Regular Workers Research Articles

Handheld two-stroke engines as an important source of personal VOC exposure for olive farm workers.

Personal exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is mainly associated with indoor exposures; however, elevated short-term exposures may also occur during ambient activities. Handheld two-stroke gasoline-powered engines have widespread use in agriculture, but so far, no studies have been conducted on the potential health risks due to the inhalation of emitted VOCs. A one-week passive sampling has been conducted on olive farm workers during the harvesting season to monitor personal exposure levels to VOCs. The first group of workers was selected to represent the contribution of gasoline-powered shaker to daily personal VOC exposures, and one another group of workers was selected as the control, whose have not been using the device. Higher concentrations of 1-pentene, n-hexane, isopentane, n-pentene, and toluene were observed in personal samples collected from machine operators. Personal exposure concentrations of a total of 45 monitored VOCs varied between 29.2 ± 10.7 and 3733.4 ± 3300.1µgm-3 among 20 volunteer workers. Estimated carcinogenic risks were between the acceptable levels of 10-4 and 10-6 for all workers. All individual chronic HQs and HIs (as the sum of individual HQs) were below the benchmark value of 1 for regular workers in 3 different sampling sites, whereas HI values in both acute (short term) and chronic exposure scenarios were exceeded 1 for shaker machine operators. This represented potential non-carcinogenic health hazards for exposed shaker operators, along with elevated VOCs.

Parenthood and Life Satisfaction in Stratified Labor Market: Evidence From Korea.

This study analyzes the effect of parenthood on life satisfaction with a stratified labor market using the Korean Labor and Income Study. For regular female workers at large companies, the decrease in life satisfaction due to parenthood is higher compared to that for men in a similar position due to the high opportunity cost of a career break following childbirth. For men who are non-regular employees at Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the effect of parenthood on life satisfaction is negative because they are the income earners of the family but earn a relatively low income at SMEs. Based on the results, the job characteristics of a stratified labor market have a significant influence on life satisfaction regarding parenthood. To enhance parental life satisfaction and raise the fertility rate, the structure of the stratified labor market needs to be changed so that the labor market becomes more flexible and includes a solid social safety net.

Shift work and job satisfaction among Palestinian nurses: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundRotating shift work is associated with job dissatisfaction, sleeping disturbances, and health problems compared with working only in the daytime. Whether the relationship between rotating shift work and job satisfaction differs between the sexes among nurses in occupied Palestinian territory is unclear. We investigated this relationship and compared it with that among regular day workers. MethodsWe did a cross-sectional study in Hebron district in August to October, 2008, involving all registered nurses with at least 1 year of practice. Those who worked fixed evening or night shifts or who were on leave were excluded. Job satisfaction was assessed with the Generic Job Satisfaction scale, containing ten items with scores from 1 to 5; a higher score indicated a higher (better) job satisfaction. Associations were assessed with β coefficients and 95% CIs and χ2 tests in linear regression analyses. Statistical analyses were done with Stata (version 10). The threshold for significance was set at p=0·05. The study was approved by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. FindingsOf 472 eligible nurses, 426 (90%) were included in the study: 259 women and 167 men, among whom 217 worked shifts and 209 who worked only during the daytime. The mean job satisfaction score among female nurses was 32·6 (SD 6·4) and among male nurses was 31·7 (SD 7·0). Crude analyses showed that male and female shift workers reported lower job satisfaction than those working day shifts (mean score 30·8 [SD 6·5] vs 33·8 [6·4]). After adjustment for age, number of children, years of education, and job title, this effect remained statistically significant only among male nurses, as the men with rotating shift-work reported job scores 3·5 points lower than those working only during the daytime (β coefficient –3·5, 95% CI –5·9 to –1·1; p=0·005) whereas for women the β coefficient value was 0·10 (95% CI –1·8 to 2·1, p=0·90). InterpretationMale nurses working rotating shift patterns reported lower job satisfaction than men working only during the daytime, whereas no difference was found for female nurses. Because both exposure and outcome were measured using self-reported information and the study design was cross-sectional, interpretation of the results should be made with caution. However, further studies should investigate whether shift work affects the quality of patients’ care. FundingNorwegian Programme for Development, Research and Education.

