Job characteristics and occupational stress on health behavior in Korean workers

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of job characteristics and occupational stress on health related behavior. Methods: Eight thousand five hundred twenty two workers (21-65 years of age) who recruited from a nationwide sample in Korea completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding socio-demographic factors, job characteristics, healthrelated behaviors such as alcohol consumption, current smoking status & exercise, and occupational stress assessed by Korean Occupational Stress Scale. Multivariate analyses were conducted to analyze the association of occupational stress and job characteristics with health behavior according to gender separately. Results: In male, the problem drinking was positively associated with older age, lower educational level, some industries such as 'transport,' 'wholesale and retail trade' industries, difficult physical environment, insufficient job control, inadequate social support, job insecurity, and organizational injustice. Current smoking was positively associated with younger age, lower educational level, single marital status, lower incomes,'transport' industry and high job demand. The rate of regular exercise was negatively associated with lower incomes, shift works, and the 'electricity, gas and water supply' industies, high job demand, insufficient job control, inadequate social support, job insecurity, and lack of reward. 'Financial institutions and insurance' industry. Conclusion: Occupational stress and certain industrial classification have impact on health related lifestyles in Korean male employees. © 2010 by The Korean Academy of Family Medicine.