Job insecurity and depression among automobile sales workers: A longitudinal study in South Korea

Background

Job insecurity, the subjective perception of fear due to uncertainty about job continuity, could have long-term health effects. We aimed to examine the effect of job insecurity on depression among automobile sales workers in South Korea.

Methods

We analyzed data collected in 2007 and 2014 from a longitudinal cohort of 560 sales workers from an automobile company in South Korea. Change in job insecurity was classified into four groups: secure to secure; insecure to secure; secure to insecure; and insecure to insecure.

Results

After adjusting for potential confounders, workers in the insecure to insecure group had a significantly higher likelihood of depression in 2014 than workers in the secure to secure group (OR: 2.74; 95%CI: 1.41, 5.31).

Conclusions

We found that chronic job insecurity may be a risk factor for developing depression among Korean automobile sales workers. This is the first longitudinal study examining the association between job insecurity and depression in South Korea.

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