Relationship between job rotation and work-related low back pain: a cross-sectional study using data from the fifth Korean working conditions survey

BACKGROUND: Job rotation was introduced in various industries as a strategic form of work for improving workers' job skills and health management. This study aims to examine the relationship between job rotation and work-related low back pain (LBP), one of the typical work-related musculoskeletal symptoms of Korean workers. METHODS: We conducted this study using the data of the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). As the subject of this study, 27,163 wage workers were selected, and classified into three groups according to occupational type (white-collar, service and sales, and blue-collar). In this study, job rotation means to change the work-related activities with other colleagues periodically and work-related LBP was defined as whether there was work-related LBP in the last 12 months. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship between job rotation and work-related LBP. RESULTS: Out of 27,163 workers, 2,421 (8.9%) answered that they had job rotation and 2,281 (8.4%) answered that they experienced work-related LBP. According to the results from logistic regression, job rotation was significantly associated with low prevalence of work-related LBP among blue-collar workers (odds ratio [OR]: 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.58–0.88), whereas no significant relationship was observed among white-collar, service and sales groups. In addition, the negative association between job rotation and work-related LBP among blue-collar workers was more pronounced when exposed to ergonomic risk factors (uncomfortable posture OR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.64–0.98; heavy work OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.57–0.96; repetitive work OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.60–0.92). CONCLUSIONS: Job rotation was associated with low prevalence of work-related LBP among workers in the blue-collar occupational group in Korea. It is necessary to evaluate the effect of job rotation by occupational type and introduce an appropriate method of job rotation to reduce workers' work-related musculoskeletal symptoms.