• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.277-286
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• 2014

Purpose: In this study, I am going to figure out Korean workers' actual exposure to risk factors and percentage of the workers who complain of health problems by performing a comparative analysis of the characteristics of the workers and working conditions in Korea and EU. Methods: The data used in this study includes the $1^{st}$ working conditions survey conducted in 2006 in Korea, the $2^{nd}$ working conditions survey in 2010, the $4^{th}$ EU working conditions survey, and the $5^{th}$ EU working conditions survey. I have compared the changes to Korean working conditions and those to EU working conditions in the categories of demographic characteristics, quality of labor, exposure to risk factors, and health problems included in the data. Results: The analysis of the characteristics of the demographic characters of Korean workers shows that aged and female workers register increased labor force participation. The analysis of labor quality shows that Korea has a long working time but with a lower work intensity compared to the countries included in EU working conditions survey. As for risk factors, Korea registers a low level of exposure as compared to countries included in EU working conditions survey and characteristically shows a decreasing exposure to tobacco smoke. The survey shows sharply increasing complaints of muscle pain in the upper and lower limbs. Conclusion: In this study, I have identified vulnerable social groups by using quantified values in a comparison of the working conditions of Korea and those of EU.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.10 no.9
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• pp.225-238
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• 2012

This research measured the current working conditions and workers' awareness of their working conditions in both information technology industry and non-information technology industry. Furthermore, the research analyzed the characteristics of pertaining industries and age, sex, and job status of the workers to diagnose the current status of the working conditions and awareness of domestic workers in information technology industry in Korea. The purpose of this research is to provide the necessary data to establish the policy that guides ramifications to the current problems to restore the fame that Korea earned as one of the top information technology countries, and that requires a thorough paired comparison analysis between the information technology industries. The paired comparison analysis indicated that the information technology industries generally have had much worse working conditions than non-information technology industries. This research also verified that information technology industries have scored low on the satisfaction to the average working hours, employee welfare, social perception by other industries, the degree of anxiety, and the growth potential compared to the non information technology industries. Data collected during this research is meaningful in a sense that it provides basic yet crucial information that encourages the policies that are in favor of information technology employees to be adopted. The fact that there is a tacit skepticism in improvement of working conditions among the information technology workers supports the adoption of better policies that will improve not only working conditions but also find the solutions to eliminate the sources of insecurity of the retirement in information technology industry.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.257-266
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• 2014

This study was planned to investigate the effect of the exposure to hazard factors on work environment satisfaction. Existing researches about job satisfaction have focused on the general working conditions, such as working hours, wage, human relationship, job task and so on. Korean Working Conditions Survey was used for this study because that relevant questions were included. The effect of the exposure to hazard factors on work environment satisfaction may be produced by hierarchical regression analysis because of comparison with existing model for work environment satisfaction. The exposure to hazards factors were statistically significant effect on work environment satisfaction after adjusting other confounding variables, such as gender, age, educational level, job security, work hour, work load, work autonomy, social support, etc. This study has some limitation because that KWCS was cross sectional survey. Some researches about the causal effect and its mechanism may be suggested as future study.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.85-89
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• 2015

Background: The study was designed to assess the changes in working conditions through a comparative analysis of the characteristics of working conditions in 2006 and 2010. Methods: We performed a comparative analysis of the data related to the first Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) and the second KWCS in the categories of demographic characteristics, quality of labor, exposure to hazards, and health problems. Results: From our analysis of the demographic characteristics, we saw an increase in labor force participation rate of women and elderly people. As a result of the investigation with regards to working hours, the ratio of employees who worked for ${\geq}49$ hours per week was decreased and the ratio of employees who worked for ${\geq}40h/wk$ increased. As for exposure to hazards, exposure to tobacco smoke notably decreased in 2010 compared with 2006. With regards to health problems, there was a sharp increase in the number of people who complained of muscle pain in their arms and legs. Conclusion: KWCS data included many aspects of working conditions as a nationwide sample. In addition, because this is a periodic nationwide survey, the labor force, working hours, harmful factor exposure, and the change in health problems characteristics according to the flow of time could be investigated. The information comparing the main results of the first survey conducted in 2006 and the second survey conducted in 2010 obtained through this study can be used as an important base material for the establishment of the national policy.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.155-165
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• 1990

