Influence of Married Korean Female Workers' Job Stress and Depression on Their Marital Adjustment

Background & purpose

Unlike the past generation where role separation between men and women were clear, role of women within their families and couple relationship are changing in accordance with increasing women’s social and economic activities. Factors such as work environment, stresses in workplaces, and job satisfaction not only affect individual workers but their families. Workers who experience stresses in workplaces can demonstrate declined physical/psychological capacity and this can impose negative impact on workers’ couple relationships. The present research examines the impact of married Korean female workers’ job stress on depression. The researchers also verify the depression-mediated impact of job stress on marital adjustment.

Method

This research selected and used the data of 3,107 married Korean female workers from the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families (KLoWF) in 2012. The subjects are employees, self-employed workers, or unpaid family employees. The researchers executed regression analysis of the: influence of job stress on subjects’ depression, and; influence of job stress and depression on marital adjustment. Control variables include age, education level, number of children, average monthly wage, working hours, and work arrangements (full-time or part-time). The analysis followed the steps of mediation analysis proposed by Kenny, Kashy, and Bolger (1998).  

Result

Step 1: Regression analysis discovered positive effect of job stress on marred female workers’ depression (p<.001). Higher job stress predicted worse level of depression.

Step 2: Job stress and depression of married female workers demonstrated significant effect on marital adjustment. When job stress level is higher (p<.001), and when the depression is worse (p<.001), the marital adjustment decreases. Depression demonstrated partial mediation effect. Sobel test of the path was significant (p<.001).

Conclusion & implication

The analysis discovered that job stress of married female workers can negatively influence not only their job commitment and productivity but also depression and couple relationships. Providing systemic assistance in a form such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) can be effective in improving work environment and enhancing workers’ psychosocial health and family relationships. The discussion focuses on the efforts required of employers.