1. JOB STRESS AMONG GARMENT FACTORY WORKERS IN MYANMAR
Prepared by
Miss Soe Myat Yee Mon Thein
Assoc. Prof. Surintorn Kalampakorn
Asst.Prof. Jutatip Sillabutra
Mahidol University
Thailand

2. Introduction
Nowadays, worldwide, working stress becomes a major challenge for the workers and organizational health (ILO 1986; 1992).
Leading causes of death and disability such as heart disease and stroke are almost linked to stress.
In developing countries, health impact of job stress becomes the one of the major problems.
In South-east Asian countries, it has been observed that there are much increasing work related illness and accidents due to rapid industrialization.
So, job-related stress became important factor for preventable health hazard.

3. Current problem of Myanmar
Garment factories - the biggest manufacturing industry in Yangon where workers face labor right violation, long working hours, intimidation for join labor union, feeling of helplessness and poor working and living condition
Mostly women face discrimination in fundamental rights, Freedom- neglected.
Working environment is unsafe, hot, overcrowded, factories typically for around 11 hours per day, 6 days per week.

4. Research Objective
To assess the prevalence of job stress among garment factory workers in Hlaing Thar Yar Industrial Zone, Yangon, Myanmar
To determine the relationship between job stress and the personal factor including age, gender, education, marital status, number of children, monthly income, duration of work, job position, working section, working hours, personal illness or injury, life crisis, work-life conflict, life work conflict and supervisor support
To determine the relationship between job stress and the organizational factors including physical environment, poor management and inflexible rules.

5. -Personal illness or injury -Life crisis -Work-life conflict
Conceptual Framework
Independent Variables
Dependent Variable
Personal Factors
-Age
-Gender
-Education
-Marital Status
-Number of children
-Job position
-Duration of work
-Monthly income
-Working Section
-Working Hours
-Personal illness or injury
-Life crisis
-Work-life conflict
-Life –work conflict
-Supervisor support
Job stress
1. Decision Latitude
2. Psychological Demands
Organizational Factors
-Physical environment
-Poor management
-Inflexible rules

6. Study Area
Myanmar

7. Study Design & Study population
Cross sectional study
Study population-garment factory workers who are working in Hlaing Thar Yar Industrial Zone, Yangon, Myanmar

8. 71 garment factories in Hlaing Tha Yar industrial Zone
Sampling Procedure
71 garment factories in Hlaing Tha Yar industrial Zone
Simple random sampling
7 garment factories
Simple random sampling
Factory I
n=853
Factory II
n=791
Factory III
n=963
Factory IV
n=779
Factory V
n=600
Factory VI
n=2010
Factory VII
n= 1200
60 Subjects
M-12
F-48
60 Subjects
M-5
F-55
60 Subjects
M-6
F-54
60 Subjects
M-5
F-55
60 Subjects
M-4
F-56
60 Subjects
M-6
F-54
60 Subjects
M-4
F-56

9. Research instrument
410 garment factory workers from the 7 factories, who have worked at least 6 months, were interviewed by using Job Content Questionnaires
Psychological job demands and decision latitude were used to determine the job stress.
Data analysis by using mean, median, SD and percentage
Chi-square test and multiple logistic regressions were used to analyze the data collected and to produce the result of the study.

10. Personal factors among garment factory workers ( n=390)
Age: years (74.9%), Mean=27.6, SD=4.4
Gender: Female (89.2%)
Education: Secondary (43.8%)
Marital status: Married (49.5%)
Children: Present (37.4%)
: Two number of Children (17.2%)
Job position: Operational workers (64.9%)
Working Section: Sewing section (37.9)

11. Working hours (hrs/day): ≥11 hours (69%), Mean=11.1, SD=1.9
Duration of work: ≤ 5 year of working experience (66.7%) Mean=5.1, SD=3.1
Monthly Income (Kyats): ≥108,000 (96.2%)
Personal Illness or injury: Present (95.1%)
: Musculoskeletal disease (41.5%)
Life Crisis: Present (92.8%)
: Financial difficulties (82.1%)

12. Personal Factors
Number
Percent
Supervisor support
High
188
48.2
Low
202
51.8
Mean=9.9, SD=3.2, Min=18, Max=39
Work-Life Conflict
276
70.8
114
29.2
Mean=27.6, SD=5.4, Min=9, Max=34
Life-Work Conflict
131
33.6
low
259
66.4
Mean=11.2, SD=3.3, Min=6, Max=32
a≥Mean b<Mean

13. Organization FactorS among garment factory workers (N=390)
Number
Percent
Physical Working Environment
Poor (13-30)
306
78.5
Fair (31-41) 84
21.5
Poor Management
Always
156
40.0
Often
149
38.2
Sometimes 85
21.8
Inflexible Rules
135
34.6
176
45.1 79
20.3

14. Prevalence of high job stress and low job stress among garment factory workers(n=390)
Variables
Number
Percent
High Strain
119
30.5
Non-High strain
271
69.5
1. Low strain
110
28.2
2. Active job 27
6.9
3. Passive job
134
34.4

15. Multiple Logistic regression
Variables B
S.E.
Wald df
Sig.
Exp(B)
95% C.I.for EXP(B)
Lower
Upper
Working hour
2.9
1.2
5.9 1
0.015
18.2
1.8
189.3
Supervisor support
0.6
0.3
5.4
0.020
1.1
Job position
2.427
1.087
4.988
0.026
11.3
1.3
95.3

16. Conclusion & Recommendation
Workers with low supervisor support, with high position and those who worked less than 11 hours were likely to report job stress
Factory owners should conduct health promotion activities and public health talks in the factory to reduce job stress
Health education on job stress should be conducted to both employers and factory workers to prevent job stress related complicated factors and to increase advancement of health knowledge and competencies.
libraries should be built to access health information to improve the health literacy level of employees to cope with job stress.

17. Self-centered stress management techniques and Job center stress management intervention
Workplace social support should be conducted for ensuring the jobs more secure and health friendly working environment
Health knowledge awareness should be raised to stakeholders
Governments should provide workshops & health education sections corporating with MOH to employers

18. Recommendation for further study
Further study should be conducted in other parts of the country
In depth interview & focus group discussion needed to be conducted
Both quantitative and qualitative measure should be conducted
Further prospective studies, evidence based investigation and longitudinal studies should be carried out
Culturally back translation of the questionnaires should be done
Intervention program on comprehensive stress management strategy should be conducted to reduce occupational stress and to improve quality of life of factory workers
Further studies should use other job stress model such as effort- reward imbalance model, job-person fit model to identify other important stressors

19. Thank You

20. Q & A