Abstract
Maintaining a healthy work–life balance is important for both males and females. Nevertheless, gender segregation still exists in labor markets in South Korea. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate differences in occupational characteristics, job quality indices, and work-life balance between male and female employees. This study was a secondary analysis of the data collected through the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey in South Korea. Generalized ordinal logistic regression analysis was carried out to investigate the associations between job quality indices and work–life balance of employees by gender. The job quality indices were different according to gender. Male employees were mainly affected by working time quality and work intensity, while female employees were affected by both these factors and by the physical environment. Therefore, strategies differentiated by gender are necessary to improve work–life balance. In particular, more careful attention should be paid to female workers’ physical environment.
Highlights
Healthy work–life balance refers to a state where work activities and home or non-work-related social activities coexist in harmony [1]
The greatest number of male workers were in their 30s, while the greatest number of female employees were in their 40s
The participation of females in the workplace is increasing in South Korea, the occupational characteristics of male and female workers were significantly different in all areas, including age, occupational groups, sectors, number of employees in the workplace, and monthly income
Summary
Healthy work–life balance refers to a state where work activities and home or non-work-related social activities coexist in harmony [1]. The fact that the “work–life balance generation” was selected as one of the top ten keywords that characterize South Korean society in 2018 reflects the values of new generations of office workers who believe overall quality of life is as important as work [2]. Maintaining a work–life balance is an important factor for the well-being of both individual workers and their families. Working hours are decreasing globally, the average annual working time in Korea is 2124 h; among the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries, only Mexico has longer hours, at 2228 h [3]. The average working time in OECD member countries is 1770 h, which is 354 less hours than in Korea [3].
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