Comparison of work environment and occupational injury in direct and indirect employment in Korea and Europe

Background: To investigate the risk of injury for indirect employment in Korea, we compared work environment, workplace exposure, and injury risk according to the type of employment contract between Korea and European Union (EU) countries. Methods: We analyzed data of blue-collar workers from the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey (2014) and the sixth European Working Conditions Survey (2015) and compared workplace risk factors and preventive factors for occupational injuries. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the relationship between occupational injury and the type of employment contract after adjusting for age and sex. Results: For descriptive characteristics, a relatively older age, lower income, lower proportion of full-time work, greater proportion in small-sized companies, and fewer unionizations were noted in indirect employment in Korea than in direct employment. Workplace exposure was significantly higher in indirect employment in both Korea and Europe. Among safety-related factors, indirect employment in both Korea and Europe lacked the support of company education, coworkers, and supervisors. Indirectly employed blue-collar workers had a significantly higher risk of occupational injury than those directly employed in Korea (odds ratio [OR]: 1.876), whereas there was no significant difference between directly and indirectly employed workers in EU countries (OR: 1.038). Conclusions: Indirectly employed blue-collar workers have an increased risk of occupational injury in Korea.