Health Commun.  2023 Dec;18(2):29-41. 10.15715/kjhcom.2023.18.2.29.

Effect of Team Work on Depressive Mood in Korean Employees

• Hong K
• Choi BS
• Park JD

• KMID: 2552975
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15715/kjhcom.2023.18.2.29

Abstract

Purpose
: Job stress is a risk factor for depression. Many employees work in teams. However, few studies have examined the effect of team work and team climate on employees’ mental health in the workplace. We investigated the associations between team work and depression among Korean employees.
Methods
: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS), a cross-sectional national survey. The sample comprised 30,235 wage employees over the age of 15, including 14,555 men and 15,680 women. To measure team work, respondents were asked, “Do you work in a group or team that has common tasks and can plan its work?” Depressive mood was measured using the 5-item World Health Organization (WHO-5) Well-Being Index. The analysis was conducted by univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses to estimate the effect of team work on depressive mood.
Results
: Depressive mood was observed in 26.6% of team employees and 29.5% of those without a team (out of all wage employees), indicating a significant difference. After adjusting for demographic and workplace characteristics as potential confounding variables, as compared to non-team work, the odds ratios of depressive mood for team work were 0.96 (95% CI: 0.88–1.04) for men, which was not statistically significant, and 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73–0.87) for women, which was statistically significant. Conclusion : Our findings can be used to develop safety and health policies to improve the mental health of Korean employees. Reorganizing companies to support team work would also benefit the mental health of wage employees, especially female employees.

Keyword

depression; employee; job stress; team work