Long Working Hours and Emotional Well-Being in Korean Manufacturing Industry Employees

Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Sang-Gil Lee³  Jae-Seok Song²  Shin-Goo Park⁴  Myeong-Ja Yun⁵  Dong-Mug Kang¹  Young-Ki Kim⁵  Jong-Eun Kim⁵  Kyoung-Hye Lee⁵ 

[1]Department of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital Yangsan, South Korea

[2]Kwandong University Collage of Medicine, Department Preventive medicine & Public health, Gangneung, South Korea

[3]Occupational Safety & Health Research Institute, KOSHA, Incheon, South Korea

[4]Department of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Inha University Collage of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea

[5]Department of Preventive and Occupational Medicine, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan, South Korea

关键词: Korean working condition survey;    WHO (five) well-being index;    Emotional state;    Long working hour;   

Others  :  790719
DOI  :  10.1186/2052-4374-25-38

 received in 2013-06-26, accepted in 2013-10-01,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Objectives

Korea is well known for its long work hours amongst employees. Because workers of the manufacturing industry are constantly exposed to extended work hours, this study was based on how long work hours affect their emotional well-being.

Methods

The analysis was done using the secondary Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS). Long work hours were defined to be more than 48 hours, and they were subcategorized into units of 52 hours and 60 hours. Based on the WHO (five) well-being index, emotional state was subdivided into three groups - reference group, low-mood group, and possible depression group- where 28 points and 50 points were division points, and two groups were compared at a time. Association between long work hours and emotional state was analyzed using binary and multinomial logistic regression analysis.

Results

Working for extended working hours in the manufacturing industry showed a statistically significant increase (t test p < 0.001) in trend among the possible depression group when compared to the reference group and the low-mood group. When demographical characteristics, health behaviors, socioeconomic state, and work-related characteristics were fixed as controlled variables, as work hours increased the odds ratio of the possible depression group increased compared to the reference group, and especially the odds ratio was 2.73 times increased for work hours between 48–52 and 4.09 times increased for 60 hours or more and both were statistically significant. In comparing the low-mood group and possible depression group, as work hours increased the odds ratio increased to 1.73, 2.39, and 4.16 times, and all work hours from working 48–52 hours, 53–60 hours, and 60 hours or more were statistically significant. Multinomial logistic regression analysis also showed that among the reference group and possible group, the possible depression group was statistically significant as odds ratio increased to 2.94 times in working 53–60 hours, and 4.35 times in 60 hours or more.

Conclusions

Long work hours have an adverse effect on emotional well-being. A more diversified research towards variables that affect long work hours and emotional well-being and how they interact with each other and their relationship to overall health is imperative.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Lee et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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