병원 및 의원 근로자의 교육수준 차이가 직무 만족도에 미치는 영향

Objective: This study is a cross-sectional study examining the relationship between differences in education level and job satisfaction of workers in hospitals and clinics in Korea using data from the 5th work environment survey in 2017. Method: Among the workers of hospitals and clinics participating in the study, data of 566 regular and regular workers were analyzed. The data were analysed by Chi-squared test on the difference in education level and job satisfaction among hospital and clinic workers. To investigate the relationship between educational level differences and job satisfaction, multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. All data were analyzed by using SPSS 25.0 WIN. Results: Compared to workers with a associate’s degree, workers with a greater than or equal to associate’s degree or higher were 1.68 times more likely to be satisfied with their job, and it was statistically significant (OR: 1.680, 95 % CI: 1.022 - 2.762). When adjusting for gender, age, working hours per week, and shift work, workers with a greater than or equal to bachelor's degree also had a 1.731 times more higher in job satisfaction significantly than those with a bachelor's degree (OR: 1.731, 95 % CI: 1.030 - 2.907). Conclusion: The results of study indicate that workers with a greater than or equal to bachelor's degree had higher job satisfaction than workers with a associate’s degree. In order to increase job satisfaction, the improvement of education level can be considered.

Labour market regimes, technology and rent-sharing in Japan

This paper focuses on rent-sharing as a potential driver of wage patterns in different labour market and technological regimes. The extent and drivers of the sensitivity of wages to rents have recently regained the attention of scholars and public opinion in developed countries but remain under-researched with respect to Japan. To fill this gap, we investigate the factors shaping the heterogeneity of rent-sharing based on detailed industry-level data from over four decades (1970–2012) on the Japanese economy, where technological dynamics have been paralleled by labour market evolutions similar to many advanced OECD countries (deunionization, declines in standard employment and in the role of seniority). Our results, which account for potential endogeneity issues, indicate that such labour market developments negatively affect the bargaining power of regular workers, weakening their capacity to appropriate rents; conversely, more advanced technologies help regular workers gain higher rents.

Exploring pandemic-related stress and resilience among digital workers: A basic interpretive qualitative study

Background: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the world's socio-economic structure must adjust to operate within the new normal for each country for its citizens to survive. Many jobs are now operating online, which has changed regular workers into “digital workers”. The abrupt shift in the nature of work has caused pandemic-related stress among workers and raises the question - can these digital workers thrive during the pandemic? The study aims to evaluate pandemic-related stress faced by digital workers and their resilience and ability to thrive during the pandemic. Methods: A qualitative research methodology in the form of a thematic approach was used to gauge digital workers’ pandemic-related stressors and resilience strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. 15 digital workers from various backgrounds were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Five themes were identified as the pandemic-related stressors among digital workers. These include anxiety about COVID-19 infections, mental exhaustion, physical exhaustion, feeling insecure and uncertain about financial concerns. The resilience factors include an active approach towards problem-solving, a positive outlook even during suffering, staying focused on responsibility for others, managing one’s well-being and a strong reliance on faith. Conclusions: The outcomes of the study were derived from the culmination of a qualitative approach that comprehended the feelings, ideas, and experiences of digital workers. Therefore, there is a need to conduct a quantitative analysis in order to test the hypotheses and assumptions of the study.

뉴욕시 센트럴파크 컨서번시를 통한 민간참여 특성 연구

This study aims to obtain clues for domestic application by examining the private participation for operation of city park targeting Central Park Conservancy and examining the public-private cooperation of park management, organizational structure, and financial operation. Central Park in New York is a representative example of CPC s participation in park operation as a private institution and restoration as a global park. The characteristics of private participation operation can be summarized as follows. First, CPC has a systematic organization for park management. The operating organization of CPC consists of a committee, regular workers, and volunteers. The committee is composed of 53 members, and a systematic decision-making structure was organized by forming a standing committee and a special committee. To manage the park, it employs full-time workers such as planners, landscape architects, executors, finance officers, and public relations officers, and recruits numerous volunteers to support daily activities such as tours, planting flowers and seedlings, and garbage collection. Second, civic participation programs are being promoted. Participatory programs by theme have Environmental/ecological programs, health programs, and culture/art programs and programs for children, youth, and the general public are operated as participatory programs for each generation. Third, it is financial management through fundraising activities. CPC, which has been carrying out restoration projects with New York City funds since 1980, started a fundraising project in 1985 and continued its fundraising activities. About 85% of the annual operating budget is generated through various fundraising activities and investment returns.

