Does Organization Matter for Health? The Association Between Workplace Social Capital and Self-Rated Health

J Occup Environ Med. 2020 May;62(5):331-336. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000001810.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between workplace social capital at the individual and government organizational levels, and self-rated health among public employees in South Korea.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of public employees at government organizations in South Korea from June 2018 to December 2018. In total, 815 respondents in 31 government organizations were analyzed. We fitted two-level random intercept logistic regression models.

Results: We found that the vertical component of workplace social capital at the individual and organizational levels was positively associated with good self-rated health.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that decision-makers targeting public interventions at the government organizational level to improve employee health are unlikely to observe an appreciable impact since a relatively small proportion of the variation in self-rated health was attributed to this level.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Government Employees / statistics & numerical data
  • Health Status*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Occupational Health
  • Republic of Korea
  • Social Capital*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Workplace / organization & administration*
  • Workplace / statistics & numerical data
  • Young Adult