Association between Skills Mismatch and Depression/Anxiety in Korean Workers: Using the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey

Wooseong Kim , Stockholm University Demography Unit (SUDA)
Sanghwa Ahn, Seoul National University

A growing body of literature has documented that education-occupation mismatch can profoundly negatively influence physical and mental health outcomes. Meanwhile, the association between skills mismatch and health outcomes has yet to be investigated. Although skills mismatch and educational mismatch are interrelated phenomena, the mechanism behind the relationship between skills mismatch and mental health may differ. Moreover, previous literature has primarily focused on one direction of educational mismatch, i.e., overeducation. We argue that the influences of both over- and under-skilling are relevant. This study investigates the association between skills mismatch and depression using the 5th and 6th Korean Working Conditions Surveys. Korea provides an interesting case since it shows a substantial number of over-/under-skilled workers, and skills mismatch issues have become more relevant due to the rapidly aging workforce. We use the WHO-5 Well-being index to recognize depressive disorder and workers’ self-assessed skills mismatch statuses. We use multiple logistic regression models adjusted for measured confounders. Furthermore, we test the effect modification by worker’s employment security level, measured by the type of labor contract. We find that both over-skilling and under-skilling are associated with a higher probability of depression, and the association is higher among the under-skilled. Also, the results from the interaction test suggest that these associations are stronger among the employee with a more secure employment contract. Our findings imply that skills mismatch is a relevant work-related social determinant of health among Korean workers. Further studies should investigate the long-term effects of skills mismatch on mental and physical health.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe