• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.15-20
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• 2016

Purpose - The aim of this article is to outline the concept of work engagement and the importance of job resources including supervisor support and coworker support pertaining to work engagement. Research Design, Data, and Methodology - The article discusses the concept of work engagement and what empirical evidences suggest about its relationship with job resources including supervisor and coworker support. Result - Critical review of the literature has indicated towards strengths and pitfalls of social support resources including supervisor and coworker at work, particularly with regards to work engagement thus, requiring further empirical attention. Accordingly, the article has also indicated towards the critical significance of meaningful work for fostering employee well-being at work. Conclusions - The article has highlighted noteworthy empirical gaps in the body of knowledge concerning to job resources including supervisor support and coworker support and their relationship with work engagement. The article has also underlined the lack of research and potential of 'meaningful work' towards enhancing work engagement as well as, acting as a moderator between supervisor support, coworker support and work engagement relationship.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.216-223
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• 2018

Background: Many studies have reported negative psychological or physical effects of emotional labor. Relationship between work-related musculoskeletal disorder and psychosocial factors has been reported. To manage organizational and psychosocial factors of musculoskeletal disorder with work place intervention among emotional laborers, the factors contributing to musculoskeletal pain must be identified and clarified. Methods: Data from the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey was analyzed. Based on the questionnaire, we selected emotional laborers and included 3,979 participants, excluding participants whose variables were of interest to the researcher. Weight variable was applied. The association with musculoskeletal pain and psychosocial factors, such as workload, monotonous work, job control, social support, and job satisfaction, was investigated. Results: Univariate analysis demonstrated that there was a statistically significant relationship between social support, job satisfaction, and musculoskeletal pain. In multivariate analysis, job satisfaction showed a strong correlation with musculoskeletal pain at all sites. Social support was significantly associated with backache. Monotonous work seemed to reduce the pain in the neck and/or upper limbs. Job control and work intensity were not significantly associated with musculoskeletal pain. Conclusion: In this study, job satisfaction was significantly associated with musculoskeletal pain, and social support among the social psychological stressors could reduce musculoskeletal pain. However, unlike previously known, the presence of monotonous work resulted in reduced musculoskeletal pain. The results of this study will help to establish the direction of improvement of atmosphere in the workplace to prevent the musculoskeletal pain of emotional laborers.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.36-39
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• 2012

Purpose: Cancer patients require emotional, financial and practical support as well as information/advice regarding their illness. This study aims to explore opportunities and barriers for the provision of the social support services in Australia and Korea. Methods: The survey was carried out by an email questionnaire for social workers in Australia and Korea, and collected data were analyzed using a thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke. Results: In Australia and Korea, various types of social support were available for cancer patients. However, social support for cancer patients should be better understood first in Korea, and more personalized support is needed in Australia. Conclusion: These findings will ultimately help to improve social support services for cancer patients in Korea an Australia, through grasping the current state and making up for the weak points.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.463-471
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the association between psychosocial work environment and depressive symptoms among Korean teachers. Methods: Data on 235 elementary school teachers and 341 middle and high school teachers was obtained from the 2014 Korean Working Condition Survey. The effect of psychosocial work environment on depressive symptoms was determined by multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 18 % in elementary school teachers and 24 % in middle and high school teachers. When adjusted for demographics and other socio-psychological and environmental factors, 'social community at work' served as a protection factor for Korean teachers' depressive symptoms. In addition, 'cognitive demands' in elementary school teachers and 'social support from supervisors' in middle and high school teachers were found to be predictors of depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Interventions to increase 'social community at work' and 'social support from supervisors', and to decrease 'cognitive demands' may be helpful for Korean teachers at risk of depression.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.77-83
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• 2017

Background: In contemporary China, most parents are dual-earner couples and there is only one child in the family. We aimed to examine the associations of parents' work stress with suicidal ideation among the corresponding adolescent. We further hypothesized that low parental support experienced by adolescents may mediate the associations. Methods: Cross-sectional data from school students and their working parents were used, with 907 families from Kunming City, China. Stress at work was measured by the effort-reward imbalance questionnaire. Perceived parental support was assessed by an item on parental empathy and their willingness to communicate with the adolescent. Suicidal ideation was considered positive if students reported thoughts about suicide every month or more frequently during the previous 6 months. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations. Results: We observed that parents' work stress was positively associated with low parental support, which was in turn associated with adolescent suicidal ideation. The odds ratio for parents' work stress and adolescent suicidal ideation was 2.91 (95% confidence interval: 1.53-5.53), and this association was markedly attenuated to 2.24 (95% confidence interval: 1.15-4.36) after additional adjustment for parental support. Notably, mothers' work stress levels exerted stronger effects on children's suicidal ideation than those of fathers. Conclusion: Parents' work stress (particularly mother's work stress) was strongly associated with adolescent's suicidal ideation, and the association was partially mediated by low parental support. These results need to be replicated and extended in prospective investigations within and beyond China, in order to explore potential causal pathways as a basis of preventive action.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.79-89
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• 2024

