Impacts of Occupational Health and Safety Hazards on Quality of Work life in Food Industry of Pakistan

Abstract

The impact of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) hazards on the Quality of Work Life (QWL) of the employees of the food industry in Pakistan has been studied. Food manufacturing operations are often dangerous, and workers are likely to be exposed to physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, psychological, mechanical and electrical hazards. A quantitative research method was followed with a cross-sectional survey design, and 121 total employees of food processing organisations of Pakistan participated in the study to collect data across the various departments of these food processing organisations. The relationships between OHS hazards and QWL were analyzed by using SPSS using correlation and multiple regression analyses. The results indicate that the chemical and ergonomic hazards are the most important factors influencing QWL, followed by psychological hazards, physical hazards, mechanical hazards and electrical hazards, with biological hazards not being statistically significant. The findings reflect the multi-faceted impact of work safety on employees' wellbeing, satisfaction, and work-life balance. This study adds to the very few studies conducted on the OHS of food industry workers in Pakistan and offers implications for improving worksite safety, optimizing worker health, and improving organizational productivity.