• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.175-184
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• 2016

Stress at work and in the family is a very common issue in our society that generates many health-related problems. During recent years, numerous studies have sought to define the term stress, raising many contradictions that various authors have studied. Other authors have attempted to establish some criteria, in subjective and not very quantitative ways, in an attempt to reduce and even to eliminate stressors and their effects at work and in the family context. The purpose of this study was to quantify so-called cushioning variables, such as control, social support, home/work life conciliation, and even sports and leisure activities, with the purpose of, as much as possible, reducing the negative effects of stress, which seriously affects the health of workers. The study employs data from the Fifth European Working Conditions Survey, in which nearly 44,000 interviewees from 34 countries in the European Union participated. We constructed a probabilistic model based on a Bayesian network, using variables from both the workplace and the family, the aforementioned cushioning variables, as well as the variable stress. If action is taken on the above variables, then the probabilities of suffering high levels of stress may be reduced. Such action may improve the quality of life of people at work and in the family.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.338-344
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• 2015

Background: The present study aims to investigate job stressors and stress relievers for Korean emotional laborers, specifically focusing on the effects of work conditions and emotional labor properties. Emotional laborers are asked to hide or distort their real emotions in their interaction with clients. They are exposed to high levels of stress in the emotional labor process, which leads to serious mental health risks including burnout, depression, and even suicide impulse. Exploring job stressors and relieving factors would be the first step in seeking alternatives to protect emotional laborers from those mental health risks. Methods: Using the third wave data of Korean Working Conditions Survey, logistic regression analysis was conducted for two purposes: to examine the relations of emotional labor and stress, and to find out job stressors and relievers for emotional laborers. Results: The chances of stress arousal are 3.5 times higher for emotional laborers; emotional laborers experience double risk-burden for stress arousal. In addition to general job stressors, emotional laborers need to bear burdens related to emotional labor properties. The effect of social support at the workplace is not significant for stress relief, unlike common assumptions, whereas subjective satisfaction (wage satisfaction and work-life balance) is proven to have relieving effects on emotional laborers' job stress. Conclusion: From the results, the importance of a balanced understanding of emotional labor for establishing effective policies for emotional laborer protection is stressed.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.32-39
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• 2022

Background: Industrial accidents can determine the overall level and quality of the work environment in industries and companies that contribute to national economic development. Korea has transformed the country from an international aid recipient to a donor country, but it has ranked first among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries in the number of fatal industrial accidents. Little has been known about the policy effects in terms of the workers' insurance for their industrial accidents and rehabilitation. This study raises two research questions about the influence of workers' personal characteristics and vocational rehabilitation services on their return to workplaces. Methods: The study implements weighted logistic regression analysis using propensity score matching. This research utilizes the relevant dataset (3,924 persons) of Korea's industrial accident and insurance. Results: The findings show that the level of workers' awareness of health recovery and their counseling for rehabilitation by physicians had positive effects on their return to work. Environmental factors such as workers' job stability at the time of industrial accidents and the temporal effects of industrial accidents (e.g., the level of disability, their age) had negative impacts on their return to work. Conclusions: These findings have policy implications that the concentration of rehabilitation services for patients who have been mildly affected by industrial accidents would be effective in the short and medium term. The findings also highlight the necessity of ongoing policies about workers' vocational recovery with concrete evidence about policy impacts.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.390-397
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• 2023

