The Association of Workplace Exposures on Quality of Life in Small and Medium Enterprises Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Four ASEAN Countries

Abstract

Quality of life is associated with several factors, including personal living styles and working conditions. This article aims to investigate the factors associated with quality of life among small and medium enterprises (SME) workers in 4 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. A total of 2014 workers from food and textile industries were asked to answer a questionnaire about their sociodemographic characteristics, working environment and conditions, and quality of life. Results from showed that lifestyle (ie, alcohol intake and exercising), working characteristics (ie, shift work, working hours, and working days) and workplace conditions were associated with SME workers’ quality of life (ie, physical, psychological, social, and environmental domain). Among the 16 types of workplace conditions, “sitting on the chair” and “slippery floor” most affect their quality of life . It is important for these variables to be taken into account in promoting workers’ well-being and quality of life.