ORIGINAL PAPER
Factors related to psychological well-being in unskilled manual workers
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1
Catholic University of Daegu, Gyeongsan, South Korea
(Department of Occupational Health)
2
University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan, South Korea
(Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Online publication date: 2021-06-07
Corresponding author
Yangho Kim
University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
290-3 Cheonha-dong, Dong-gu, Ulsan 44033, South Korea
Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(6):789-804
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ABSTRACT
Objectives: The authors characterized the demographic, socioeconomic, and psychosocial work factors associated with performance of unskilled
manual work, and then identified the modifiable psychosocial work factors that affected the psychological well-being of these workers. Material and Methods: This study analyzed data from the fifth Korean Working Condition Survey conducted in 2017. The study subjects were 37 081 Korean employees.
The occupational classes investigated were: managers, professionals, and clerks; service and sales workers; and skilled or unskilled manual
workers. Results: Unskilled manual workers were more likely to be elderly and less educated, to have low income, to work fewer hours weekly, to have
a shorter work duration, to perform temporary or daily jobs, and to report poor subjective health and well-being. Unskilled manual workers were also
more likely to experience psychosocial hazards, such adverse social behaviors, a lack of job satisfaction, a lack of support from managers, and a poor
social climate. However, with statistical adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, and psychosocial work factors, unskilled manual work was no
longer associated with poor psychological well-being, but psychosocial work factors were associated with poor psychological well-being. Conclusions: The poor psychological well-being of unskilled manual workers cannot be explained by the intrinsic nature of this type of work. Instead, the poor
psychological well-being of these workers is associated with unfavorable psychosocial work factors, such as a poor employment status, a lack of job
satisfaction, a lack of support from managers, and a bad social climate. These results thus suggest that the modification of psychosocial work factors
may improve the psychological well-being of unskilled manual workers. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(6):789–804