The purpose of this research is to study the characteristics of heat exchanger using heat pipe under various working conditions by a finite element analysis and experiment. The results are as follows. 1) In this study, h = $Max^B$ is used for the convective heat transfer coefficient and A = 2.761 and B = 0.701 $Mmax^{(-0.0626)}$ were obtained as the results of experiment. 2) For several different working conditions, (Q/Qb) is predicted by varying the values of L/Lt and Re/Rc. The maximum value of (Q/Qb) is achieved when Re/Rc = 1 and Le/Lc = 0.5. 3) The comparison between calculated value and experimental data showed agreement within 5% error. Therefore the method may be used to predict the performance of heat exchanger using heat pipe for similar geometric conditions. 4) For Re/Re/Rc of 0.2-0.3, the minimum thermal resistance exists when Le/Lt is 0.4-0.65.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.453-468
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• 2012

The number of Healthy Family Support Centers has dramatically increased during the past eight years since the Framework Act on Healthy Families was enacted. This phenomenal growth is largely credited to Certified Healthy Family Specialists (CHFSs). Despite their contributions, the job and working conditions of the CHFSs have rarely been explored from the insiders' perspective. In this study, we aim to delineate CHFSs' job and working conditions from their own narratives in order to improve an understanding of CHFSs' profession and work environment. We conducted in-depth interviews with nine CHFSs and a focus-group interview with five CHFSs. Our findings revealed that CHFSs took pride in their professions, internalized their professional mission of enhancing family strengths, and highlighted CHFSs' unique professional role in comparison to other human services professionals. In conclusion, CHFSs showed a strong professional identity consisting of rich professional knowledge, solid career goals, and integrated socio-political values. Contrary to the positive perception of the CHFSs' job, CHFSs expressed challenges in their working conditions in terms of small-scale organizations at local Healthy Family Support Centers, a heavy workload, hierarchical relationships with local government officers, and the unsatisfactory payroll and promotion system. This study contributes to a better understanding of CHFSs' job and their working conditions and provides insights on how to enhance professionalism among CHFSs and their work environment. As for policy implications, we suggest advancing qualifications for CHFSs, improving professional training programs for current CHFSs, and expanding small-scale organizations.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.267-278
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• 2018

Purpose: This study is to investigate working conditions including job stress among visiting nurses in public health centers in Korea. Methods: An social network based mobile survey was conducted in May 2017 (N=936, response rate: 47.0%). Results: The visiting nurses in this study had their average total career as a nurse is 13.7 years. The 68.3% of them were employed in an indefinite term, 17.0% were hired in a fixed term, and 11.0% came from outsourcing. They responded as high job-stress level including inadequate compensation (71.22/100) and job demands (71.91/100). They experienced down-talk (63.4%), swearwords (32.9%), being made a dirty face (39.9%), sexual jokes (30.8%), or being likened or evaluated with their appearance sexually (14.3%). Among the causes of job related conflicts and discrimination, deprived salary level was the most frequent reason (83.4%). The conflicts and discrimination were incurred by government officers (52.4%). There were no significant differences in overall job stress, emotional labor, organizational commitment, violence, and discrimination experience based on their employment types. Conclusion: The differences in working conditions among the non-regular nurses were trivial, and their overall working conditions were poor. It is necessary to improve non-regular nurses' working conditions in order to make up the limitations of the Korean healthcare system which is centered on hospitals.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.spc
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• pp.525-533
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• 2020

