical and mental health. However, workplace violence experience has a stronger negative impact on health outcomes than does emotional labor alone. A management system to eradicate workplace violence and programs aimed at managing emotional labor are urgently needed at the organizational level.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.138-142
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• 2016

Background: Household waste collectors (HWCs) are exposed to hazardous conditions. This study investigates the patterns of workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs. Methods: This study uses cases of workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs that occurred between 2010 and 2011. We analyzed 325 cases of injuries and 36 cases of illnesses according to the workers' age, length of employment, size of workplace, injured part of body, day and month of injury, type of accident, agency of accident, and collection process. Results: There were significant differences in the effect of workers' length of employment, injured part of body, type of accident, agency of accident, and collection process. Results show that most injuries occur in workers in their 50s and older. This study also shows that 51.4% of injuries occur at businesses with 49 employees or fewer. Injuries to waste collectors happen most often when workers are electrocuted after slipping on the ground. The second most prevalent form of injury is falling, which usually happens when workers hang from the rear of the truck during transportation or otherwise slip and fall from the truck. Work-related illnesses amongst waste collectors are mostly musculoskeletal conditions due to damaging postures. Conclusion: These findings will be instructive in devising policies and guidelines for preventing workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.21-43
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• 2008

Objective: This study aimed to understand workplace drinking environment on drinking behaviors among female employees and thereby attempt to lay a ground for future prevention of drinking problems triggered by workplace environment. For the purposes of the study, variables related to drinking behavior and the actual conditions of female employees were explored. And the study examined the effects of individual and environmental factors on drinking behavior. Methods: The sample included 400 female and male employees in enterprises and organizations located in the metropolitan area of Korea. An in-depth interview was conducted to explore workplace variables related to female drinking, and a self-administered questionnaire was conducted to examine the relationship between workplace variables and drinking behaviors (alcohol consumption, risky drinking, and binge drinking frequencies). Results: Major findings of the study are as follows: First, positive function of drinking and drinking culture at workplace and the pressure to drink were derived from in-depth interviews. Second, 47.2% of female employees were current drinkers and 20.4% were risky drinkers. Third, drinking norms and attitude at workplace, influence of peer group, and drinking culture at workplace were found to be predictive factors of harmful drinking. Fourth, drinking expectancy and drinking norms and attitude at the workplace were found to influence drinking binge frequencies. Conclusion: The study indicates the importance of the workplace environmental factors in female employee's drinking behavior, and addresses the need for interventions geared toward changing the workplace environment regarding alcohol use.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.438-444
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• 2023

Background: To examine the influences of psychosocial work conditions on mental health risk and intention to leave the public sector among workers of public health agencies in Taiwan. Methods: We surveyed 492 public health workers in March 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information on job demands, job control, workplace justice, experiences of workplace violence and its type and origin, and mental health status (assessed by the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale, BSRS-5) was obtained. Of them, 192 participated in a follow-up survey conducted in May 2023 that assessed mental health status, employment changes, and intention to leave. Results: In the initial survey, 32.93% of participants reported poor mental health status, defined by having a score of BSRS-5 ≧ 10, and 48.17% experienced some form of workplace violence over the past year. Notably, high psychosocial job demands (OR = 3.64, 95% CI = 1.93-6.87), low workplace justice (OR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.45-4.58), and workplace violence (OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.51-3.77) were significantly associated with increased risk of mental disorders. Among those who participated in the followup survey, 22.40% had persistent poor mental health, and 30.73% considered leaving or have left the public sector. Longitudinal analyses indicated that job demands predicted persistent mental disorders and intention to leave the public sector, and the experience of workplace violence added additional mental health risks. Conclusion: The public health workforce is crucial for effective and resilient public health systems. Our findings that public health workers were at high mental health risk and had a high intention to leave the job warrant attention and policy interventions.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.37-45
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the influence of workplace violence experience on depression among female caregivers in Korea. Methods: This study was a secondary data analysis of data from the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). The study sample consisted of 484 female caregivers. IBM SPSS 25.0 was used for complex sample analysis, which considered sampling the weights of variables. Based on the survey questions, we used complex sample cross-tabulation and the complex sample general linear model (CSGLM). Results: About 10.1% of female caregivers experienced workplace violence. The factors influencing workplace violence experience on depression were organizational justice (p=.048) and illness (p=.004). However, in cases with no violence, the influencing factors were psychological work environment (p=.001), work environment satisfaction (p=.024), and work engagement (p=.004). Conclusion: Caregivers are vulnerable to workplace violence. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate a policies such as organizational justice, work environment satisfaction, and work engagement to improve the working environment.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.61-69
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• 2011

The hazard conditions on plant works of the steel industry have been investigated to efficiently prevent from industrial accidents. The plant works are eventually carried out by workers of smaller service companies where the safety management systems are not well established, on behalf of the main steel company. Based on the preliminary risk assessment on the plant working and open literature reviews, the safety management systems, which can be applied to the plant workplace of each process, are studied and then the step-by-step 4M check-list method is established. Accordingly, the risk assessment technique using 4M checklist for the plant workplace is proposed. In addition, a standardized flow-chart for safety management of plant work is introduced. These risk assessment technique and flow-chart can definitely contribute to the reduction of industrial accidents, considering the risk characterization and the unsafe conditions in small and medium-sized plant workplace, as effective safety management tools and safety guide line.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the factors influencing the well-being of middle-aged non-shift female workers using health-determinant models. Methods: This study analyzed data from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS), involving 5,449 participants. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was employed to examine the relationships between various factors and well-being. Results: The analysis identified key factors affecting well-being in middle-aged female non-shift workers, including supervisor support, presenteeism, satisfaction with the working environment, autonomy in working hours, support from coworkers, workplace discrimination, occupation, work-life balance, sleep problems, workplace size, weekly work hours, and sickness absence. This study confirms that the well-being of middle-aged non-shift female workers is influenced by factors at the individual, social, and community levels as well as by conditions related to love. Conclusion: To enhance the well-being of middle-aged female non-shift workers, it is essential to reinforce positive factors such as support from coworkers and superiors. Additionally, addressing and mitigating negatively influencing factors such as workplace discrimination and sleep problems is crucial in promoting well-being. By implementing measures to improve these aspects, organizations and policymakers can contribute to a healthier and more supportive work environment for middle-aged, non-shift female workers.