The shift work affecting sleep pattern and social well-being of workers: the food manufacturing industry in Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

Many industries operate or run 24 h and seven days a week with downtime only for maintenance and repair in manufacturing facilities. This continuous operating trend allows for a higher production volume since the industry has relentless pressures on cost containment to maintain profit margins. However, the practice poses high risks of occupational injuries or major accidents. Shift working hours could lead to various safety and health and significantly impact the workers' well-being. Based on this fact, this paper presents a correlation analysis of shift works with sleep patterns, fatigue, and work injuries in food manufacturing plants, specifically in Malaysia. A survey using a set of questionnaires was conducted on two food manufacturing industries in Selangor, Malaysia. The industry operates continuously with a pre-planned downtime due to market globalization, industrialization transformation, and the rising demand for food. The companies in the food manufacturing industry held frequent internal and external audits to ensure the food quality was not being compromised and adhered to the local acts and regulations. To ensure the company runs continuously, the companies practice slow rotation schedules of shift work systems, where workers change to a new shift every three months. The companies have three working shifts per day, namely the morning shift (7.00 am to 3.00 pm), the afternoon shift (3.00–11.00 pm) and the night shift (11.00 pm to 7.00 am). Based on the statistical analysis, many workers prefer the day shift over the afternoon and night shifts. Sleep patterns and fatigue are significantly correlated with work-related injuries. Due to shift work, the workers tend to have fewer sleep hours, resulting in poor sleep patterns, which could increase the possibility of work injuries. In conclusion, workers' physical, mental and social well-being in any industry should be promoted and maintained to the highest degree.