Incheon Environmental Health Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
Department of Convergence Medicine, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Republic of Korea.
PLoS One. 2024 Nov 4;19(11):e0310248. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310248. eCollection 2024.
The adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) has been the fastest and most widespread in the South Korean workplace. While ICT has several advantages, it can also cause stress among workers. However, the relationship between the introduction of ICT in the workplace and mental health problems among Korean workers remains unclear.
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data obtained from the sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). In total, 40,019 participants answered a question about whether ICT had been introduced in their workplace. Among these, we compared the rate of complaints of mental health disorders between those who answered "yes" (n = 3,250) and those who answered "no" (n = 36,769). We analyzed the data using the SAS statistical software and calculated the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for anxiety, insomnia, and depression using multiple logistic regression models. We also stratified the data on Korean workers to assess the impact of ICT on subgroups.
In our nationally representative cohort, on experiencing ICT incorporation at work, 384 participants (11.8%) reported anxiety, 138 (4.2%) reported insomnia, and 296 (9.1%) reported depression. In contrast, among participants who did not have access to ICT, 1,929 (5.2%) reported anxiety, 702 (1.9%) reported insomnia, and 4,404 (12.0%) reported depression. The ORs (95% CIs) for anxiety and insomnia complaint rates were 2.47 (2.19-2.79) and 2.55 (2.10-3.10), respectively, among workers who experienced new ICT adaptations in comparison with those who did not. However, no significant relationship was observed between ICT adoption and depression.
The causes of mental health problems in the workplace should be identified and addressed. We found that the introduction of ICT in the workplace was significantly related to anxiety and insomnia symptoms among Korean workers, after controlling for the selected covariates. This information can be used to identify subgroups in the workplace that are vulnerable to ICT changes and tailor interventions to their social and demographic profiles.
信息和通信技术（ICT）在韩国职场的采用速度最快、范围最广。虽然 ICT 有很多优点，但它也会给员工带来压力。然而，工作场所引入 ICT 与韩国工人的心理健康问题之间的关系尚不清楚。
我们对第六届韩国工作条件调查（KWCS）获得的数据进行了横断面分析。共有 40019 名参与者回答了一个关于他们工作场所是否引入 ICT 的问题。在这些参与者中，我们比较了回答“是”（n=3250）和回答“否”（n=36769）的人群中心理健康障碍投诉率。我们使用 SAS 统计软件分析数据，并使用多逻辑回归模型计算焦虑、失眠和抑郁的优势比（OR）和 95%置信区间（95%CI）。我们还对韩国工人的数据进行了分层，以评估 ICT 对亚组的影响。
在我们具有全国代表性的队列中，有 384 名（11.8%）经历 ICT 纳入工作的参与者报告焦虑，138 名（4.2%）报告失眠，296 名（9.1%）报告抑郁。相比之下，在没有 ICT 接入的参与者中，有 1929 名（5.2%）报告焦虑，702 名（1.9%）报告失眠，4404 名（12.0%）报告抑郁。与没有经历新 ICT 适应的参与者相比，经历新 ICT 适应的工人焦虑和失眠投诉率的 OR（95%CI）分别为 2.47（2.19-2.79）和 2.55（2.10-3.10）。然而，在控制了选定的协变量后，没有观察到 ICT 采用与抑郁之间存在显著关系。
应该确定和解决工作场所心理健康问题的原因。我们发现，在控制了选定的协变量后，工作场所引入 ICT 与韩国工人的焦虑和失眠症状显著相关。这些信息可用于识别工作场所中易受 ICT 变化影响的亚组，并根据他们的社会和人口统计学特征量身定制干预措施。
