The Association between Working Hours Flexibility and Well-Being Prior to and during COVID-19 in South Korea

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 19; no. 14; p. 8438
• Main Authors: Nerobkova, Nataliya, Park, Yu Shin, Park, Eun-Cheol, Jang, Suk-Yong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 11.07.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Employees; Employers; Families & family life; Flexibility; Flexible working; Households; Hypotheses; Interviews; Medical research; Pandemics; Population; Questionnaires; Schedules; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Social distancing; Statistical analysis; Telecommuting; Viral diseases; Workers; Working conditions; Working hours; South Korea
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19148438

Objective: This study examined the relationship between the flexibility of work schedule arrangements and well-being among full-time workers prior to and after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in South Korea. Methods: Data from the fifth 2017 and sixth 2020–2021 Korean Working Conditions Survey, including a final sample of 45,137 participants (22,460 males; 22,677 females), were used. Multiple logistic regression was performed to establish the association between schedule arrangement types and the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index. Results: The study found an association between flexible schedule arrangements and good well-being in 2017: “little flexibility” (odds ratio (OR), 1.33; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.27–1.48), “moderate flexibility” (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.28–1.71), and “high flexibility” (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.06–1.72). During COVID-19, only workers with “high flexibility” were likely to have good well-being (OR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.18–1.88), while the association between well-being and “low flexibility” (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.96–1.17) and “moderate flexibility” types (OR, 0.66; 95% CI 0.59–0.75) decreased. This study found that flexible working hours may contribute to better well-being among full-time workers. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working conditions and employee well-being should be addressed while setting working hours.