Status of Psychosocial Safety Climate in the Korean Workforce: A Nationwide Survey

Hyo Jeong Kim; Seong-Sik Cho; May Young Loh; Min Young Park; Dong-Wook Lee; Jaesung Choi; Mo-Yeol Kang

doi:10.1016/j.shaw.2025.02.003

Status of Psychosocial Safety Climate in the Korean Workforce: A Nationwide Survey

Saf Health Work. 2025 Jun;16(2):249-254. doi: 10.1016/j.shaw.2025.02.003. Epub 2025 Mar 1.

Authors

Hyo Jeong Kim¹, Seong-Sik Cho², May Young Loh³, Min Young Park¹, Dong-Wook Lee⁴, Jaesung Choi⁵, Mo-Yeol Kang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, Busan, Republic of Korea.
³ Psychosocial Safety Climate Global Observatory, Centre for Workplace Excellence, Justice and Society, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁴ Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Inha University, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Global Economics, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

This study investigated status of psychosocial safety climate (PSC) among Korean workers. Data were collected from 5,064 wage earners as part of the 4th wave of the Korean Work, Sleep, and Health Study. PSC was measured using the validated 4-item PSC questionnaire. The results revealed an average PSC score of 8.70, with 50.71% of participants classified as high-risk. Significant variations were observed across age, gender, and employment type. These findings suggest that PSC in the Republic of Korea is generally lower than in other countries, highlighting the need for targeted interventions. Disparities in PSC perception across different demographic and occupational groups suggest that targeted strategies are necessary to enhance psychological safety in the workplace. Future research should focus on addressing these perception gaps to create more effective interventions for improving PSC and employee mental health in the Republic of Korea.

Keywords: Mental health; Psychosocial; Psychosocial safety climate; Safety; Workplace.

© 2025 Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Institute, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.