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Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate health managers’ exposure to workplace violence (WPV) at construction sites and to review the statistical characteristics of experts in the safety and health fields using a gender-based analysis. Methods A preliminary survey of health managers at construction sites was conducted from March to April 2020 via the Health Managers Council in Construction Industry online community (https://band.us/band/62438722). Available national statistical data of safety and health personnel were reviewed. Results A total of 85 health managers (13 men, 72 women) responded to a preliminary survey. Health managers reported little physical violence (5.9%), while inappropriate work orders (83.5%) and sexual harassment (52.9%) were high, and health managers’ experience of sexual harassment was significantly higher among women than men (P < 0.01). The professional safety and health field in Korea have a large gender gap, with few women. In particular, the proportion of women in the safety field was lower than in the health field. Conclusions Young female health managers in the male-dominated construction industry are more vulnerable to WPV, including sexual harassment. To reduce the risk of WPV exposure and gender discrimination among female health managers, it is necessary to increase regular employment and provide more practical WPV prevention education for all construction employees.

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This study aimed to identify the major industries and jobs with the highest proportion of workers' compensation (WC) claims for COVID-19, characterize COVID-19 WC claims in terms of their demographic properties and disease severity, and identify factors influencing the approval of COVID-19 WC claims as occupational disease. A total of 488 workers who submitted COVID-19-related claims to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (KWCWS) from January 2020 to July 2021 were analyzed. A Fisher's exact test was employed to associate the severity of COVID-19 infection with demographic properties. The highest proportion of all COVID-19 WC claims compensated as occupational disease (N=462) were submitted by healthcare workers (HCW=233, 50%), while only 9% (N=41) of the total originated from manufacturing industries. The 5% (N=26) of the COVID-19 WC claims accepted were evaluated as severe (N=15) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (N=9). A total of 71% (N=329) of the COVID-19 patients compensated (N=462)were from workplaces with infection clusters. A total of 26 WC cases were rejected for various reasons, including unclear infection routes, infection at private gatherings (including within families), no diagnosis, and more. Given our findings, we suggest an official system should be established to detect and compensate more job-associated infectious diseases like COVID-19.

Background Gender equality in the workplace remains a challenge. This study aimed to investigate the gender gap of human resources in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH) in Korea. Methods Several national statistical data that can confirm the gender distribution of personnel in the OSH sector were reviewed. The gender distribution of industrial technical manpower statistics, professional certificate holders in the OSH field, and the status of the appointment of safety and health managers by industry was analyzed. Results The distribution of professionals in the OSH sector in Korea had a large gender gap with a small number of women. In particular, the proportion of women in the safety field was lower than that in the health field. In the younger age group, while the proportion of women is increasing, the gender gap tends to decrease. Conclusions Few data are available to understand the gender-related aspects of OSH professions. Nevertheless, our results provide basic information for initiating a discussion on the necessity of establishing gender-sensitive culture and policies in the OSH sector.