• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.49-75
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• 2003

This paper empirically examines multiskill formation as a critical mechanism of human capital accumulation within the firm. We investigate various factors that foster multiskill formation of the employees at the workplace. We also investigate whether and how multiskill formation of the employees, in tum, affect the labor productivity. Our empirical results are summarized as the following. First, skills of the employees are developed along the sequential path rather than the parallel path. They evolve from the simple-skill to the single-skill, and then to the multi-skill state. Second, multi skilling is stimulated by uncertainty factors of the environment and various human resource management practices such as mutual learning among workers, workers' participation in decision making, and job rotation. Third, the increase in the ratio of multiskilled workers in the firm has a positive impact on the growth of the firm's labor productivity. Our analyses show that the labor productivity growth increases by 0.019 with the increase in multi skilling ratio by 0.1. Fourth, uncertainty and human resource management practices had an indirect impact on labor productivity growth only through multiskilling. These results strongly indicate that multiskilling is a result of human capital accumulation fostered by various human resource management practices.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.83-124
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• 2018

In this study, with the data of Human Capital Corporate Panel(HCCP) we find that the explaining power of the new hiring rate of experienced regular workers is very strong and statistically significant as a main causal factor to the decreasing trend of investment on education and training for workers in corporates, which means a sign of weakening of the internal labor market. Possibility of wage penalty from switching jobs has been weakened considerably too. The effective alternative policy measures to the weakening or laxity of the internal labor markets and whereby followed reduction in investment on education and training for workers in corporates are construction of social system outside of individual corporates to upbring field-tailored manpower of high quality for young generations and small and medium sized enterprises.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.137-163
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of social workers' emotional labor on non-task behaviors. This study characterizes emotional labor as deep acting and surface acting, non-task behavior as organizational citizenship behavior(OCB) and counterproductive work behavior(CWB). And this study also examines the mediating effect of social workers' emotional dissonance in the relationship between surface acting and non-task behavior, and the moderating effect of senior worker's emotional leadership in the relationship between emotional dissonance and non-task behaviors. The results from this study are as follows. Firstly, social workers' deep acting improves their OCB. Secondly, social workers' surface acting has strong effects on their emotional dissonance, and this emotional dissonance hinders their OCB. In addition, the mediating effect of emotional dissonance is also recognized at this point. Thirdly, senior worker's emotional leadership moderates the relationship between social worker's emotional dissonance and OCB in the sense that emotional leadership is expected to reduce the negative effects of emotional dissonance on OCB. However, the influence of emotional labor on CWB has no statistical significance in this study. Based on these results, detailed theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.187-207
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• 2021

This study examined the perception of farmers who employ foreign workers. A survey was conducted on 110 farms, and the main research results are as follows. First, as many farmers hire foreign workers in informal ways other than the employment permit system or seasonal worker programs, it is important to increase the number of registered foreign workers through the employment permit system or seasonal worker programs. Second, it is important to improve farmers' perception of compliance with the minimum wage, as some farmers pay wages below the legal minimum wage. Third, the subjective productivity evaluation results of farmers showed that the difference in labor productivity between foreigners and foreigners was not significant. This means that hiring foreign workers is due to other factors such as ease of management and cost rather than productivity. Fourth, many farmers were willing to hire existing foreign workers even if they paid extra wages after the expiration of the employment permit system. Finally, promotion and improvement of the additional system for foreign workers' workplaces are needed to solve problems caused by foreign employment during off-farming season.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2021.10a
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• pp.613-617
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• 2021

According to the growth of the service industry, stresses from emotional labor workers have been emerging as a social problem, thereby so-called the Emotional Labor Protection Act was implemented in 2018. However, insufficient substantial protection systems for emotional workers emphasizes the necessity of a digital stress management system. Thus, in this paper, we suggest a stress detection system for customer service representatives based on deep learning facial expression recognition. This system consists of a real-time face detection module, an emotion classification FER module that deep-learned big data including Korean emotion images, and a monitoring module that only visualizes stress levels. We designed the system to aim to monitor stress and prevent mental illness in emotional workers.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.822-831
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• 2011

