BSMH3083 INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL

SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT (D)

ASSIGNMENT 2: REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON

COMPARISON ON THE SAFETY AND PHYSICAL WORKING

CONDITION UNITED KINGDOM MALYSIA AND BANGLADESH

PREPARED BY:

SITTI SULAIYA BINTI MAKHDIROL (271449)

PREPARED FOR:

DR SITI HAWA BINTI HARITH

DATE SUBMISSION:

15 DECEMBER 2022
 REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON COMPARISON ON THE SAFETY AND PHYSICAL WORKING

CONDITION UNITED KINGDOM MALYSIA AND BANGLADESH

Based on the article entitled perception of safety, physical working condition and stress between

Malaysia and United Kingdom and the YouTube video entitled “Undercover in Bangladesh

clothing factory” are related to the health and safety of workers at their workplace. There are

many issues about occupational health and safety that often occur in most countries, especially

developing countries. According to Hall, Dollard and Coward (2010), most popular and worrying

issues in every business are safety climate, job stress and work environment.

Physical conditions describe how the environment and conditions can affect an

employee and the people around them while at work. Physical conditions of work that are

dangerous to get diseases among workers. Physical condition can also be described as the

atmosphere at work which includes two types of stress, namely psychosocial and physical

stress. An example of psychosocial stress is a complex work and life environment such as long

working hours as long working hours and shift work that is forced to work at night. Meanwhile,

physical stress is such as noise, ergonomics and dangerous chemicals that workers have to

deal with. Each of the factors mentioned contributes to affecting the well-being, atmosphere and

safety of workers.

Referring to the study from articles and videos from YouTube, the comparison between

Malaysia, United Kingdom and Bangladesh can be seen in terms of physical conditions. I am in

awe of these two countries which that show the difference between Malaysia and the United

Kingdom where both countries show awareness of the work environment that needs to be

prioritized to provide employee satisfaction while working (Nazahah, Hui Kim Ng, David Biggs,

Karyn Boots, 2014). Malaysia is a developing country that seeks foreign investment from

developed countries to increase its job offer. While developed countries that have become

foreign investors in developing countries will take advantage where they will sell technology
such as machines that are outdated and only repaired to be sold to developing countries that

will endanger the workers who operate them. Meanwhile, in Malaysia it is necessary to focus on

working conditions such as lighting, ventilation, temperature and also noise to ensure that

workers are always in a comfortable state when working. In Bangladesh, the difference is shown

by the physical condition in the country are poor and unproductive. For example, a fabric factory

located in Bangladesh has a dirty and noisy environment due to workers who are gathered as

many as 1,400 people in one room which will cause physical stress. Not only that, the factory

manager did not use proper ergonomics which could cause physical pain to the workers.

Psychosocial stress can also be seen in the factory where some workers are not given wages

commensurate with their working days. When they ask about their salary, their employer will

scold and beat his workers. this will affect the employees such as emotional stress at work. In

addition, employers or managers must prioritize the welfare and safety of employees at work to

ensure they are more productive at work.

The second issue that often occurs is safety climate. Safety climate refers to the physical

well-being of employees and stakeholders in the organization. A strong safety climate is

determined by reports of minor injuries. Based on the article and video, I feel a bit sad because

Malaysia lacks of awareness and understanding about regulations and safety in the workplace.

The management also has no awareness in safety compliance. Even some employers use

those concerns to make a profit instead of for the safety of the workers. In Bangladesh also

shows similarities with Malaysia which does not have awareness about the rules and safety of

workers at work, this is shown through the video where the cloth factory does not have safety

equipment. Each emergency door is covered with a pile of boxes which makes it difficult for

people to pass through the emergency door. Not only that, the factory was not provided with

proper fire extinguishers to prevent any dangerous incident from happening. In the United

Kingdom shows a significant difference, UK has a high level of understanding of regulations and
safety in the workplace. For them, employee safety is a priority for management. For example,

contractor workers always wear safety equipment at all times when on construction sites or

dangerous areas to prevent unwanted things from happening. So, as a manager it is necessary

to be aware of the rules and safety of workers at work to ensure that unwanted incidents occur.

For example, setting strict standards and regulations on workers to ensure their safety and

health. As for the employees, they need to understand and obey every rule that has been set in

the workplace to protect employees from bad incidents.

Thirdly, the common issues happen is body discomfort. Body discomfort was common

among workers where reports of back pain at work did not differ between Malaysia and the

United Kingdom. This shows that these two countries are always dealing with problems

regarding the issue of workers facing back pain. However, reports of shoulder pain show

differences between these two countries where according to a health survey report in the United

Kingdom, the main contributor to body discomfort is from musculoskeletal disorders. While in

Malaysia, this disease often occurs in the hands and arms, upper back and also shoulder pain.

In Bangladesh, the problem of body discomfort among workers is also high. This is because,

managers in the workplace do not care about the importance of proper ergonomics when

employees do their jobs. For example, cloth factories in Bangladesh do not provide complete

equipment to facilitate workers to sew to reduce the cost of producing their products. Not only

that, the chair used to sit while sewing is also not suitable because it will cause pain in the back

caused by the hard chair used by workers for such a long period of time. Therefore, every

manager in the workplace must have awareness and knowledge about the importance of

ergonomics in the workplace to avoid body discomfort among employees.

Referring to the reading of the article and the video, I found that Malaysia and

Bangladesh are still less emphasized about the occupational safety and health that should be

applied as it is emphasized in the United Kingdom. As a result of the lack of awareness of the
importance of OSH, these two country which Malaysia and Bangladesh still contribute to the

number of injuries and accidents at work as a result of negligence of management and also

workers themselves.

In conclusion, the lesson that can be learned is that every country faces the same

problem related to the issue of health and safety of workers at work even if the country is

developed. Especially developing countries where there are many reports of workers accidents

as a result of negligence, lack of awareness, regulations that are not strict and so on. Therefore,

each party needs to create awareness about safety and health in the workplace and always

comply with the rules set to reduce accidents that occur, especially in developing countries.

Many benefits will be obtained when every employer and management prioritize comfort in the

work environment not only for employee safety, but can also increase work productivity resulting

in multiple profits and reduce hiring costs.

References

Hall, G. B., Dollard, M. F., & Coward, J. (2010). Psychosocial safety climate: development of

the PSC-12. International Journal of Stress Management, 17(4), 353-383.

Nazahah Abd Rahim, Hui-Kim Ng, David Biggs & Karyn Boots. (2014). Perception of safety,

physical working conditions and stress between Malaysia and United Kingdom.

International Journal of Business and Society, 15(2), 321-338