Occupational stress and depression in Korean employees

The purpose of this study is to analyze what aspects of occupational stress predict depression among Korean workers, and determine which components of occupational stress or job characteristics is more strongly associated with depression.

In this cross-sectional study, a total of 8,522 workers (21-65 years of age) from a nationwide sample were recruited. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess socio-demographics, job characteristics, depressive symptoms measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and occupational stress assessed by the Korean occupational stress scale (KOSS).

Multivariate analyses show that inadequate social support (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.52, 1.66) and discomfort in occupational climate (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.18, 1.32) were more important risk factors for depression than organizational injustice, job demand and job control. Compared to the 'business activities' industries, 'recreational, cultural and sporting activities' (OR = 3.45, 95% CI = 1.80, 6.58), 'hotel and restaurants' (OR = 3.34, 95% CI = 1.92, 5.80), 'real estate and renting and leasing' (OR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.13, 4.44), 'wholesale and retail' (OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.28, 2.67), 'transportation' (OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.11, 3.07), and 'financial institute and insurance' (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.04, 2.48) industries had significantly greater risk of depression after controlling for gender, age, marital status, duration of employment and all subscale of KOSS.

The finding that inadequate social support and discomfort in occupational climate is a better predictor of depressive symptoms than organizational injustice in Korea, indicates that the newly developed KOSS has cultural relevance for assessing occupational stress in Korea. Future studies need to understand factors such as "emotional labor" within certain industries where increased risk for depression is observed.