Track: Human Factors and Ergonomics

Abstract

Employees’ health (either physiological or psychological) could have significant effects on organizational productivity and competitiveness. Unhealthy employees incline to be absent and have high sick and hospitalization leaves. Recent statistics from Social Security Organizations of Malaysia indicate that the number of occupational diseases reported has increased every year from 2005 (194 cases) to 2014 (3002 cases). The number of Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) and occupational stress are also rising at alarming rate.  Poor workplace ergonomics is claimed as one of the major contributors to the declining of employees’ health. Despite its importance, study on the effect of workplace ergonomics on employees’ health is still very limited. Thus, this paper aimed to identify the effects of workplace ergonomics (in terms of indoor air quality, lighting, furniture and tools, acoustics, building general environment) on employees’ health (physiological or psychological). A cross sectional survey participated by 171 employees of an automotive manufacturer revealed that all elements of workplace ergonomics have significant correlations with employees’ health (p <0.05) with indoor air quality has the strongest coefficient of 0.688. Regression analysis shows that workplace ergonomics explained 51.8% variance in employees’ health with only indoor air quality is retained as significant contributor. This finding implies the importance of workplace ergonomics on employees’ health and that safety and health issues need o be incorporated in organizational strategic directions to ensure the organizational sustainability.