Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the 3-item version of the Work Engagement Scale (WES-3), which is based on the Job DemandsResources (JD-R) model and was used in the 5 th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Methods: This study used data from the 5th KWCS (n = 50,205), which was conducted in 2017 with a sample of the Korean working population. The survey gathered comprehensive information on working conditions to define workforce changes and the quality of work and life. The reliability and internal consistency of the WES-3 were assessed using the corrected item-total correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the construct validity of work engagement. The convergent validity was assessed using the correlation with the WHO-5 well-being index. Correlations between work engagement and JD-R factors were also calculated. Results: The Cronbach's alpha for work engagement was 0.776, indicating acceptable internal consistency. The model comprising 3 work engagement and 2 burnout items showed an excellent fit (χ2 : 382.05, Tucker-Lewis index: 0.984, comparative fit index: 0.994, root mean square error of approximation: 0.043). The convergent validity was significant (correlation coefficient: 0.42). Correlations with burnout and job demands were negligible, whereas correlations with job resources and job satisfaction were weakly positive. Conclusions The results of our study confirm that the WES-3 has acceptable reliability and validity.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the 3-item version of the Work Engagement Scale (WES-3), which is based on the Job DemandsResources (JD-R) model and was used in the 5 th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Methods: This study used data from the 5th KWCS (n = 50,205), which was conducted in 2017 with a sample of the Korean working population. The survey gathered comprehensive information on working conditions to define workforce changes and the quality of work and life. The reliability and internal consistency of the WES-3 were assessed using the corrected item-total correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the construct validity of work engagement. The convergent validity was assessed using the correlation with the WHO-5 well-being index. Correlations between work engagement and JD-R factors were also calculated. Results: The Cronbach's alpha for work engagement was 0.776, indicating acceptable internal consistency. The model comprising 3 work engagement and 2 burnout items showed an excellent fit (χ2 : 382.05, Tucker-Lewis index: 0.984, comparative fit index: 0.994, root mean square error of approximation: 0.043). The convergent validity was significant (correlation coefficient: 0.42). Correlations with burnout and job demands were negligible, whereas correlations with job resources and job satisfaction were weakly positive. Conclusions The results of our study confirm that the WES-3 has acceptable reliability and validity.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the status of the preplacement medical examination after the revision of the industrial safety and health law on Oct. 7, 2005 by the Ministry of Labor. METHODS: Preplacement medical certificates of 6,507 recruits issued by two hospitals in Busan, Kyeongnam Province from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2006 were reviewed. Telephone interviews were performed to the recruits with disease and self-reported questionnaires were administrated to health and safety personnel from May 1 to Sep. 30, 2007. RESULTS: Interviews were conducted with 185(56.1%) recruits with disease, 51(27.4%) of whom were rejected for employment due to the preplacement medical certificate. The questionnaire survey for the health and safety personnel revealed that 39(22.9%) personnel were unaware of the annulment of the preemployment medical examination. Eighty(48.8%) of the health and safety personnel answered that they performed a preplacement medical examination after employment, and 63(37.3%) made a practical application of the workers' placement. The recruits with chronic conditions were refused employment: 20 (11.8%) due to hypertension, 21(12.4%) diabetes mellitus and 22(13.0%) hyperlipidemia. The recruits with work-related diseases were also refused employments: 76(44.4%) due to lumbar spine abnormality and 75(43.8%) hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the annulment of the pre-employment medical examination, a preplacement medical examination was often used to discriminate among healthy and diseased recruits. Employers must respect the law for the point of time of the preplacement medical examination and the payment of cost. The government should publicize the revision of the objectives of the law. We suggest that health professionals elucidate the job fitness through the development of the assessment tools and maintain the confidentiality of recruits.
Confidentiality ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Employment ; Health Occupations ; Hearing ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Interviews as Topic ; Jurisprudence ; Questionnaires ; Spine

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the effects of shift work on abdominal obesity among young and middle-aged female nurses during a 5-year retrospective study. METHODS: This retrospective study included female nurses (20–39 years old) who worked at a university hospital in Korea and had available health screening results from 2010–2015. Among 2,611 employees, 934 healthy 20–39-year-old female nurses were identified, and data regarding their demographic information (age and date of employment), waist circumferences (WC), and lifestyle factors (alcohol and exercise) were obtained. Abdominal obesity was defined as a WC of ≥80 cm, based on the World Health Organization’s Asia-West Pacific standard in 2000. The mean WC change from baseline was analyzed using the paired t test, and the association between shift work and abdominal obesity was analyzed using the generalized estimating equation. RESULTS: Compared to all day workers (both age groups), the 20–29-year-old nurses did not exhibit significant changes in WC at each follow-up. However, among the 30–39-year-old nurses, shift workers exhibited a significant change in WC (vs. baseline) during years 4 and 5, compared to day workers. After adjusting for effective confounders and stratifying the participants according to age, the 20–29-year-old nurses exhibited an odds ratio of 3.21 (95 % confidence interval: 1.29–7.98) for shift work-associated obesity, although the odds ratio for the 30–39-year-old nurses was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: In the study population, shift work was associated with a significant change in mean WC among 30–39-year-old nurses, and the shift work-associated risk of abdominal obesity was significant among 20–29-year-old nurses. These results indicate that shift work may influence abdominal obesity differently in 20–29-year-old and 30–39-year-old female nurses.
Female* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Global Health ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Longitudinal Studies* ; Mass Screening ; Obesity ; Obesity, Abdominal* ; Odds Ratio ; Retrospective Studies* ; Waist Circumference

