Psychosocial work environment and fertility intention among wage workers: a cross-sectional analysis of the general...

South Korea has the lowest total fertility rate globally, and policies focused on economic incentives have failed to reverse this trend. Workplace conditions may influence fertility decisions, yet the role of the work environment remains underexplored. We examined associations between psychosocial working conditions and fertility intention among Korean wage workers. This cross-sectional study used data from the sixth wave of the Korean Work, Sleep, and Health Study (2025), including 1,249 paid employees aged <50 yr. Fertility intention was assessed as a binary outcome. Occupational factors included working-time characteristics, employment stability, occupational stress domains, psychosocial safety climate (PSC), and the presence of an occupational safety and health organization. Logistic regression models estimated odds ratios, with adjustment for age, sex, marital status, educational attainment, and equivalised household income. Working hours, shift work, commuting time, and working-time autonomy were not significantly associated with fertility intention. In contrast, employment stability and the presence of an OSH organization were positively associated with fertility intention. PSC showed the most consistent association. Low social support, organizational justice, and inappropriate reward were also linked to lower fertility intention. Fertility intention appears to be shaped more by psychosocial and organizational factors than by objective working-time characteristics.