This study was to examine factors related to depression of female labor workers. In order to identify health promotion strategies and intervention program to reduce depression of female labor workers. The participants were 176 female workers of manufacturing industries. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire that consisted of personal characteristics, duty related, work related characteristics and depression. Using a SPSS/WIN 17.0 Program, descriptive statistics, $x^2$-test, ANOVA and Stepwise Multiple Regression procedures were employed. As follows on the results; In Correlation analysis, work intensity, work concentration, vibration, work difficulty and job stress were positively correlated with depression. In multiple Regression, work intensity and work difficulty were significantly explained by depression. Given the findings, Do nevertheless support the need to develop effective depression intervention programs to reduce factors which work related condition and depression.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.67-96
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• 2001

The recent economic crisis started at the end of 1997 has brought about changes in labor market practices. One of them is rapid increase in the ratio of workers with alternative employment arrangement, so-called contingent workers. This type of arrangement, unlike traditional employment arrangement, makes employers properly adjust employment to business cycles and it also makes it possible for employees to solve time and spatial constraints related to labor supply. However, recent experience has revealed its negative characteristics such as lower wage rate, deficient fringe benefits, insufficient job security. Using the data from the first and the second wave of the Korea Labor and Income Panel Survey, this study focuses on change in the tendency of being contingent workers and decomposition of the wage differentials among regular and contingent workers by estimating the switching regression model. Results show that the recent crisis significantly contributed to probabilities of being contingent workers, especially for women, the young, the older, and the lowly educated. Decomposition shows that one quarter or one third of 35% of wage differentials are due to the price effect that the same productive characteristics are differently paid by the types of employment arrangements.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.95-136
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• 2018

As the number of precariats grows, their poor labor rights and working conditions are becoming issues of major concern all over the world but how to represent their interests is still controversial. Basically, the union is the institutional mechanism for representing the labor rights. However, it is difficult for workplaceand enterprise-based unions to fully represent the labor rights of precarious workers. Recently, so-called community unions have emerged in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan as independent organizations representing the rights of non-standard workers. Community unions refer to labor unions which organize precarious workers across firms at the regional level. They are known to be suitable for covering the unemployed, job seekers, indirect employment workers, short-term contract workers, and small-firm workers. In South Korea, since the financial crisis in 1997, a dramatic increase in the number of precariats leads to emergence of new types of trade unions such as the Youth Community Union, the Arbeit Workers' Union, the Artist Social Union and the Korea Musician's Union. They have engaged in various activities to guarantee the labor rights of precariats. Recently, researchers have also tried to identify defining characteristics of these new forms of unionism. To expand research on trade unionism in South Korea, this study compares two different types of community unions: the Youth Community Union and the Arbeit Workers' Union. We believe that this attempt can contribute to the research on the alternative labor movement. For this purpose, this study starts with theoretical discussions on community unions, and compares the Youth Community Union with the Arbeit Workers' Union based on the five characteristics of community unionism: membership and organization structure, the recognition struggle, the type or scope of interest, solidarity with other civic organizations, and the repertoire of resistance strategies. Based on this comparative analysis, this study seeks to foresee the possibility of how community unionism will develop in South Korean in the future.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.476-481
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• 2019

Background: Mystery shopping is a method in which a company monitors quality of service and employee conduct and compliance with regulations using an evaluator posing as a customer. It is a typical tool of customer-centered bureaucratic control insofar as it provides overall and standardized evaluation of intangible elements of customer service as well as physical elements of service environments. The purpose of this study is to examine how mystery shopping is related to the health status of service workers in South Korea. Methods: Data from semistructured interviews with 15 workers were collected from January to April 2019 to obtain information on service worker experiences with mystery shopping. Data were analyzed using the constant comparison method. Results: Mystery shopping limits worker autonomy and stiffens the workplace environment by standardizing and monitoring labor processes for service workers. In addition, mystery shopping heightens work stress through increased labor intensity. Five mechanisms by which mystery shopping affects service worker health are identified and comprise (1) multifaceted and multilayered surveillance, (2) evaluator subjectivity and irrational requirements, (3) standardized rules combined with high pressure to achieve sales, (4) self-esteem degradation because of evaluator results, and (5) musculoskeletal disorders because of strict adherence to labor processes based on evaluator results. Conclusion: Mystery shopping as an evaluation method should be reconsidered not only in terms of health problems but also in terms of organizational efficiency and issues of human rights.