The relationship between precarious employment and subjective well-being in Korean wage workers through the Cantril ladder Scale

The relationships between precarious employment, having a calling, and occupational well-being among young nurses: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Working in the healthcare sector seems less interesting than other sectors: the salary is low relative to the demands of the labour involved, and working conditions as well as management are perceived as poor. These factors may have an impact on the well-being of nurses in the healthcare sector. This study aims to explore the relationship between precarious employment and occupational well-being, in addition to the moderating effect of having a calling in this relationship among younger and older nurses.

METHODS

Cross-sectional survey data were collected among Finnish nurses (n = 5867) between October and November 2020. Data were collected on demographics, occupational well-being, precarious employment, and having a calling in the field. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to explore the associations.

RESULTS

Younger nurses perceived lower levels of occupational well-being and calling, and higher levels of precarious employment compared to older nurses. Precarious employment had a negative relationship with occupational well-being, and having a calling showed a positive relationship with regard to occupational well-being. No interaction effect of precarious employment and having a calling with occupational well-being was found.

CONCLUSIONS

Young nurses' occupational well-being, precarious employment, and calling should be studied further because they are in a weaker position in working life. Using a qualitative approach should be considered in order to obtain more in-depth information.

Interaction between old age and precarious employment on poor mental well-being in workers: Evidence from a nationally representative sample in Korea

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the relationship between precarious employment (PE) and mental well-being, focusing on age-specific interactions.

METHODS

Nationally representative Korean workers (N = 29,961) were surveyed between 2020 and 2021 to collect data on multidimensional PE (categorized as low, moderate, or high) and the WHO-5 well-being index. Workers' ages were classified as young (<35 years), middle-aged (35-54 years), and older (≥55 years). Logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The interaction between PE and age on well-being was examined by including interaction terms in the regression models.

RESULTS

The prevalence of poor well-being was 25%, 29%, and 39% for low, moderate, and high precariousness, respectively, whereas it was 26%, 30%, and 39% for young, middle-aged, and older workers, respectively. In the overall sample, the OR (95% CI) of the association between PE and poor well-being was 1.24 (1.17-1.32) for moderate and 1.54 (1.43-1.65) for high precariousness, compared with low precariousness. There was a significant interaction between old age and PE on the odds of poor well-being. Compared with young workers with low PE, middle-aged workers with high PE (OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.62-2.10) and older workers with high PE (OR: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.83-2.40) exhibited increased odds of having poor mental well-being.

CONCLUSION

PE serves as a social determinant of older workers' psychological well-being. Policy interventions are required to protect older workers' psychological well-being.

Assessment of quality of life, job insecurity and work ability among nurses, working either under temporary or permanent terms

OBJECTIVES

Aim of this study was to assess and compare health, quality of life, well-being, job satisfaction and job insecurity between nurses, in a tertiary hospital in Greece, working either under permanent or temporary contract.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, consecutively recruited nurses answered a structured questionnaire, the WHO-5 Well-being Index (WHO-5), the Job Insecurity Index (JII), the Work Ability Index (WAI), and the Well-Being at Work Scale (WBWS).

RESULTS

Included were 323 nurses (87.6% women, age M±SD 43.68±8.10 years). Tem- porary contract employees had worse quality of life (p = 0.009) and higher job insecurity: both in cognitive dimension (p = 0.013) and emotional dimension (p < 0.001). They also scored worse in the positive affect (p < 0.001), negative affect (p = 0.002) and fulfillment of expectations in work environment (p < 0.001) domains of the WBWS. Additionally, they reported less frequently occupational accidents and injuries (p = 0.001), muscu - loskeletal disorders of the spine or neck (p = 0.007), cardiovascular (p = 0.017), and gastrointestinal (p = 0.010) disorders, while they reported more frequently mental disorders (p < 0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that temporary work predicted high cognitive (p = 0.010) and emotional (p < 0.001) insecurity, low positive emotions and mood index (p = 0.007), low achievement-fulfillment index (p = 0.047) and high index of negative emotions (p = 0.006), regardless of gender and age.