OBJECTIVES: Asian migrant workers in Korea have various ethnicities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the difference in spirometric interpretation made using the set of third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) reference equations and the relevant ethnicity-specific reference sets. METHODS: Spirometry was performed on 166 migrant and 498 Korean male workers between March and November 2012. We analyzed the spirometric data of healthy never-smokers. Spirometric patterns were evaluated using the NHANES III reference set and some relevant ethnicity-specific equations (Eom's equation for Koreans, Ip's equation for East Asians, Crapo's equation for Central Asians, Memon's equation for South Asians, and Gnanou's equation for Southeast Asian people). RESULTS: In all migrant groups except the Central Asian group, the forced expiratory volume in 1 second percentage (FEV1%) and forced vital capacity percentage (FVC%) calculated using each of the ethnicity-specific reference equations considered were significantly higher than those calculated using the NHANES III reference set. This study showed that in the evaluation of the spirometric result of subjects from Southeast Asia or South Asia, the percentage of cases with an abnormal FEV1 or FVC increased when the NHANES III set of equations was used as compared to when the ethnicity-specific equations were used. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the spirometric results of all ethnic groups were higher and the composition of the abnormal spirometric result was lower when the ethnicity-specific reference equations were used instead of the NHANES III reference set.
Asia ; Asia, Southeastern ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Ethnic Groups ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Korea* ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Spirometry ; Transients and Migrants* ; Vital Capacity

Nonspecific building related illnesses (NBRI) are an array of diverse symptoms related to working in particular buildings. There are numerous contributing factors, including basic factors (temperature, humidity and ventilation) as well as chemicals, dust, microorganisms, and psychosocial factors. At the individual level, taking a careful history is the essential first step. After ruling out other diseases, clinicians can start the symptomatic treatment for NBRI. If a relationship to the building is suspected, a walk through evaluation is very helpful. At the group level, standardized questionnaires and investigations of the building environment can be applied simultaneously. If the prevalence of symptoms are greater than that of general population, appropriate interventions have to be provided for prevention and group health care. In both approaches, it is essential to periodically follow up with symptomatic patients and work environments after an intervention. For the management of NBRI, taking care of the patient's symptoms and maintaining a good indoor environment are important. To achieve this goal, cooperation among workers, building managers, employers and occupational health staff is crucial.
Air Pollution, Indoor ; Delivery of Health Care ; Dust ; Humans ; Humidity ; Occupational Health ; Prevalence ; Questionnaires ; Resin Cements

BACKGROUND: It is challenging to balance work and life, and little attention has been paid to the work–life balance and psychosocial well-being of South Koreans. We assessed the association between work–life balance and psychosocial well-being among paid Korean workers. METHODS: This study was based on data from the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey. We evaluated only paid workers, which constituted 30,649 of the total of 50,007 subjects surveyed. Poor work–life balance was defined based on the goodness of fit between working hours and social commitments. Well-being was measured using the World Health Organization WHO-5 index. Poisson regression with robust variances was used to calculate the estimated prevalence ratios (PRs) with confidence intervals. RESULTS: Poor work–life balance was associated with poor psychosocial well-being (PR = 1.25; 95% CI 1.21 to 1.28) even after adjusting for work-related and individual characteristics. Poor well-being was associated with low-level job autonomy (PR = 1.06; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.09), working for ≥53 h per week (PR = 1.10; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.14), blue-collar status (PR = 1.16; 95% CI 1.11 to 1.21), low-level support at work (PR = 1.32; 95% CI 1.29 to 1.36), age ≥ 50 years (PR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.15 to 1.26), the female gender (95% CI PR = 1.04; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.07), and cohabitation (living with somebody) (PR = 1.08; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.12). Good well-being was associated with high-intensity work (PR = 0.96; 95% CI 0.94 to 0.99), being the secondary earner in a household (PR = 0.82; 95% CI 0.79 to 0.85), and higher income (PR = 0.75; 95% CI 0.71 to 0.79). CONCLUSION: Work–life balance was associated with psychosocial well-being after adjusting for both work-related and individual characteristics.
Family Characteristics ; Female ; Humans ; Prevalence ; World Health Organization

BACKGROUND: No tool is available for the multidimensional measurement of workplace well-being among Korean workers. In this study, the Workplace Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA)-Profiler, a multidimensional workplace well-being measure, was translated into Korean, and its validity and reliability were assessed. METHODS: The Workplace PERMA-Profiler, including the positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment domains, was translated according to international guidelines. The questionnaires included the Workplace PERMA-Profiler, Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, Psychosocial Well-being Index-Short Form, and Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form. A total of 316 Korean workers completed a web-based survey with adequate response. Cronbach's alpha values were calculated to assess scale reliability, and correlational and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess validity. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha values for the Korean Workplace PERMA-Profiler ranged from 0.70 to 0.95. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 5-factor model had a marginally acceptable fit [χ²(80) = 383.04, comparative fit index = 0.909, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.881, root mean square error of approximation = 0.110, and standardized root mean square residual = 0.054]. The 5-factor PERMA domains were correlated positively with work engagement and mental well-being in life, and negatively with burnout, occupational stressors, and stress responses. These results showed that the Workplace PERMA-Profiler has good convergent and divergent validity. CONCLUSIONS: The Korean version of the Workplace PERMA-Profiler had good reliability and validity. It might be used as an indicator or evaluation tool for positive mental health interventions in the workplace.
Mental Health ; Reproducibility of Results