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Purpose : This case report describes the development and operation of a customized workplace smoking cessation support model at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, focusing on how multidisciplinary collaboration supported the smoking cessation process of 16 participants in 2024. Methods : Based on a 6-step workplace smoking cessation protocol, the 2024 model integrated nine components through collaboration among an occupational health manager, smoking cessation counselor, occupational physician, external specialists, and community organizations. The occupational physician provided medical guidance and consultation rather than direct smoking cessation counseling. The participation and smoking cessation outcomes of the 16 clinic participants were reviewed. Results : In 2024, 16 employees participated in the smoking cessation clinic. Four were in their 30s, 10 in 40s, and 2 in 50s; 14 were research/technical staff and 2 were administrative staff. Fourteen of 16 participants (87.5%) decided to quit, and all 14 (100%) made a quit attempt. A total of 62 counseling contacts were provided: 38 by the occupational health manager and 24 by the smoking cessation counselor, while the occupational physician provided medical guidance and consultation. At 6-month follow-up, salivary nicotine testing confirmed smoking cessation in 6 of 16 participants (37.5%). Two foreign participants received counseling in English; neither maintained smoking cessation at follow-up. All 16 participants were linked to the multidisciplinary health-support components described in this case. Conclusion : The case demonstrates an operational approach in which multidisciplinary resources were linked around smoking cessation participants in the workplace. Since the sample was small and there was no control group, the contribution of multidisciplinary collaboration should be interpreted as an operational finding rather than a causal effect.

Purpose : This study examined the mediating role of social support in the relationship between technostress and work engagement among wage workers aged over 55. Methods : The data from the 7th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS, 2023) were used. After excluding cases with missing values on key variables, a final analytic sample of 7,437 participants (out of 10,778 eligible wage workers aged ≥55, a 31.0% exclusion rate) was retained. Hierarchical regression analysis and mediation analysis incorporating the complex survey design (stratification, clustering, and sampling weights) were conducted using the R survey package. Indirect effects were estimated via the delta method. Results : Technostress significantly reduced perceived social support (B=-.090, p<.001), which in turn positively predicted work engagement (B=.509, p<.001). The total effect of technostress on work engagement was non-significant (B=.024, p=.212), whereas the direct effect was positive (B=.069, p<.001) and the indirect effect through social support was negative (B=-.046, 95% CI [-.060, -.031]), indicating inconsistent mediation. A sensitivity analysis excluding statistical outliers (n=7,380) yielded consistent results, supporting the robustness of these estimates. Conclusion : Social support was the strongest predictor of work engagement; its standardized effect was substantially greater than the direct effect of technostress (β=.42 vs. β=.07, approximately 5.9 times). Technostress showed a limited direct association with work engagement in practical terms, given effect sizes below Cohen's threshold for a small effect; the observed pattern was consistent with an indirect pathway involving lower social support. These findings suggest an association in which organizational strategies aimed at fostering social support may be a more promising focus for improving work engagement among older workers than approaches centered solely on reducing technostress. Given the cross-sectional design of this study, however, the observed patterns reflect associational rather than causal relationships, and longitudinal or experimental research is needed to confirm the directionality of these effects.

Purpose : This study aimed to periodically group the historical development of occupational health in Korea, identify the institutional transitions of each period, and discuss the changing roles of occupational health nursing within this framework. Methods : A narrative review was conducted based on the relevant legislation, government and public agency documents, and academic literature dealt with the period from 1945 to July 2026. Sources included the National Law Information Center, official publications of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and peer-reviewed journals retrieved from KCI, PubMed, and KoreaMed. Documents were categorized into five domains: legislation, administrative reorganization, occupational disease outbreaks, occupational health services, and professional workforce development. Results : The development of occupational health in Korea was periodically grouped into six phases: the Nascent Period (1945–1980), the Foundation Period (1981–1989), the Leap Period (1990–1999), the Development Period (2000–2017), the Transformation Period (2018–2025), and the Emerging Period (2026–present). Each boundary was defined by qualitative transitions in the legal framework, administrative governance, and service delivery systems. The legal status of occupational health nurses advanced from auxiliary personnel to independently qualified health managers following the 1990 full revision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and their scope of practice expanded from emergency care to prevention, health promotion, mental health, and pandemic response. International comparison with Japan and the Netherlands indicated that effective coverage of small-scale workplaces requires integration of risk assessment, health surveillance, and return-to-work support beyond simply expanding mandatory appointment requirements. Conclusion : Strengthening community-based service delivery, enhancing the professional autonomy and competence of occupational health nurses, and integrating preventive, compensatory, and supervisory functions are key priorities for advancing occupational health in Korea.

Purpose : This study aimed to examine the relationship between social jetlag and physical discomfort of wage workers and to verify the mediating effect of fatigue on this relationship. Methods : This cross-sectional secondary data analysis utilized the data from the 2024 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). The study included 2,220 wage workers aged 19 years or older with the complete data on primary variables. Social jetlag was calculated as the absolute difference (in hours) between mid-sleep time on off days and workdays. Fatigue was measured using a single fatigue item from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (range: 0–3), and physical discomfort was measured as the number of days during the past two weeks in which poor physical health limited activities (range: 0–14 days). Complex sample analyses incorporating sampling weights, stratification, and clustering were performed using R version 4.4.3. The mediating effect of fatigue was evaluated using weighted linear regression and 5,000 bootstrap resamples after adjusting for sociodemographic, occupational, and health-related covariates. Results : Social jetlag was positively associated with fatigue (B=0.06, p=.007), and fatigue was positively associated with physical discomfort (B=0.55, p<.001). The direct effect of social jetlag on physical discomfort was not statistically significant (B=-0.12, p=.113). However, the indirect effect of social jetlag on physical discomfort through fatigue was statistically significant (indirect effect=0.03, 95% CI 0.01~0.06), indicating an indirect-only mediation pattern. Conclusion : A significant indirect association between social jetlag and physical discomfort through fatigue was observed among wage workers. These findings indicate that occupational health interventions should go beyond simply managing sleep duration to incorporate fatigue assessment, sleep hygiene education, and organizational strategies aimed at minimizing sleep-schedule discrepancies between workdays and off days.