Purpose: Nurses have been reported to be at an increased risk for miscarriage and preterm labor. However, there is limited knowledge regarding nurses' preconception health behaviors. Therefore, this study aimed to identify factors influencing these behaviors. Methods: One hundred sixty nurses, who were planning their first pregnancy within the upcoming year, participated in an online survey from August 11 to October 31, 2021. Data on preconception health behavior, perceived health status, pregnancy anxiety, nursing practice environment, and social support were analyzed using the t-test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results: Age (p=.024), educational level (p=.010), marital status (p=.003), work experience (p=.003), satisfaction with the work department (p<.001), smoking status (p=. 039), and previous health problems related to pregnancy outcomes (p=.004) were significantly associated with nurses' preconception health behaviors. Furthermore, perceived health status (p<.001), pregnancy anxiety (p=.011), nursing practice environment (p=.003), and social support (p<.001) showed significant correlations with preconception health behaviors. Social support (β=. 28, p=.001), satisfaction with the work department (β=.23, p=.032), marital status (β=.22, p=.002), and perceived health status (β=.23, p=.002) were confirmed as factors associated with preconception health behaviors. These factors explained 40.9% of the variance in preconception health behaviors (F=6.64, p<.001). Conclusion: Clinical nurses' preconception health behaviors were influenced by social support, perceived health status, satisfaction with the work department, and marital status. Interventions to improve clinical nurses' preconception health behaviors should target social support and perceived health status. A preconception health behavior education program considering clinical nurses' marital status and satisfaction with the workplace can also be implemented.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.228-234
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• 2020

Background: The concept of social capital has its focus on cooperative relations in the workplace. This study investigates the association between social capital and sickness absence among workers in 41 work groups in the Danish dairy industry and examines the possible effects of an intervention on social capital in the workplace on sickness absence. Methods: A sample of 791 dairy workers working in 41 work groups that participated in an intervention study on social capital filled in a questionnaire on four subtypes of social capital, and social capital scores from individual participants were aggregated to the level of work groups. Sickness absence was measured at the level of work groups in company registers as the two-year average percentage of working time lost to sickness absence. Group-level associations between social capital and sickness absence were analyzed using multilevel linear regression analysis. Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, group size, and random effects at the workplace level. Results: We found statistically significant associations between social capital within work groups, social capital in relation to the immediate manager, and social capital toward the workplace as a whole on the one side and sickness absence on the other side. We found no support for any effects of the intervention on sickness absence. Conclusion: The work group level of social capital is associated with the work group level of sickness absence. However, the intervention to enhance group-level social capital had no effect on reducing sickness absence in the intervention group.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.18
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• pp.163-182
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• 2006

In social welfare arena field practicum has been an essential instrument and method for social work students to get socialized to the social work professional. However, to whom involve in the actual field practicum-universities(or colleges), institutes - have some difficulties. On the base of community welfare is a clinical approach in this times. To strengthen community welfare policy, the beginning of community welfare committee is such a good opportunity to tackle the problems of the field practicum. This study suggest that the problem of the field training are 1) a guidance of an individual social work institute, 2) the lack of social work institute, 3) the absence of the trainee's sense of values, 4) the bad conditions of the field practicum for social work students in undergraduate courses at the university(or college), and 5) the lack of professionalism for supervisors. This study makes the following social work suggestions to vitalize field practicum in community welfare. It is more likely important to 1) make the law of the field practicum for undergraduate social work courses, 2) make the coordinated programs of the field practicum for undergraduate social work course in community welfare, 3) enlarge the opportunity that a field specialist take further education, 4) support and carry of supervisor reeducation, 5) make the program development of trainee's personal experiences in social work values, and 6) social work professors make a practice in the social work field.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.272-282
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• 2004

Stress is a primary health promotion issue in worksite research because psychological distress is closely related not only to workers　 health status but also to their job performance. This study identified the work environment and work condition factors affecting workers　 stress symptoms among the Korean manufacturing factory workers. A total of 7,818 factory workers employed in 1,562 manufacturing companies participated in the Korean nation-wide occupational health survey conducted by the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency in 2003. Participants were selected by the stratified proportional sampling process by standardized industry classification, company size, and locations. Trained interviewers visited the target companies and interviewed the factory workers randomly selected in each company. Work environments included physical work environments (temperature, noise, hazardous organic compounds, and so on) and psychological work environments (job demands, job control, and social support at work), and work conditions included daily working hour, rest time, and so on. Men were 71.5% and the mean age was 34.0 years old. The average working period in the present company was 6.9 years. The average stress score was 26.2 under the perfect score, 50, which means the moderate level of stress. Perceived stress had significant correlations with young age, poor physical work environment, high fatigue, bad perceived health status, and high job demands in Pearson's simple correlation analysis. Perceived health status and perceived fatigue explained 21% variance of stress symptoms and the work environment factor explained 4.8% of that; however, work condition did not have the sufficient effect. In particular, psychosocial work environment variables (job demand, job control, and social support at work) had a clear effect on stress symptoms rather than the physical work environments. Poor perceived health status, severe perceived fatigue, poor physical work environment, high job demands, low social support, heavy alcohol consumption and little exercise were significantly related to high stress symptoms in the Korean manufacturing workers.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.42
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• pp.199-224
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• 2000

Homelessness became a major social problem in Korea. And the homeless presents many kinds of problems in social functioning. In studies on the homeless, Physical and mental health, alcohol and subtance abuse, the vulnerability of the social support have been frequently described as major characteristics of the homeless. Of the homeless' psychosocial characteristics, this article focused on the lack of the social support, which plays a important role on the exit from homelessness. The lack of social support has been mentioned as cause for homelessness. But a few researchers stressed the perspective that the homelessness causes the lack of social support. This article analyzed empirically the lack of social support among the homeless in terms of "social disaffiliation". This article hypothesized: (a) as longer homeless duration, the extent of the perceived social support would be decreased, (b) as longer homeless duration, the magnitude of the social network would be decreased, (c) as longer homeless duration, the ratio of the homeless in social network would be increased. Survey data collected from 355 homeless persons (sheltered homeless) at 82 shelters in Seoul. The result of analysis supports 'social disaffiliation hypotheses'. The result of this study suggests that the social work intervention to strengthen social support and social network be critically important in homeless shelter.