Association between sudden work recall and psychological health issues: a cross-sectional analysis of the 6th Korean...

The impact of global integration has led to an increase in non-standard work patterns, threatening workers' health. Psychological health problems, such as anxiety and fatigue, negatively affect workers' health and safety. Sudden work recall, a situation where workers are asked to return to work under unpredictable circumstances, is associated with uncertainty. Research on the relationship between sudden work recall and anxiety and fatigue is limited, and this study aims to investigate this relationship among Korean workers.

The study used data from the 6th Korean Working Conditions Survey. To analyze the pure effects of sudden work recall, the final sample was limited to 15,702 non-shift workers with a 'good' subjective health status. The presence of sudden work recall was categorized into three frequency groups: "several times a month," "rarely," and "never." Anxiety and fatigue were each categorized into "yes" or "no" responses. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed.

After adjusting for demographic and occupational characteristics, the odds ratio (OR) for anxiety in the 'several times a month' group was 4.066 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.787-5.931), indicating a significantly higher risk. Conversely, the OR for the 'rarely' group was 1.363 (95% CI: 0.921-2.017), which was not statistically significant. A similar pattern was observed for fatigue: the 'several times a month' group had a significantly higher risk (OR: 1.875; 95% CI: 1.490-2.359), but the 'rarely' group (OR: 0.955; 95% CI: 0.750-1.215) did not.

The relationship between sudden work recall and psychological health may not be a simple linear one. The results suggest that only a high frequency of sudden work recall is associated with an increased risk of anxiety and fatigue. Therefore, it is necessary to establish appropriate measures and to conduct additional research in this area.