Introduction: Biological risks are a major global problem in the workplace. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the biological risks at work. This study presents data on both communicable infectious biological agents and noncommunicable factors leading to death and disability for the year 2021. Methods: We followed the methodology established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in their past global estimates on occupational accidents and work-related diseases. We used relevant ILO estimates for hazardous substances and related population attributable fractions derived from literature, which were then applied to World Health Organization mortality data. The communicable diseases included in the estimates were tuberculosis, pneumococcal diseases, malaria, diarrheal diseases, other infectious diseases, neglected tropical diseases, influenza associated respiratory diseases and COVID-19. Noncommunicable diseases and injuries considered were Chronic Obstructive Diseases (COPD) due to organic dusts, asthma, allergic reactions and risks related to animal contact. We estimated death attributable to biological risk at work and disability in terms of disability adjusted life years (DALYs). Results: We estimated that in 2022, 550,819 deaths were caused by biological risk factors, with 476,000 deaths attributed to communicable infectious diseases and 74,000 deaths caused by noncommunicable factors. Among these, there were 223,650 deaths attributed to COVID-19 at work. We calculated the rate of 584 DALYs per 100,000 workers, representing an 11% increase from the previous estimate of the global burden of work-related disabilities measured by DALYs. Conclusion: This is a first update since previous 2007 ILO estimates, which has now increased by 74% and covers most biological risks factors. However, it is important to note that there may be other diseases and deaths are missing from the data, which need to be included when new information becomes available. It is also worth mentioning that while deaths caused by major communicable diseases including COVID-19 are relatively rare within the working population, absences from work due to these diseases are likely to be very common within the active workforce.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.246-249
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• 2017

Health-care workers are at risk of exposure to occupational infections with subsequent risk of contracting diseases, disability, and even death. A systematic collection of occupational disease data is useful for monitoring current trends in work situations and disease exposures; however, these data are usually limited due to under-reporting. The objective of this study was to review literature related to knowledge, risk perceptions, and practices regarding occupational exposures to infectious diseases in Malaysian health-care settings, in particular regarding blood-borne infections, universal precautions, use of personal protective equipment, and clinical waste management. The data are useful for determining improvements in knowledge and risk perceptions among health-care workers with developments of health policies and essential interventions for prevention and control of occupational diseases.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.362-369
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• 2019

Background: Chronic nonspecific symptoms attributed to indoor nonindustrial work environments are common and may cause disability, but the medical nature of this disability is unclear. The aim was to medically characterize the disability manifested by chronic, recurrent symptoms and restrictions to work participation attributed to low-level indoor pollutants at workplace and whether the condition shares features with idiopathic environmental intolerance. Methods: We investigated 12 patients with indoor aire-related work disability. The examinations included somatic, psychological, and psychiatric evaluations as well as investigations of the autonomic nervous system, cortisol measurements, lung function, and allergy tests. We evaluated well-being, health, disability, insomnia, pain, anxiety, depression, and burnout via questionnaires. Results: The mean symptom history was 10.5 years; for disabling symptoms, 2.7 years. Eleven patients reported reactions triggered mainly by indoor molds, one by fragrances only. Ten reported sensitivity to odorous chemicals, and three, electric devices. Nearly all had co-occurrent somatic and psychiatric diagnoses and signs of pain, insomnia, burnout, and/or elevated sympathetic responses. Avoiding certain environments had led to restrictions in several life areas. On self-assessment scales, disability showed higher severity and anxiety showed lower severity than in physician assessments. Conclusion: No medical cause was found to explain the disability. Findings support that the condition is a form of idiopathic environmental intolerance and belongs to functional somatic syndromes. Instead of endless avoidance, rehabilitation approaches of functional somatic syndromes are applicable.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.185-192
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• 2023

Background: The turnover rate of nurse aides in Taiwan is high. However, the predictors of turnover behavior in the newly employed are still unclear. Objective: To examine the predictors of turnover behavior in newly employed licensed nurse aides. Methods: A longitudinal study design was used and subjects were newly employed certified nurse aides from a nurse aid training association in Taiwan. A total of five questionnaire surveys were conducted. The questionnaire was mainly used to collect information on turnover behavior, personal socioeconomic background, workplace psychosocial hazards, worker health hazards, and musculoskeletal disorders. Results: A total of 300 participants were recruited in the study. Cox regression analysis results showed that short working experience (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.21, p < 0.01), work as non-home nurse aides (HR = 0.58, p = 0.01), low monthly salary (HR = 0.68, p < 0.01), high work mental load (HR = 1.01, p = 0.01), low workplace justice (HR = 0.97, p < 0.01), high workplace violence (HR = 1.60, p < 0.01), high burnout (HR = 1.01, p = 0.04), poor mental health (HR = 1.06, p = 0.04), and high total number of musculoskeletal disorder sites (HR = 1.08, p = 0.01) contribute to a higher risk of turnover. Conclusion: The results indicated that employment period, work as a home nurse aide, monthly salary, work mental load, workplace justice, workplace violence, work-related burnout, mental health, and total number of musculoskeletal disorder sites are predictors of turnover behavior in newly employed certified nurse aides.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.131-142
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• 2022

