Association of work-time control with burnout and turnover intention: a cross-sectional analysis of a general working population in Korea
10.4178/epih.e2026011
- Author:
Hye-Eun LEE
;
Seong-Sik CHO
;
Mo-Yeol KANG
- Publication Type:Original Article
- From:Epidemiology and Health
2026;48(1):e2026011-
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:0
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES:For employees, work-time control (WTC) may protect against burnout and turnover. However, evidence from Korean workplaces is limited. This study aimed to examine whether WTC is associated with burnout and turnover intention and to test whether burnout mediates this relationship.
METHODS:We analyzed data from 4,745 wage workers in the 2024 wave of the Korean Work, Sleep, and Health Study. WTC was assessed across 6 domains, burnout was measured using the Korean Burnout Syndrome Scale, and turnover intention was assessed using a validated 4-item scale. Logistic regression was used to estimate the associations of WTC quartile with burnout and turnover intention, and mediation analysis was used to decompose the association between WTC and turnover intention through burnout.
RESULTS:Among 4,745 workers, the prevalence of burnout was 3.9% and turnover intention was 34.5%; both increased stepwise across lower WTC quartiles. In adjusted models, workers in the lowest WTC quartile had higher odds of burnout (odds ratio [OR], 3.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.41 to 6.47) and turnover intention (OR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.85 to 2.71) than those in the highest quartile. Mediation analysis showed that burnout explained 36.6% (95% CI, 22.3 to 51.0) of the association between WTC and turnover intention.
CONCLUSIONS:Lower WTC was linked to higher burnout and turnover intention, with burnout explaining more than one-third of this relationship.