An Equal Treatment for Domestic Workers: Qatari Law and International Law

Objectives: This article aims at studying the rights and obligations of domestic workers under the Qatari Law No. 15/2017 Promulgating the Domestic Workers Law in comparison with the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) issued by the International Labor Organization (ILO). It also aims at shedding light on the principle of equal treatment between domestic and regular workers, which is fully adopted by the International Convention. Methods: This study follows a descriptive, analytical and comparative methodology. hence, the legal provisions were reviewed and analyzed, then compared at two levels: comparison between the provisions of the national law on the one hand and the International Convention on the other hand, and comparison between Qatari Law No. (15) relating to domestic workers and the Qatari Employment Law. Results: The study reached some results, the most important of which is that Qatari law was and still excludes domestic workers from the ambit of the Employment Law; this in turn does not allow applying any of the provisions of the Employment Law to domestic workers, even if it includes a preferential rule. On the other hand, the International Convention aims at achieving equality between regular and domestic workers. The particular law that relates to domestic workers should only apply when it grants an advantage that is not given under Employment Law. That is to say, Employment Law must still be referred to as being the general law. Conclusions: Qatari legislator should adopt International Convention No. 189, or at least adopt more of its provisions, in order to better approach the principle of equal treatment.

Stochastic alternating direction method of multipliers for Byzantine-robust distributed learning

This paper aims to solve a distributed learning problem under Byzantine attacks. In the underlying distributed master-worker architecture, there exist a number of unknown but malicious workers that can send arbitrary messages to the master to deviate the learning process, called Byzantine workers. In the literature, a total variation (TV) norm-penalized approximation formulation has been investigated to alleviate the effect of Byzantine attacks. To be specific, the TV norm penalty not only forces the local variables at the regular workers to be close, but is robust to the outliers sent by the Byzantine workers as well. For handling the separable TV norm-penalized approximation formulation, we propose a Byzantine-robust stochastic alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). Theoretically, we prove that the proposed method converges to a bounded neighborhood of the optimal solution at a rate of O(1/k) under mild assumptions, where k is the number of iterations and the size of neighborhood is determined by the number of Byzantine workers. Numerical experiments on the MNIST and COVERTYPE datasets further demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method to various Byzantine attacks.

The deepening divide In Japanese employment: The increasing marginalization of contract workers as explained by path dependence, vested interests, and social psychology

ABSTRACT In Japan, contract workers have never been on par with regular workers in terms of pay or benefits for similar work. However, the disparity between contract workers and regular workers has seen a sudden and dramatic turn for the worse since 2018 when the unintended consequences of the 2012 amendments to the 2007 Labor Contracts Act took effect. Although employment numbers may appear consistent over time, in actuality, as of 2018, nearly all contract workers are being replaced every three to five years. This is because employers are choosing contract lengths that prevent contract employees from qualifying under the 2012 amendments for ongoing, long-term employment. Accordingly, being forced to change jobs every three to five years in Japan’s seniority-based employment system is causing contract workers to fall further and further behind their regular worker peers in terms of wages, as well as job security, even as they are performing the same work. This is striking because the purpose of the 2012 amendments to the Labor Contracts Act was to bolster employment security and provide more equality between regular and contract workers. Instead, as more and more employees lose regular employment and fall into contingent and contract work due to corporate downsizing, the marginalization of contract workers in Japan increases, and their numbers expand. This paper proposes an interdisciplinary explanation of the evolution of contract work in Japan since 2000, drawing on: 1) a case study, and 2) labor market data.

Regular and Non-regular Workers Substitutability and Policy Implications in South Korea

Regular and Non-regular Workers Substitutability and Policy Implications in South Korea

Intimacy during the COVID-19 pandemic: an online survey examining the impact of COVID-19 on the sexual practices and dating app usage of people living in Hong Kong.

