Association between marginal part-time work and depressive symptoms: results from the sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey and the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey.

Objectives: Marginal part-time workers, working less than 15 hours per week, are a vulnerable working population. We investigated the association between marginal part-time work and depressive symptoms in Korea and European countries to suggest policy implications.

Methods: This study used data from the sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) from 2020 to 2021 and European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) in 2021. For the KWCS, 31 789 participants were included in the analysis, and for the EWCTS, 59 070 participants were analyzed. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the World Health Organization Five Well-Being Index (WBI-5). A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between marginal part-time work and depressive symptoms with KWCS and EWCTS data.

Results: In Korea, there was a statistically significant association between depressive symptoms and marginal part-time work. On the other hand, in European countries, the association was not remarkable. Low income and employment instability partially mediated the relationship between marginal part-time work and depressive symptoms in Korea. Conclusions. Korean marginal part-time workers face systemic discrimination related to job insecurity and financial rewards, which appear to contribute to depressive symptoms.