CONCLUSIONS

Temporary employment among nurses is associated with a lower sense of job security and well-being, and a higher prevalence of mental disorders, independently of age or gender without a significantly negative effect on their ability to work. Managers, as well as occupational physicians, should recognize the extent of nurses' job insecurity and assess their ability to work, to provide them with the necessary support and to stimulate the sense of occupational security and work capacity, so that they can thrive in their workplace and therefore be more productive and provide high quality healthcare. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2024;37(1):98-109.

Multidimensional employment precariousness mediates the association between low educational attainment and poor subjective well-being: results from a nationwide cross-sectional study in South Korea

OBJECTIVE

This paper explored how multidimensional employment precariousness (MEP) mediates the relationship between educational attainment and subjective well-being.

METHODS

A nationwide sample of 46 919 Korean workers participated in surveys between 2017 and 2020. Educational attainment was divided into four categories: elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. Subjective well-being was assessed using the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index, and MEP was evaluated using a modified version of the Employment Precariousness Scale (ERPES-E), with scores ranging from 0 to 100 and higher scores indicating worse employment precariousness. A counterfactual-based logistic mediation analyses were used to estimation.

RESULTS

The mean MEP score was 36.0 [standard deviation (SD) 12.1] for college education, 44.3 (SD 11.5) for high school, 49.5 (SD 10.1) for middle school, and 51.1 (SD 10.0) for elementary school. The prevalence of poor subjective well-being was 24.0% for college education, 31.3% for high school, 40.6% for middle school, and 44.8% for elementary school. Odds ratios (OR) for the total effect of education on the poor subjective well-being were 1.44 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37-1.53] for high school, 2.19 (95% CI 1.98-2.24) for middle school, and 2.40 (95% CI 2.04-2.82) for elementary school when compared to college education. The OR for the indirect effect mediated through MEP were 1.27 (95% CI 1.25-1.29) for high school, 1.46 (95% CI 1.42-1.51) for middle school, and 1.53 (95% CI 1.48-1.59) for elementary school, accounting for 63.9%, 48.5%, and 48.6% of the total effect, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests that MEP is an important contributor to the disparities in subjective well-being resulting from educational gradients.

Increased risk of sleep problems according to employment precariousness among paid employees in Korea

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between precarious employment (PE) and sleep problems among wage workers in Korea.

METHODS

Data from 29,437 wage workers were obtained from the 6th Korean Working Conditions Survey. PE was defined based on four dimensions: employment temporariness, irregularity, lack of protection, and economic vulnerability. A PE index indicating employment precariousness was derived. The outcome variables were three sleep problems experienced over the past year: difficulty initiating asleep; difficulty maintaining sleep' and fatigue upon waking. Multiple logistic regression was performed after adjusting for age, educational level, occupation, job tenure, company size, and working hours, to estimate the association between PE and sleep problems.

RESULTS

For both sexes, the risk of all sleep problems significantly increased as the precariousness of employment increased, showing a dose-response relationship.

CONCLUSION

An increased risk of sleep problems is evident as employment becomes more precarious. These findings could help improve the health of workers with PE by addressing sleep problems.

