Telecommuting-related health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea: a national population-based cross-sectional study

• Published in: BMC public health 2023-03, Vol.23 (1), p.549-549, Article 549
• Main Authors: Ryoo, Seung-Woo, Min, Jin-Young, Lee, Dong-Wook, Choi, Baek-Yong, Choi, Juho, Kim, Ho-Yeon, Min, Kyoung-Bok
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absenteeism; Anxiety; Asthenopia; Confidence intervals; Control; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Economic aspects; Employment; Epidemics; Fatigue; Fatigue - epidemiology; Female; Females; Gender; Gender difference; Headache; Headache - epidemiology; Health aspects; Health problems; Health promotion; Health risks; Housework; Humans; Insomnia; Likert scale; Male; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Musculoskeletal Pain - epidemiology; National population survey; Occupational health; Occupational health COVID-19; Outcome Assessment, Health Care; Pain; Pandemics; Population studies; Population-based studies; Public health; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Regression models; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Sick leave; Sleep disorders; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - epidemiology; Sociodemographics; South Korea; Statistical analysis; Stress; Telecommuting; Teleworking; Variables; Working conditions; Working hours
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15271-0

Telecommuting has expanded greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the advent of remote working from home, there has been an ongoing controversy about the positive or negative health-related impact of telecommuting. This study aimed to investigate change in the occupational health risk in South Korean workers involved in telecommuting during the pandemic period compared to daily commuters. A population-based cross-sectional study of South Korean workers using the secondary data from the 6th Korean Working Conditions Survey (2020-2021) was designed. A total of 12,354 white-collar wage employees were selected as the study sample. Telecommuting, depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, headache-eye strain, absenteeism, and presenteeism were measured by self-reported data. Multiple logistic regression models, including gender stratification analysis, were used to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) for the health outcomes of telecommuters. Among the study population, 338 males and 318 females were reported to be telecommuters. The entirely adjusted regression model showed a positive association between telecommuting and anxiety (AOR = 2.82; 95% CI, 1.93-4.10), insomnia (AOR = 1.93; 95% CI, 1.27-2.92), fatigue (AOR = 1.76; 95% CI, 1.30-2.37), musculoskeletal pain (AOR = 1,76; 95% CI, 1.33-2.32), headache-eye strain (AOR = 1.94; 95% CI, 1.48-2.54), presenteeism (AOR = 1.66; 95% CI, 1.20-2.28) respectively. Gender difference was identified in that only female telecommuters had a higher risk of depression (AOR = 1.62; 95% CI, 1.04-2.53) and insomnia (AOR = 2.07; 95% CI, 1.26-3.41) than daily commuters in the adjusted model. Telecommuting was significantly associated with an increased risk of various health problems among South Korean workers and females were identified as a more vulnerable group. Although further research is required to ascertain the causal relationship, public health intervention should be considered to prevent the negative effects of telecommuting.