Daejin University Holds Performance Sharing Session for the "2025 Industrial Accident Prevention Project for Emotional Laborers"

Daejin University Discusses Field-Oriented Solutions

The Emotional Laborers Industrial Accident Prevention Support Center, operated by the Industry-Academic Capacity Development Institute at Daejin University (President Jang Seokhwan), held a performance sharing meeting and discussion session for the “2025 Industrial Accident Prevention Project for Emotional Laborers” on December 23 at the Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Government Complex. The event was organized with the support of the Gyeonggi Province Labor Bureau. The meeting shared this year’s achievements and gathered feedback from the field. More than 50 participants attended, including Gyeonggi Province’s Second Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs Kim Dae-soon, representatives from project implementing organizations, experts, and field workers.

Industrial Accident Prevention Project Performance Sharing Meeting and Discussion. Provided by Daejin University

This discussion session was organized to review the results of key initiatives-such as fact-finding surveys, rights protection education, and psychological counseling and healing-and to discuss directions for improving emotional laborer protection policies and supplementing relevant systems. In particular, participants in the education and counseling programs presented the challenges they face in the field and highlighted the need to improve support systems, leading to a discussion focused on practical effectiveness.

According to a fact-finding survey conducted by the center with 538 public and private sector call center workers, 86.2% of respondents said they need to suppress their emotions to perform their work. In addition, 80.2% reported “dealing with aggressive or demanding customers,” confirming the high psychological burden. When asked about difficulties caused by emotional labor, the most common response (53%) was “just endure and put up with it,” underscoring the need for institutional responses and enhanced field support systems.

This year, more than 1,400 people participated in rights protection education, and over 150 people took part in psychological counseling and healing programs, with a total of more than 600 hours of counseling provided. While participants reported psychological difficulties due to handling complaints and job-related stress, they also responded that participation in the project helped relieve stress and provided psychological stability.

During the discussion, participants explored ways to improve field accessibility, early identification and follow-up management of high-risk groups, linking preventive systems at the managerial and organizational levels, and advancing programs tailored to job characteristics.

Kim Dae-soon, Second Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs of Gyeonggi Province, said, “Since issues related to emotional labor continue to arise in the field, we will closely review the opinions shared at this session and continue to promote protective initiatives.”

Han Ji-young, Director of the Industry-Academic Capacity Development Institute at Daejin University, stated, “Based on the university’s research, education, and regional cooperation capabilities, we will strengthen demand-based support and systematically organize project outcomes to build a sustainable support model that can be expanded.”