Workplace factors affecting migrant workers' health

Introduction. Migrant workers are individuals who relocate from their country of origin to another to engage in economic pursuits. Working conditions, the work environment and process, lifestyle and habits of workers have an impact on the results of work and the health of workers. These factors are called risk factors and cannot be completely eliminated, but they can be controlled.

The aim of the study was to examine the actual factors affecting the health of migrant workers at the workplace.

Materials and methods. Eighty Korean compatriots from different countries who resides in “Korean Compatriot Village” were interviewed using a questionnaire. To analyze the survey results, the SPSS Statistics program, version 25, was used.

Results. Migrants who work more than 12 hours a day have worse health over time. Noise can cause health problems and diseases. Time for work and rest, work responsibilities affect weight gain and lead to health changes.

Limitation. Migrant workers weren’t asked about home country work experiences and start of work in Korean factories. The researcher didn’t know Korean factories well, hence detailed questions couldn’t be formulated.

Conclusion. Most respondents were young Korean compatriots who came to Korea to work. They experienced stress and fatigue due to the burden of responsibility and worry for their relatives. For elderly migrant workers it’s difficult to find work in home country and the problems with the musculoskeletal system occur due to their lack of work experience in such production and their advanced age.

Compliance with ethical standards. To conduct this study, it was necessary to survey migrant workers working in the village of Korean compatriots in Gwangju Metropolitan city through a questionnaire. All questions were uploaded into a Google form, and everybody was asked to choose an answer option from the list provided or write your own answer. It was stated in advance that responses to the questionnaire would be kept confidential and used for scientific purposes only, in accordance with Articles 33 and 34 of the Statistics Law and the Personal Information Protection Law of South Korea.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: December 3, 2023 / Revised: March 17, 2024/ Accepted: June 20, 2024 / Published: July 17, 2024