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.
LundTLabriolaMChristensenKBBültmannUVilladsenE.Physical work environment risk factors for long term sickness absence: prospective findings among a cohort of 5357 employees in Denmark. BMJ. 2006;332:449-451.
2.
BaileyTSDollardMFMcLintonSSRichardsPAM. Psychosocial safety climate, psychosocial and physical factors in the aetiology of musculoskeletal disorder symptoms and workplace injury compensation claims. Work Stress. 2015;29:190-211.
3.
WidanarkoBLeggSDevereuxJStevensonM.Interaction between physical and psychosocial work risk factors for low back symptoms and its consequences amongst Indonesian coal mining workers. Appl Ergon. 2015;46:158-167.
4.
KortumELekaSCoxT.Psychosocial risks and work-related stress in developing countries: health impact, priorities, barriers and solutions. Int J Occup Environ Med. 2010;23:225-238.
5.
AldabaFTAldabaRM.ASEAN Economic Community 2015: Capacity-Building Imperatives for Services Liberalization. Discussion Paper Series 2013-06. Makati City, Philippines; Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
6.
ASEAN. ASEAN Labour Ministers Work Programme 2010-2015. Jakarta, Indonesia: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); 2013.
7.
InoguchiT.Introduction to special issue: Quality of life and environmentalism in ASEAN. Jpn J Polit Sci. 2014;15:159-161.
8.
The WHOQOL Group. The World Health Organization quality of life assessment (WHOQOL): Position paper from the World Health Organization. Soc Sci Med. 1995;41:1403-1409.
9.
FelceDPerryJ.Quality of life: its definition and measurement. Res Dev Disabil. 1995;16:51-74.
10.
SkevingtonSMLoftyMO’ConnellKA.The World Health Organizations’s WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment: psychometric properties and results of the international field trial. A report from the WHOQOL Group. Qual Life Res. 2004;13:299-310.
11.
The WHOQOL Group. Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF Quality of LIfe Assessment. Psychol Med. 1998;28:551-558.
12.
VirtanenMStansfeldSAFuhrerRFerrieJEKivimakiM.Overtime work as a predictor of major depressive episode: a 5-year follow-up of the Whitehall II study. PLoS One. 2012;7:e30719.
13.
KawabeYNakamuraYKikuchiS. Relationship of type of work with health-related quality of life. Qual Life Res. 2015;24:2927-2932.
14.
ElovainioMHeponiemiTJokelaM. Stressful work environment and wellbeing: what comes first?J Occup Health Psychol. 2015;20:289-300.
15.
ElovainioMFerrieJESingh-ManouxA. Socioeconomic differences in cardiometabolic factors: social causation or health-related selection? Evidence from the Whitehall II cohort study, 1991-2004. Am J Epidemiol. 2011;174:779-789.
16.
LamJFanWMoenP.Is insecurity worse for well-being in turbulent times? Mental health in context. Soc Ment Health. 2014;4:55-73.
17.
Jansson von VultéePAxelssonRArnetzB. The impact of organisational settings on physician wellbeing. Int J Health Care Qual Assur. 2007;20:508-515.
18.
EdimansyahBARusliBNNaingLRusliBAMWinnT.Relationship of psychosocial work factors and health-related quality of life in male automotive assembly workers in Malaysia. Ind Health. 2007;45:437-448.
19.
MarzukiNAMustaffaCSJohariJRahamanNH.Stress and social support as predictors of quality of life: a case among flood victims in Malaysia. WASET Int J Soc Behav Educ Econ Manage Eng. 2015;9:2910-2915.
20.
NaumannVJByrneGJA. WHOQOL-BREF as a measure of quality of life in older patients with depression. Int Psychogeriatr. 2004;16:159-173.
21.
VegaSAFD, ed. Improving the quality of life of Filipino older persons. Paper presented at: Medical Women’s International Association 8th Western Pacific Congress and Philippine Medical Women’s Association 56th Annual Convention; 2008; Philippines.
22.
DavisBJVidalJSGarciaM. The alcohol paradox: light-to-moderate alcohol consumption, cognitive function, and brain volume. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2014;69:1528-1535.
23.
CourneyKSFriedenreichCM.Physical exercise and quality of life following cancer diagnosis: a literature review. Ann Behav Med. 1999;21:171-179.
24.
PenedoaFJDahnJR.Exercise and well-being: a review of mental and physical health benefits associated with physical activity. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2005;18:189-193.
25.
GerberMHartmannTBrandSHolsboer-TrachslerEPuehseU.The relationship between shift work, perceived stress, sleep and health in Swiss police officers. J Crim Justice. 2010;38:1167-1175.
26.
JansenNWKantINijhuisFJSwaenGMKristensenTS.Impact of worktime arrangements on work-home interference among Dutch employees. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2004;30:139-148.
27.
ILOADB.ASEAN Community 2015: Managing Integration for Better Jobs and Shared Prosperity. Bangkok, Thailand: International Labour Organization (ILO) & Asian Development Bank (ADB); 2014.
28.
SpectorPECooperCLPoelmansS. A cross-national comparative study of work-family stressors, working hours, and well-being: China and Latin America versus the Anglo world. Pers Psychol. 2004;37:119-142.
29.
PodsakoffPMMacKenzieSBPodsakoffNP.Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annu Rev Psychol. 2012;63:539-569.
30.
PodsakoffPMOrganDW.Self-reports in organizational research: problems and prospects. J Manag. 1986;12:531-544.
