Association between Emotional Symptoms and Job Demands in an Asian Electronics Factory

Wei-Lieh Huang, Yue Leon Guo, Pau-Chung Chen, Jui Wang and Po-Ching Chu
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Wei-Lieh Huang: Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital Yun-Lin Branch, Yunlin County 640, Taiwan
Yue Leon Guo: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan
Pau-Chung Chen: Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University and National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Jui Wang: Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Po-Ching Chu: Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University and National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-11

Abstract: Various work-related issues including mental health have been described for the electronic industry. Although East Asian countries play important roles in the electronics industry, the association between job demands and emotional symptoms has been rarely examined. The present study recruited 603 workers from either office or clean room environments in an electronics factory in Taiwan. Their personal factors, work-related factors, and emotional symptoms were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. The symptoms of depression and hostility were reported in 24.88% and 24.38% of the subjects, respectively, while 14.93% reported both. A multivariate analysis showed that, overall, women workers were more likely to have emotional symptoms than male workers (odds ration (OR) = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.02–2.18). Among clean room workers, working under high pressure (OR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.05–3.21), conflicting demands (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.30–3.57), and social isolation at work (OR = 2.99, 95% CI = 1.23–7.30) were associated with emotional symptoms. The findings suggest that in the Asian electronics industry, for women, working under high pressure, conflicting demands, and social isolation at work are risk factors for emotional symptoms, especially for clean room workers. Further large-scale, longitudinal studies are necessary to confirm and prevent the mental health problems in this fast-evolving, highly competitive industry.

Keywords: job demands; emotional symptoms; electronics industry; clean room; gender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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