Little attention has been paid to understanding the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on sexual practices and dating app usage among the Chinese population. To fill this gap, we examined the sexual practices and dating app usage of Hong Kong residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was developed to collect data, and the participants were recruited via online social media. The respondents were asked to report on their sexual practices and dating app usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 249 participants met the inclusion criteria for the analysis. We found that more than 70% of the participants began masturbating more. Almost half of the participants reported decreases in various sexual activities with sexual partners, including vaginal, anal and oral sex. The vast majority of the study participants also reported a decline in sexual activities with casual partners, regular non-romantic partners and sex workers. Meanwhile, dating apps were used more frequently for chatting/texting, swapping photos, sexting and virtual dating. More than 50% of the participants reported less use of dating apps for face-to-face dates and sexual encounters. It is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic and its corresponding public health measures impacted the sexual practices and dating app usage of Hong Kong residents.

Effects of Adherence to Environmental Rules and Regulations in Stone Quarrying at Tuluongoi Sublocation of Baringo County, Kenya

Stone quarrying has been recognized as a socioeconomic activity serving as a fundamental source of livelihood for some communities. Nonetheless, most operations are often accompanied by adverse effects on the same communities and the environment. The objective of this study was to determine the level of awareness of environmental rules, regulations, and principles governing stone quarrying in Tuluongoi sublocation, Tenges Division, Baringo County. The study also sought to establish whether there is a linkage between awareness of environmental rules, principles, and regulations governing stone quarrying and the impacts on the environment. Two villages were chosen for the study. The stratified sampling procedure was used to pick 120 households from the two villages, the total number (97) of regular quarry workers was enumerated, and purposive sampling was used to select six key informants. The quarry workers and household heads were the primary units for data collection. Primary data were collected by using questionnaires, in-depth interviews, observations, and pictorials. Secondary data were obtained from census reports, peer-reviewed journals, county strategic plans, unpublished theses, and scholarly books. Some data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages, while the SPSS software was used to generate tables, graphs, and frequencies. The chi-square procedure was used to test whether the awareness of environmental rules and regulations on stone quarrying were significantly independent of environmental degradation at the 0.05 significance level. The study established that 55.1% of quarry workers and 65% of household heads were unaware of any environmental rules, regulations, and principles governing stone quarrying. Out of those aware, 88.9% of household heads and 67.7% of quarry workers had poor awareness of environmental regulations and requirements. The study recommends that National Environment Management Authority promotes and enforces environmental rules, regulations, policies, and principles governing stone quarrying in collaboration with the relevant county government departments by enhancing awareness among the residents.

Occupational determinants of physical activity at work: Evidence from wearable accelerometer in 2005–2006 NHANES

Occupation determines workers' physical activity (PA) in the workplace, an important health behavior contributing to health outcomes. However, self-reported measure limits our understanding of how occupational tasks differentiate workers' PA in terms of the type, frequency, intensity, and duration. In addition, accurate estimation of occupation-based PA during workers' actual working hours requires precise work schedule information. To address these limitations, this study employs data on accelerometer-monitored PA and work schedule from the 2005–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). It asks two questions: How do occupations determine PA among regular daytime workers in the United States? Second, how large a share of PA difference between two occupations is attributable to differences in the implicit occupational tasks, relative to workers’ demographic, health preconditions, and socioeconomic attributes? Calculating PA during the 9-to-5 period among daytime regular workers on weekdays and conducting Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis, we yield insights into the occupational determinant of both PA volume (total activity counts) and fragmentation (bouts of activities). Worksite health promotion can utilize the objective occupation-PA link and design occupation-tailored interventions, which is currently underdeveloped in the United States. Moreover, our findings shed light on the physical nature of occupation, suggesting a fruitful step to reconcile the documented mixed findings on occupation-based PA and health outcomes in future studies.

Association of occupation with the daily physical activity and sedentary behaviour of middle-aged workers in Korea: a cross-sectional study based on data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

ObjectivesThe WHO recommends that adults engage in regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activities (MVPAs) and muscle-strengthening activities (MSA), and minimise sedentary behaviour. This study aimed to determine the association of occupation with...

