Self-employed individuals performing different types of work have different occupational safety and health problems

We assessed the occupational safety and health (OSH) issues of self-employed individuals in Korea.

The working conditions and OSH issues in three groups were analyzed using the Korean Working Conditions Survey of 2014.

Among self-employed individuals, "Physical work" was more common among males, whereas "Emotional work" was more common among females. Self-employed individuals performing "Mental work" had more education, higher incomes, and the lowest exposure to physical/chemical and ergonomic hazards in the workplace. In contrast, those performing "Physical work" were older, had less education, lower incomes, greater exposure to physical/chemical and ergonomic hazards in the workplace, and more health problems. Individuals performing "Physical work" were most vulnerable to OSH problems.

The self-employed are a heterogeneous group of individuals. We suggest development of specific strategies that focus on workers performing "Physical work" to improve the health and safety of self-employed workers in Korea.