Job insecurity and depression among automobile sales workers: A longitudinal study in South Korea

Background: Job insecurity, the subjective perception of fear due to uncertainty about job continuity, could have long-term health effects. We aimed to examine the effect of job insecurity on depression among automobile sales workers in South Korea. Methods: We analyzed data collected in 2007 and 2014 from a longitudinal cohort of 560 sales workers from an automobile company in South Korea. Change in job insecurity was classified into four groups: secure to secure; insecure to secure; secure to insecure; and insecure to insecure. Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, workers in the insecure to insecure group had a significantly higher likelihood of depression in 2014 than workers in the secure to secure group (OR: 2.74; 95%CI: 1.41, 5.31). Conclusions: We found that chronic job insecurity may be a risk factor for developing depression among Korean automobile sales workers. This is the first longitudinal study examining the association between job insecurity and depression in South Korea.