• Korean Journal of Occupational Therapy
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2018

Objective : This study was conducted to determine the emotional labor of occupational therapists and the level of their feelings of depression and to examine the impact of their emotional labor on their depressive mood. Methods : Subjects of this study were clinical occupational therapists working at hospitals and clinics in Seoul and Gyeonggi regions. The factors of emotional labor were set as independent variables, the general characteristic variable and job characteristic variable which showed significant results in the chi-square test was set as the adjusted variable and whether the depression happens or not was set as the dependent variable, after which a multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results : Components of emotional labor, including frequency of emotional display(OR 1.699, 95% CI 1.202-2.401), attentiveness to required display rules(OR 1.436, 95% CI 1.070-1.982), and emotional dissonance(OR 1.866, 95% CI 1.336-2.607) all had a significant effect on depression. The possibility of depression was significantly higher in women than men(OR 5.736, 95% CI 1.746-18.846), those working for more than 8 hours per day than less than 8 hours per day(OR 8.609, 95% CI 2.306-32.137), and those working with children than those working with adults(OR 4.249, 95% CI 1.668-10.824). Conclusion : This study revealed that the emotional labor that occupational therapists are exposed to while interacting with patients and their caregivers exerts an influence on their feelings of depression. This suggests the need for developing various preventive intervention programs designed to alleviate the depressive symptoms of occupational therapists and formulating appropriate policies.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.185-204
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• 2005

In a period of rapid change, transition and re-definition of care concept, this study reviewed social policies on care providers in the UK. In the face of care crisis, the British government has made a radical reform of the care system and enacted new legislations. In the UK social policy, care providers are classified into carers and care workers. Carers mean informal caregivers and care workers are those who are paid for providing care as part of a contract of employment. Recently, the United Kingdom has given carers recognition and reward. To enhance the status and right of carers, the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995, the strategy document Caring about Carers 1999, Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000, and Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 have been enacted. At the heart of the policy for carers is the idea of active citizenship, carers-friendly employment and work-life balance etc. In case of paid care worker, government's focus seems to be on quality of employment. The government has established a new national infrastructure for quality. The five national bodies founded on Care Standards Act 2000 has been established. The UK government has realized care work would play an important part in job creation strategy. In this article, we have presented several criticisms and issues of current care policy in UK.