Employmentweb_low

employment relations and health inequalities: a conceptual and empirical overvieW
classification (i.e., "manual worker") as an indicator of economic inequality has a long tradition in mental health research. because
job type is an indicator of control over the labour process, it is also a marker of workplace effects on mental health. in addition to
being manual workers, Korean hitech workers were exposed to a particularly hazardous form of work organisation for years, being
subjected to constant vigilance with cameras and often facing degrading and humiliating treatment (such as denial of the right to
go to the bathroom). it is not surprising that workers exposed to this kind of workplace abuse could suffer from poor mental health.
it is also known that the impact of Korean employment conditions on workers' mental health is worse for immigrants,
minorities and, in particular, union members. this happens because of their labour market vulnerability and the hostility of
management to union organisers and members: this is often the case in authoritarian regimes. there are also studies
showing a high prevalence of depression in nursing professions due to overwork and supervisor abuse (muntaner et al.,
2006a). abusive workplaces have been associated with anxiety and depression, counting among them many blue collar
(manual) workplaces (muntaner & eaton, 2004). in the hitech case, abuse took many forms. For example, on one occasion
workers were kept from opening the door for ventilation.
hazardous workplaces can increase the risk of depression. it has been shown that work characterised by absence of worker
control or planning is associated with major depression (mausner-dorsch & eaton, 2000). also, the negative effects of conflict with
management have been associated with depression. recent evidence points to management abuse, labour law violations, and
threats of being fired as potential risk factors for depression (muntaner et al., 2004; muntaner et al., 2006b). in several studies
carried out in the united states, physical demands also predicted psychotic episodes (muntaner, tien, eaton, & garrison, 1991).
physical demands have been associated with psychiatric illness in other populations as well (muntaner et al., 2004). the Korean
hitech workers were actually exposed to all of these risk factors simultaneously over the last five years.
the bright side of the studies mentioned above is that they suggest the possibility of prevention, since they impinge on factors
that might be modified by union pressure or legal victories ensuring a healthy workplace without abuse. some researchers feel that
the reorganisation of work can improve the productivity and health of the workers, while others affirm that the relentless search for
profits is by definition in conflict with workers' mental health (muntaner & eaton, 2004). We do see that several countries, including
sweden, spain, and the uK, have legislation on the unacceptable levels of work stress, and provisions are made to use these laws
in arbitration. one example is the norwegian Worker protection and Working environment act of 1977, amended in 2004
(particularly sections 1, 7, 12 and 14). this act allows companies to be fined by the state for promoting environments conducive to
low autonomy, management harassment, lack of freedom on the job, overwork, threats of firing, psychological harassment,
mobbing, and illegal threats to union members. to protect workers around the globe from the mental health effects of managerial
pressure such as those suffered by Korean hitech workers, fair employment measures should be promoted by the ilo. next,
governments should enact them widely to support the worker's basic right to mental health.
References
lee, h. e. (2005, may 10). all trade union members were diagnosed as clinically depressed. Hankyerae.
mausner-dorsch, h., & eaton, W. W. (2000). psychosocial work environment and depression: epidemiologic assessment of
the demand-control model. American Journal of Public Health, 90(11), 1765-1770.
muntaner, c., & eaton, W. W. (2004). psychosocial and organizational factors. health effects: mental illness. in J. stellman
(ed.), ilo Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety (pp. 34.62-34.64). geneva: international labour office.
muntaner, c., li, y., Xue, X., o'campo, p., chung, h. J., & eaton, W. W. (2004). Work organization, area labor-market
characteristics, and depression among us nursing home workers: a cross-classified multilevel analysis. International
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 10(4), 392-400.
muntaner, c., li, y., Xue, X., thompson, t., chung, h., & o'campo, p. (2006a). county and organizational predictors of depression
symptoms among low-income nursing assistants in the usa. Social Science and Medicine, 63(6), 1454-1465.
muntaner, c., li, y., Xue, X., thompson, t., o'campo, p., chung, h., et al. (2006b). county level socioeconomic position, work
organization and depression disorder: a repeated measure cross-classified multilevel analysis of low-income nursing
home workers. Health and Place, 12(4), 688-700.
muntaner, c., tien, a. y., eaton, W. W., & garrison, r. (1991). occupational characteristics and the occurrence of psychotic
disorders. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 26(6), 273-280.
park, J. h. (2005, June 3). Workers' compensation for hitech rcd Korea workers declined. Hankyerae.
Case study 40. Health consequences of over work: the case of Japan. - Joan benach, tsutomu hoshuyama, yutaka yasui and paul landsbergis
although average working hours vary widely across countries, approximately 22 per cent of workers worldwide are
working more than 48 hours per week. the worst situation takes place in developing/poor countries, where hundreds of
million of workers must work over 50 hours per week. in peru and indonesia, for example, at least half of the workers work
such excessive hours. the expansion of informal employment and service sectors are major sources of longer working
hours, particularly in industries with shift work and "unsocial" hours such as wholesale and retail trade, hotels and
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