The Type of Payment and Working Conditions

Background The type of payment is one of the important factors that has an effect on the health of employees, as a basic working condition. In the conventional research field of occupational safety and health, only the physical, chemical, biological, and ergonomic factors are treated as the main hazardous factors. Managerial factors and basic working conditions such as working hours and the type of payment are neglected. This paper aimed to investigate the association of the type of payment and the exposure to the various hazardous factors as an heuristic study. Methods The third Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute in 2011 was used for this study. Among the total sample of 50,032 economically active persons, 34,788 employees were considered for analysis. This study examined the relation between the three types of payment such as basic fixed salary and wage, piece rate, and extra payment for bad and dangerous working conditions and exposure to hazardous factors like vibration, noise, temperature, chemical contact, and working at very high speeds. Multivariate regression analysis was used to measure the effect of the type of payment on working hours exposed to hazards. Results The result showed that the proportion of employees with a basic fixed salary was 94.5%, the proportion with piece rates was 38.6%, and the proportion who received extra payment for hazardous working conditions was 11.7%. Conclusion The piece rate was associated with exposure to working with tight deadlines and stressful jobs. This study had some limitations because KWCS was a cross-sectional survey.

[1]  L. Levi.  6 CONDITIONS OF WORK AND SYMPATHOADRENO‐MEDULLARY ACTIVITY: EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATIONS IN A REAL LIFE SETTING , 2009 .

[2]  C. Brisson,et al.  Disability among female garment workers. A comparison with a national sample. , 1989, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[3]  Arie Shirom,et al.  The Effects of Pay Systems on Blue-Collar Employees' Emotional Distress: The Mediating Effects of Objective and Subjective Work Monotony , 1999 .

[4]  Paul R. Milgrom,et al.  AGGREGATION AND LINEARITY IN THE PROVISION OF INTERTEMPORAL INCENTIVES , 1987 .

[5]  Carin Sundström-Frisk,et al.  Behavioural control through piece-rate wages , 1984 .

[6]  W. Sobala,et al.  Current determinants of early retirement among blue collar workers in Poland. , 2005, International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health.

[7]  Y. Roquelaure,et al.  Transient hand paresthesias in Champagne vineyard workers. , 2001, American journal of industrial medicine.

[8]  J. Larson,et al.  An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations , 2015 .

[9]  Daniel Imbeau,et al.  Measuring the productivity and physical workload of brushcutters within the context of a production-based pay system , 2007 .

[10]  Steven J Samuels,et al.  Agricultural injury in California migrant Hispanic farm workers. , 2003, American journal of industrial medicine.

[11]  R. Gibbons.  Incentives in Organizations , 1998 .

[12]  B. Johansson,et al.  Piece rates and their effects on health and safety - a literature review. , 2010, Applied ergonomics.

[13]  Kristen Monaco,et al.  ASSESSING THE DETERMINANTS OF SAFETY IN THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY , 2000 .

[14]  P. Bohle,et al.  The Global Expansion of Precarious Employment, Work Disorganization, and Consequences for Occupational Health: A Review of Recent Research , 2001, International journal of health services : planning, administration, evaluation.

[15]  Julius Sim,et al.  Piecework, musculoskeletal pain and the impact of workplace psychosocial factors. , 2007, Occupational medicine.

[16]  R. Gibbons.  Incentives and Careers in Organizations , 1996 .

[17]  Clarence C. Rodrigues,et al.  Commercial Aviation Safety , 1991 .

[18]  Anne-Marie Feyer,et al.  A survey of forest workers in New Zealand. Do hours of work, rest, and recovery play a role in accidents and injury? , 2002, Journal of safety research.

[19]  Tom Cox,et al.  Developing a factor model of coal miners’ attributions on risk-taking at work , 2003 .

[20]  Patrick B. Patterson.  Attributions of Danger and Responses to Risk Among Logging Contractors in British Columbia's Southern Interior: Implications for Accident Prevention in the Forest Industry , 2007 .

[21]  D. Rempel,et al.  Work organization and work-related musculoskeletal disorders for sewing machine operators in garment industry , 2005 .

[22]  P. Bohle,et al.  Short Trips and Long Days: Safety and Health in Short-Haul Trucking , 2009 .

[23]  Gloria L. Lee,et al.  Piecework and Industrial Accidents: Two Contemporary Case Studies , 1982 .

[24]  H. Saiyed,et al.  An accident-risk assessment study of temporary piece rated workers. , 2004, Industrial health.

[25]  M. Timio,et al.  Free adrenaline and noradrenaline excretion related to occupational stress. , 1979, British heart journal.

[26]  Lance Wright,et al.  Remuneration and safety in the Australian heavy vehicle industry: a review undertaken for the National Transport Commission , 2008 .

[27]  Michael Quinlan,et al.  The Effects of Outsourcing on Occupational Health and Safety: A Comparative Study of Factory-Based Workers and Outworkers in the Australian Clothing Industry , 1999, International journal of health services : planning, administration, evaluation.