• 생물정신의학
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.46-55
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• 2022

Objectives Many studies have reported noticeable increases in the proportion of employees working either relatively short or relatively long hours. Such trends have been accompanied by an increasing concern that how much subjective mental well-being of employees would be influenced by their hours of work. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between work hours and clinically relevant depressive symptoms with demographic variables adjusted. Methods Participants were employees of a total of 56 private companies and local government organizations in Korea, aged 19 to 65 years. A self-report questionnaire that included items on working hour, job stress, levels of depression, and socio-demographic factors was administered to 15360 Korean employees, with 14477 valid responses. Hierarchical linear regression analyses, adjusted for sociodemographic factors, job related demographic factors, job stress, were used additionally to estimate the association between working hours and depressive scores. Results We found that working more than 40 hours per week correlated positively with the level of depressive symptoms after adjusting for demographic variables and the level of job stress. Furthermore, working 40 or fewer hours per week correlated negatively with the level of depressive symptoms. Being younger (β = -0.078, β = -0.099), being a female (β = 2.770, β = 1.268), and possessing a lower level of education (β = -0.315, β = -1.125) were significantly associated with higher level of depressive symptoms in all respondents. Conclusions Both of working excessively long or short hours is significantly associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms. Establishing proper office hours for employees is critical to improving the quality of working conditions and maintaining good mental health in the workplace.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.143-178
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• 2004

엄밀한 성장요인 분석을 위해서는 취업자수 및 인적 물적 자본스톡 뿐 아니라 취업자의 평균 취업시간 및 취업시간 변화에 따른 노동능률의 변화를 동시에 고려하여야 한다. 본 연구에서는 구간별로 발표되고 있는 주당 취업시간별 취업자수 통계에 최우추정법을 적용하여 총취업자의 단위 기간당 취업시간의 분포를 추정하고, 임금통계를 이용하여 단위 기간당 취업시간 변화에 따른 노동의 능률변화패턴을 추정한 후, 이를 결합하여 1963~2003년 기간중 총취업자의 주당 취업시간과 노동능률지표를 추정하였다. 추정결과에 따르면 주당 취업시간이 40시간일 때에 노동의 능률이 최대화되며, 1963~2003년 기간중 노동능률지표의 연평균 증가율은 0.14%로 계산되었다.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.17-22
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• 2022

Background: This study aimed to identify work-related risk factors, including long working hours and night/shift work, for unmet health care need using data of a representative panel of Korean adults. Methods: Associations between work-related factors and unmet health care need were analyzed using data of 3,440 participants (10,320 observations) from the 2011-2013 Korean Health Panel Study. A generalized estimating equation was used for the analysis of repeated measures. Results: The prevalence of unmet health care was 16.6%. After adjusting sex, age, socioeconomic status, work characteristics, and working more than 60 hours per week (odds ratio [OR]: 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23-1.65) or 50-59 hours per week (OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.08-1.46) instead of 40-49 hours per week and night/shift work (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.06-1.51) were associated with unmet health care need. Conclusion: Long working hours and night/shift work are risk factors for unmet health care need among the Korean working population.

• 노동경제논집
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.33-78
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• 2002

본 논문은 법정근로시간 단축에 대한 이론적 및 실증적 효과를 분석한다. 법정근로시간 단축은 이론적으로 임금소득을 상승시키며 소비를 촉진하는 효과가 있는 반면 실근로시간은 약간 줄어들거나 정체하며 비용 상승이 클 경우 고용이 감소하는 효과를 일으킨다. 거시모형을 통한 실증분석은 법정근로시간 단축으로 실질임금이 상승하고 소비가 증대하는 반면 실근로시간의 단축은 법정근로시간 단축 크기의 절반 정도에 그치고 비용 인상 인플레이션이 일어나 GDP와 투자가 감소하는 결과를 낳는 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 법정근로시간 단축이 단계적으로 시행될수록, 그리고 월차휴가, 생리휴가 폐지와 같은 보완장치가 더불어 시행될수록 이 같은 부정적인 효과는 줄어드는 것으로 나타났다.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제35권
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• pp.20.1-20.7
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• 2023

The policy proposal by the current Korean government that proposes flexible overtime rules is causing social controversy. This study has explored the 612 experts' opinions on the occupational safety and health impacts of the policy using an online self-report survey. They expected short-term overwork (87.25%), overwork inequality (86.44%), irregular working hours (84.31%), chronic overwork (84.15%), long working hours (83.66%), and unpredictability of working hours (81.86%) as a result of the policy change. They also responded that the policy change would increase industrial accident deaths (87.25%), mental illnesses (87.09%), deaths due to overwork or cardiovascular diseases (83.84%), and accidents (83.33%). They disagreed that the government's flexibilization policy, while agreeing that the necessity of policies on regulating night work (94.77%), guaranteeing wages to eliminate overtime (90.36%), establishing working time regulations for the bogus self-employed (82.84%), and applying the 52-hour workweek system to all workplaces (76.47%). These expert opinions are consistent with previous research on the health effects of working hours.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.517-521
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• 2021

Background: This study aimed to investigate whether working long hours was related to infertility among female Korean workers, while taking age into consideration. Methods: We used data from the 2018 National Survey on Fertility and Family Health and Welfare in Korea that is a cross-sectional, nationally representative, and population-based survey. Infertility was defined as women who were not pregnant after regular unprotected intercourse for a year. Working long hours was classified as ≥52 hours, and subgroups as per age were classified on the basis of being younger or older than 40 years of age. Differences in infertility risk between the long working hour group and none were estimated in crude and fully adjusted logistic regression models with age-group stratification. Results: Of 5,909 Korean female workers, the crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of infertility for working long hours were 1.295 (0.948-1.737) and 1.303 (0.921-1.809), respectively. In the subgroup of patients below 40 years of age, the crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.957 (1.216-3.039) and 1.921 (1.144-3.120), whereas those aged 40 years or older had 0.994 (0.647-1.471) and 0.939 (0.560-1.501), respectively. The weighted prevalence of infertility increased as weekly working hours increased only for the younger than 40-year subgroup. Conclusions: Infertility is associated with working long hours, especially in young-aged workers. Thus, the working schedule must be structured to better suit young female workers.

