Impact of Occupational Health and Safety Practices on Job Performance among Machine Operators of a Selected Apparel Organization in Colombo District, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The purpose of this study isto examine the impact of Occupational Health and Safety Practices (OHSP) on Job Performance (JP) among machine operators of selected apparel organization in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. The workers in the apparel sector face a lot of hazards constantly which emerge various compliance issues, employee grievances and also hinder the efficiency and productivity of the company. Many manufacturing workers encounter workplace accidents that lead to health damage and economic losses. As a result, Occupational Health and Safety Practices (OHSP) have emerged as a crucial component in enhancing employee Job Performance (JP). To achieve the main objective of the study, six hypotheses were developed and tested in a non contrived setting. In this study, both dependent and independent variables are included for the conceptual framework. Here, the Occupational Health and Safety Practices (OHSP) are considered as the independent variable, and it has five dimensions. They are Occupational Hazards Prevention (OHP), Safety Procedures and Risk Management (SPRM), Organizational Safety Support (OSS), First Aid Support and Training (FAST) and Safety and Health Rules (SHR). The dependent variable is the Employee Job Performance (JP). The study was cross-sectional in time and the sample size of this study was 181 machine operators by self- administering a structured questionnaire which consists of 30 statements with five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire is formulated by integrating two structured questionnaires with adapted versions of each. The unit of analysis was at individual level and random sampling method used for this study. The collected data was analyzed by using univariate and bivariate methods through SPSS version 23. This study found that Occupational Health and Safety Practices (OHSP) has a significant positive impact on Job Performance (JP) among machine operators of selected apparel organization in Colombo district, Sri Lanka and all hypotheses were accepted. Based on research findings, the Pearson Correlation on Occupational Hazards Prevention (OHP), Safety Procedures and Risk Management (SPRM), Organizational Safety Support (OSS), First Aid Support and Training (FAST), Safety and Health Rules (SHR) and overall impact of Occupational Health and Safety Practices (OHSP) on Employee Job Performance (JP) were 0.448, 0.789, 0.681, 0.583, 0.714, 0.713 respectively. Further, this study helps to fulfill the existing theoretical and practical gap. It is done with an intention to support the corporate practitioners with an insight of how the Occupational Health and Safety Practices (OHSP) impact on Job Performance (JP) among machine operators of selected apparel organization in Colombo District, Sri Lanka.