Visual Impairment in Hemodialyzed Patients-An IVIS Study

Background and Objectives: The growing and aging population of hemodialysis patients has become increasingly disabled, with more complex comorbidities, and are older upon initiating dialysis. Visual impairment can adversely affect their quality of life and life satisfaction. Treatment evaluation should not only consider remission of the disease, but also the improvement of quality of life and life satisfaction. This is a single-center cross-sectional study. It was designed to evaluate visual impairment in hemodialyzed patients, its correlation with quality of life and life satisfaction, and its relationship to clinical outcomes in hemodialyzed patients. Materials and Methods: Seventy patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis and aged 18 years or older were recruited from a single Dialysis Unit. The Impact of Visual Impairment Scale (IVIS), WHOQOL-BREF, and Cantril Ladder questionnaires were utilized to assess both sociodemographic and clinical variables. Results: It was found that, among all assessed variables (i.e., sex, marital status, level of education, months on hemodialysis, history of kidney transplantation, Kt/V, URR, and UF), only age and central venous catheter placement were positively correlated with IVIS scores, while arteriovenous fistula and willingness to become a kidney transplant recipient were negatively correlated. Furthermore, a comparison between patients with moderate and severe visual impairment yielded supplemental data indicating that individuals whose dialysis access was through a dialysis catheter and those ineligible or unwilling to undergo transplantation suffered more often from severe visual impairment. This finding may be attributed to age. Conclusions: Older patients were predominantly observed to experience visual impairment. Patients intending to receive a kidney transplant and whose dialysis access was through an arteriovenous fistula were less prone to visual impairment, compared to those who may be ineligible or unwilling to receive transplantation and those with hemodialysis catheters. This phenomenon can be attributed to age-related distinctions in patients' suitability for specific dialysis access and transplantation. Those reporting visual impairment gave lower ratings in all four domains of their quality of life (comprising physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment) and in both present and anticipated five-year life satisfaction. More severe visual impairment was related to an additional reduction in physical health, social relationship, and environment domains, and in life satisfaction.

Associations between precarious employment and smoking and regular exercise: Results from a Korean longitudinal panel study from 2005 to 2020

We examined whether precarious employment (PE) is related to cigarette smoking and physical inactivity and whether a longer duration of PE intensifies the detrimental impact. Using Korean longitudinal panel data, 89,289 observations of 15,712 employees were analyzed. Mixed models were applied to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We adjusted for time-varying characteristics of the participants (age, education, marital status, income, occupation, and working hours). ORs of associations between PE and current smoking were 1.09 (95% CI: 0.95-1.25) in men and 1.77 (1.03-3.05) in women. Also, ORs of associations between PE and regular exercise were 0.52 (0.46-0.58) in men and 0.95 (0.85-1.07) in women. Next, the longer the duration of PE was related to the higher the risk of current smoking and physical inactivity. For instance, over 6 years of PE was related to the highest risk of current smoking in men (1.80 [1.38-2.34]) and women (3.94 [1.25-12.44]). Also, over 6 years of PE was related to the lowest likelihood of regular exercise in men (0.47 [0.37-0.59]), but not in women (0.83 [0.65-1.06]). A longer duration of PE is also related to a change in health behaviors among men. Over 6 years of PE was associated with the highest risk of smoking initiation (2.02 [1.28-3.19]) and the lowest likelihood of exercise initiation (0.42 [0.32-0.55]) in men. However, a longer duration of PE was not associated with a change in health behaviors in women. Our findings highlight that PE have a detrimental impact on health behaviors.

Predictors of subjective well-being in Korean men and women: Analysis of nationwide panel survey data

Subjective well-being has been associated with sociodemographic characteristics, health, and satisfaction with family life. There is evidence on gender difference in subjective well-being and differential relationships of predictors between men and women worldwide. However, little is known about the gender gaps in subjective well-being in Korean adults. Using nationwide panel survey data, this study aims to examine predictors of subjective well-being in the Korean population and to investigate if there is a difference in the impact of some predictors between men and women. Generalized estimating equations were used to measure the relationship between subjective well-being and explanatory variables, using individual-level data from the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS) between 2017 and 2020. Model 1 investigated sociodemographic variables. Model 2 added three health-related variables (such as disability, chronic disease, and subjective health status) and satisfaction with family life. Additional models included a range of interaction terms. In the 2020 KOWEPS, 10,758 respondents rated their subjective well-being scores on the Cantril ladder. The mean score of all respondents was 6.74 (SD = 1.66). In the analysis of the pooled sample, subjective well-being was higher in women than in men (Models 1-2, p < .01). Among all variables examined, satisfaction with family life was the most important predictor of subjective well-being (β = 1.3625; p < .01). Education level and employment status had significant interaction effects with gender on subjective well-being. In particular, higher education was more important for women and stable employment was more important for men.