• 한국식생활문화학회지
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.486-494
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• 2019

There are an increasing number of reports that job related factors are associated with hypertension, sleep deprivation, obesity and diabetes. This study analyzed the relationship of working type, working hours and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. The study's subjects were 2,777 employees (1,446 males and 1,331 females) over 19 years old and their data was from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey (2015). The type of work was divided into day work and shift work. The working hours were divided into less than 40 hours, 40 to 49 hours, 50 to 59 hours and 60 hours or more per week. As a result of this study, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 26.4% of the males and 19.1% of the females. Generally there was no relationship between metabolic syndrome and type of work (day work and shift work). As a result of analysis of working hours and metabolic syndrome, the workers who worked 40-49 hr were associated with a decreased prevalence of metabolic syndrome as compared to that of workers who worked less than 40 hr (odds ratio: 0.47, 95% confidence interval: 0.24-0.95, p<0.05). Further, positive relationships were found between the number of work hours and the prevalence metabolic syndrome for specific females who worked over 40 hr/wk. It can be concluded from the results that it is important to help workers avoid metabolic syndrome through setting appropriate work hours.

• 한국치위생학회지
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.265-276
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• 2004

The purpose of this study,was to find out health status, characteristics related to working conditions, occurrence of low back pain and its related factors among dental hygienists working in dental clinics, and, thus, to provide basic information necessary to set up some plans for preventing the occurrence of low back pains and improving working conditions for dental hygienists. The data were collected from 310 dental hygienists working at dental clinics in Pusan and Kyungnam area, including Masan, Changwon, Jinhae and Jinju, with a self-administered questionnaire and were analyzed finally for 295 records with SPSS for Windows(7.52K) program. The results were as follows : Working condition was considered to be fair by 562% of dental hygienists were thought to threaten their health in the dental clinics. About seventy percent of dental hygienists worked over ten hours a day and 72.8% were standing while working over 7 hours, 65% considered working hours too long. Health status was thought be more than average for 82.3% while more than half perceived certain degree of stress frequently. The rate of complaining low back pains among dental hygienists was 87.8% with pains more than medium level for 39.3%. The variables significantly related to the degree of low back pains were height, uncomfortable postures, type of working postures and the height of working table, while some variables including height, hours of working on the feet, the presence of hazardous work environment, uncomfortable postures, the presence of hazardous works, the amount of working hours, type of working postures and work-associated stresses, were significantly related to the number of symptoms for low back pains. Multiple regression analysis showed that occurrence of low back pains was significantly influenced by 5 factors such as subjective status of health, work-related stresses, the degree of perception to work environment, the degree of perception to the amount of working hours and age. In conclusion, it might be necessary to manage working conditions effectively by reducing working hours, making good postures while working and removing stressful conditions in order to reduce risk factors for the occurrence of low back pains among dental hygienists. Therefore good working postures, assignment of appropriate rest time and some programs for early detection, care and education of low back pains should be provided for the dental hygienists.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제35권
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• pp.17.1-17.6
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• 2023

The current 52-hour workweek in South Korea consists of 40 hours of regular work and 12 hours of overtime. Although the average working hours in South Korea is declining, it is still 199 hours longer than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average of 1,716 hours per year. In view to this, the South Korean government has now proposed to reform the workweek, mainly intending to increase the workweek to 69 hours when the workload is heavy. This reform, by increasing the labor intensity due to long working hours, goes against the global trend of reducing work hours for a safe and healthy working environment. Long working hours can lead to increased cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, industrial accidents, mental health problems, and safety accidents due to lack of concentration. In conclusion, the Korean government's working hour reform plan can have a negative impact on workers' health, and therefore it should be thoroughly reviewed and modified.

• 가족자원경영과 정책
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• 제18권4호
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• pp.1-26
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• 2014

This study analyzes the effects of the three types of flexible work arrangements (part-time, flexitime, and reduced working hours for childcare) available in Korea on work-family conflict, facilitation, and job satisfaction for married working women ages 15-49. The study employs a panel analysis based on the first to the fourth data from the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women & Families (KLoWF). The major results are as follows. First, the availability of part-time jobs and reduced working hours to facilitate childcare is significantly related to work-family conflict for married women. If a married woman is employed in a part-time position or if reduced working hours for childcare are available, the conflict within the family caused by the job is reduced. Second, none of the three types of flexible work arrangements have a statistically significant influence on work-family facilitation for married women. Third, the availability of reduced working hours for childcare has a positive effect on the job satisfaction of married women. In conclusion, flexible working hours for women who are raising children are the main factor in reducing the negative effect of a job on a woman's family life as they contribute to work and family compatibility.