Purpose: Workers in special employment relationship (WSERs) are workers in nonstandard employment arrangements who lack worker protection accorded in standard employment arrangements. This study aimed to describe self-rated health (SRH) and depressive symptoms (DS) among Korean WSERs in comparison to regular wage workers (RWW) and identify associations between working conditions and those outcomes. Methods: In this study, secondary data analysis using the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey was used. The sample totaled 29,120, including 1,538 WSERs and 27,564 RWWs. Sociodemographic and work-related characteristics were employed as explanatory variables and SRH and DS as dependent variables. Using multiple logistic regression, the determinants of fair/poor SRH and DS were identified. Results: The prevalence rates for fair/poor SRH and DS in WSERs were 25.2% and 28.3%, respectively, and 20.7% and 25.0% in RWWs, respectively. Compared to RWWs, WSERs had 31% (aOR=1.31, 95% CI=1.14~1.49) and 20% (aOR=1.20, 95% CI=1.06~1.36) higher odds of SRH and DS, respectively. Some factors, such as a lack of rest guarantee and sickness presenteeism, had a larger influence in the WSER than in the RWW group. Conclusion: Compared to RWWs, WSERs reported having poorer working conditions and were more likely to report poor general and mental health. Therefore, in Korea, public health policymakers should consider measures to protect the working conditions and health of WSERs, a growing segment of the working population. The study produced new epidemiological evidence regarding the relationships between employment arrangements and health.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.267-271
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• 2023

Background: The objective of this study is to identify the working conditions and health status of Vietnamese male migrant workers in Republic of Korea, in comparison to the Korean general population. Methods: We conducted our survey through the Migrant People Center, and we received completed questionnaires from 87 male Vietnamese migrant workers. The questionnaire employed was identical to those used in the Korean Working Conditions Survey and the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The collected data from the Vietnamese migrant workers was then compared with the Korean reference population using indirect age-standardization. Results: Vietnamese male workers demonstrated a higher prevalence of health problems including hearing problems (age-standardized prevalence ratio (aSPR) 13.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.07-20.4), skin problems (aSPR 13.49, 95% CI: 8.07-20.4), and low back pain (aSPR 8.40, 95% CI: 6.50-10.69). Elevated exposure to workplace hazards such as chemicals (aSPR 2.36, 95% CI: 1.51-3.51), organic solvents (aSPR 2.22, 95% CI: 1.44-3.28), handling of heavy objects (aSPR 1.67, 95% CI: 1.24-2.21), and high temperatures (aSPR 1.96, 95% CI: 1.46-2.57) was observed among them. Additionally, they faced a higher risk of no personal protective equipment (aSPR 2.53, 95% CI: 1.26-4.52) and a greater prevalence of unmet medical needs (aSPR 7.14, 95% CI: 4.74-10.32). Conclusion: Our findings highlight the elevated workplace hazards, health problems, and unmet medical needs among Vietnamese male workers compared to the Korean reference population. These findings underscores the urgency for enhanced scrutiny over working conditions and protective equipment provision, coupled with efforts to improve healthcare accessibility and worker education.

• Design Convergence Study
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.29-55
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• 2015

This study aimed to examine and compare housing conditions and satisfaction degree of working college students in Seoul metropolitan area, depending on their stress level from economic burden and living housing type. The interview using the questionnaire was conducted. The subjects were 199 working college students aged between 19 and 35. The two-tier cluster sampling method were used, the region and representative university within the region. The comparison of satisfaction degree per type of housing of working college students has been conducted to find 3 characteristic patterns of satisfaction degree per housing condition from the stress of preparing the fund for rent, and students with high degree of stress from arranging rent showed relatively low degree of satisfaction in most items. 6 patterns have been identified in terms of housing types, and most of the students living in the Gosiwon, the poorest condition and housing type, showed the lowest degree of satisfaction, while those residing in the officetel turned out to the most satisfied. This study gives implications of housing welfare for working college students.