The heterogeneous effects of COVID-19 on labor markets: People’s movement and non-pharmaceutical interventions

The paper investigates the heterogeneous effect of a policy-induced decline in people’s mobility on the Japanese labor market outcome during the early COVID-19 period. Regressing individual-level labor market outcomes on prefecture-level mobility changes using policy stringency index as an instrument, our two-stage least squares estimator presents the following findings. First, the number of people absent from work increased for all groups of individuals, but the magnitude was greater for workers with non-regular employment status, low-educated people, females especially with children, and those aged 31 to 45 years. Second, while work hours decreased for most groups, the magnitude was especially greater for business owners without employees and those aged 31 to 45. Third, the negative effect on unemployment was statistically significant for older males who worked as regular workers in the previous year. The impact was particularly considerable for those aged 60 and 65, thus suggesting that they lost their re-employment opportunity due to COVID-19. Fourth, all these adverse effects were greater for people working in service and sales occupations. Fifth, a counterfactual experiment of more stringent policies indicates that while an average worker would lose JPY 3857 in weekly earnings by shortening their work hours, the weekly loss for those aged 31 to 45 years and working in service and sales occupations would be about JPY 13,842.

Exports and firm employment: the roles of R&D and exports to affiliates

ABSTRACT Firm-level data from the Korean manufacturing sector is used to quantify the impact of both the extensive and intensive margins of exporting on employment, emphasizing the role of both firm-level R&D intensity and exports to foreign affiliates. The employment effects of exporting by employment contract status, i.e. regular or non-regular employees, are also separately examined. Here, findings show that a firm’s entry into export markets has a positive effect on its employment of regular workers; further, this positive effect is apparent in firms that belong to the group with the highest level of R&D intensity. With regard to the intensive margin, findings show that the negative impact on regular employment of firms’ export share in total sales stands out in the case of exports to non-affiliates. This negative impact, related to the intensive margin, is apparent in firms belonging to the group with the lowest R&D intensity, which is in line with the results for the extensive margin. The heterogeneous effects of exports depending on both firm-level R&D intensity and exports to foreign affiliates seem to be associated with the uncertainty that is due to the volatility of overseas sales.

Young motherhood: levels and socioeconomic determinants of adolescent fertility in Ghana

Adolescent fertility levels have shown considerable improvements globally over the past decades. However, adolescent childbearing remains high in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This study, thus, examines the levels and socioeconomic factors associated with adolescent fertility in Ghana. The study drew on data from the 2003, 2008, to the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys to perform a logistic regression analysis of socioeconomic factors associated with adolescent fertility. The results show that adolescent childbearing levels have not shown any considerable improvements over the study periods (10%, 10%, and 11% for 2003, 2008, and 2014, respectively). Socioeconomic factors such as household wealth status, working status, employer status, and employment period were associated with adolescent fertility. Female adolescents from poor households, employed and self-employed adolescents, as well as regular workers, were linked to higher adolescent fertility risks. Older adolescents, and ever married adolescents also show significantly higher childbearing risks while the risk levels steadily increased over time. Promoting economic empowerment among female adolescents and targeting employed female adolescents in fertility control measures may have considerable positive implications for adolescent fertility levels in Ghana.

Determinants of Perceived Accessibility of Maternity Leave and Childcare Leave in South Korea.

This study examined the determinants of perceived accessibility of maternity leave and childcare leave in South Korea. Although maternity leave and childcare leave are mandated in Korea, many employees are hesitant to use the policies. The purpose of this study was to empirically examine why some women are more likely than others to perceive the policies as inaccessible and to identify what those women’s characteristics are. The results revealed that nonregular workers were significantly less likely than regular workers with secure contracts to perceive the policies as accessible even though they were eligible for them. In addition, workers who worked in the private sector, did not belong to a labor union, worked in small firms, or worked long hours were significantly less likely to perceive the policies as accessible than those who worked in the public sector, belonged to a labor union, worked in large firms, or worked short hours. Further, workers with low salaries were significantly less likely than workers with high salaries to perceive the policies as accessible. The study underscores that accessibility of leave policies in Korea is significantly correlated with women’s employment status and wage level in the labor market.

Labor and product market reforms and external Imbalances: Evidence from advanced economies

We explore the impact of major labor and product market reforms on current account dynamics using a new “narrative” database of major changes in employment protection for regular workers and product market regulation for non-manufacturing industries covering 26 advanced economies over the past four decades. Our main finding is that product market deregulation is associated with a weakening of the current account, while labor market deregulation is associated with an improvement. These effects are transitory and driven by both saving and investment responses. Labor and product market reforms both have a more positive impact on the current account balance when implemented under weak macroeconomic conditions. Our results are broadly consistent with predictions from recent DSGE models with endogenous producer entry and labor market frictions.