This study aims to develop a curriculum for nurturing experts who perform agricultural safety and health management tasks. This study was conducted in three stages. First, job definitions and job models of agricultural safety and health managers were derived through job analysis using the DACUM technique. Second, job demand analysis was conducted by conducting a survey on the difficulty, importance, and frequency of each task. Third, IPA analysis was performed as the first priority tasks of job demand analysis to present the courses and subjects of the training course for safety and health managers in agricultural work. The job of the agricultural safety and health manager was defined as "to conduct guidance and advice on safety and health education, risk factors, and evaluation and management of harmful factors to protect farmers' professional health and safety." The job model consisted of 4 tasks, 31 core tasks, and 67 detailed tasks. As a result of job demand analysis, there were 39 tasks in the 1st priority, 22 in the 2nd priority, and 6 in the 3rd priority. As a result of the IPA analysis, there were 13 'capacity development focused areas', 4 'capacity development effort areas', 11 'low priority areas', and 3 'continuous maintenance areas'.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.128-133
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• 2015

Background: To investigate the relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and comorbid health problems, including depression/anxiety disorder, insomnia/sleep disorder, fatigue, and injury by accident, and to determine whether certain physical and psychological factors reduce comorbid health problems. Methods: In total, 29,711 employees were selected from respondents of the Third Korean Working Conditions Survey and categorized into two groups: Musculoskeletal Complaints or Musculoskeletal Sickness Absence. Four self-reported health indicators (overall fatigue, depression/anxiety, insomnia/sleep disorder, and injury by accident) were selected as outcomes, based on their high prevalence in Korea. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to determine the relationship between comorbid health problems, musculoskeletal complaints, and sickness absence. Results: The prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints and musculoskeletal sickness absence due to muscular pain was 32.26% and 0.59%, respectively. Compared to the reference group, depression/anxiety disorder and overall fatigue were 5.2-6.1 times more prevalent in the Musculoskeletal Complaints Group and insomnia/sleep disorder and injury by accident were 7.6-11.0 times more prevalent in the Sickness Absence Group. When adjusted for individual and work-related physical factors, prevalence of all four comorbid health problems were slightly decreased in both groups. Conclusion: Increases in overall fatigue and depression/anxiety disorder were observed in the Musculoskeletal Complaints Group, while increases in insomnia/sleep disorder and injury by accident were observed in the Sickness Absence Group. For management of musculoskeletal complaints and sickness absence in the workplace, differences in health problems between employees with musculoskeletal complaints and those with sickness absence as well as the physical and psychological risk factors should be considered.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.245-253
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• 2014

Purpose: School foodservice employees (SFEs) could be exposed to the risk of musculoskeletal disease and of job stress due to their job characteristics. This study was to evaluate the level of job stress and the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (WRMS) in Seoul city's SFEs, and to determine associations between job stress and WRMS. Methods: The study design was cross-sectional, and 975 SFEs were recruited. Self-administered questionnaire included the 'Korean occupational stress scale-short form' and the 'KOSHA GUIDE H-9-2012' instrument to evaluate the job stress and WRMS, respectively. SFEs' medians of job stress were compared to the reference values of published study in Korean workers. Results: The participants reported greater levels of job demand and physical environment than the general Korean population. WRMS were reported in 89.0% of participants at any body part, and 41.1% were presumed to need for medical intervention. High levels of job demand and of physical environment were significantly associated with WRMS. Conclusion: Subscales of job demand and physical environment were relatively high in SFEs and those were related to the occurrence of WRMS. To reduce the WRMS prevalence, a job stress management program focused on job demand and physical environment may be required.