Approved research

Gene-Environment Interaction and Occupational Well-Being

Lay summary

The overall objective of the study is to identify genetic polymorphisms that are significantly associated with occupational well-being. Behavioral genetic studies have demonstrated predictive power of genetic factors over a variety of social and work behaviors, such as job satisfaction, leadership occupancy, and work values. Our team has used candidate gene approach to identify some significant genetic polymorphisms that are related to job satisfaction, leadership and job change. In the proposed study, we aim to use GWAS to identify novel gene markers that are related to important work outcomes. The proposed study will further examine neurogenic mechanisms that link genetic composition with brain structure and functions, then to a person's occupational well-being, such as job satisfaction, life satisfaction, work-family balance, and self-efficacy. We will also examine the interaction between gene and environment on well-being. More particularly, we will examine how occupational characteristics (e.g., close-work) interaction with gene to influence refractive error. Findings from the study can help the society to design better organizational and occupational systems that fit out biological system in better ways. We plan to use the neurogenic approach to identify genetic and brain mechanisms of some important occupational functions, such as job satisfaction, income, job characteristics, job stress, etc. We will use GWAS as the statistical method to conduction such a study. We plan to use the full sample of the UK Biobank. Some outcome variables such employment status (e.g., unemployment with 9,851) require checking the whole sample. We also plan to split the sample to exploratory vs. confirmatory parts. Time Table 2018 2019 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Obtaining Data X Data cleaning X X X Data analysis X X X X X Paper drafting X X X X X X X