Relationship between job satisfaction and self-rated health status among salaried workers in Korea

Abstract

This study sought to determine whether the relationship between job quality and job satisfaction and that between job satisfaction and health status among Korean salaried workers were similar to those found in studies of European and North American workers. This study uses a sample that includes salaried workers who completed both individual and additional (health and retirement) survey questionnaires from the 2001 Wave 4 Korea Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS). The majority of the respondents were working fulltime(92%) in a regular position(78%). Approximately two thirds of the respondents(68%) assessed their health as good or excellent. The hypothesized associations were robust after controlling for potential confounders. Regression analysis indicated a positive association between job quality and job satisfaction, controlling for demography (age, gender, marital status), employment type (regular employment or not), and employment sector (private, non- profit, government-related, other). As expected, job satisfaction itself was significantly and positively associated with perceived health status, after taking account of workers’ demographic characteristics, objective health status, and non-work life satisfaction while mediating the effect of job quality on perceived health status.