Work Sustainability: Challenges of Employment Environments for Factory Workers

Abstract

When factory industrial development occurs in a region, people’s livelihoods shift from the agrarian to the industrial sectors. The factory industry makes job opportunities available to people from all walks of life. The purpose of this research was to identify the strategies employed by factory workers to ensure their own survival. The study used qualitative descriptive methods. Research was conducted in Mojokerto Regency, Indonesia. The research used observations, interviews, and documentation. The findings were as follows: (1) survival mechanisms used by factory workers to meet their own needs are very diverse. They include doing side work, bringing family members to work, borrowing money from friends and cooperatives, and saving money for family expenses. They are all done to meet their own needs. (2) Workers’ attempts to keep working are carried out by operating various machines, demonstrating the best work abilities possible, following factory rules, and attempting to win the approval of superiors so that their employment contracts might be extended. They act in order to be able to survive in competition with other factory workers. Keywords: factory workers, job opportunities, Mojokerto Regency, needs fulfilment