Heat impacts on health and productivity: the case of two ready-made garment factories in tropical Bangladesh
Objective: The ready-made garment (RMG) sector is pivotal to Bangladesh’s economy, providing export opportunities and employment. To ensure sustained productivity and a thriving workforce, workplace hazards like heat must be acknowledged, assessed and managed. This paper explores heat impacts on hea...
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Japan Society for Occupational Health
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Environmental and Occupational Health Practice |
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| Online Access: | https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/eohp/7/1/7_2024-0009/_html/-char/en |
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| author | Farzana Yeasmin Aaron J. E. Bach Jean P. Palutikof Fahim Tonmoy Fahmida Tofail Mahbubur Rahman Shannon Rutherford |
| author_facet | Farzana Yeasmin Aaron J. E. Bach Jean P. Palutikof Fahim Tonmoy Fahmida Tofail Mahbubur Rahman Shannon Rutherford |
| author_sort | Farzana Yeasmin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: The ready-made garment (RMG) sector is pivotal to Bangladesh’s economy, providing export opportunities and employment. To ensure sustained productivity and a thriving workforce, workplace hazards like heat must be acknowledged, assessed and managed. This paper explores heat impacts on health and productivity of production-line workers in two RMG factories of Bangladesh. Methods: Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with the workers of two RMG factories in Dhaka in 2022 to identify perceived heat-related health and productivity impacts and explore barriers to workers accessing heat-related medical care. Key informant interviews were conducted with factory officials, onsite health professionals, government officials, the RMG peak body, and non-government organisation professionals with expertise in industry and workplace issues. Results: Workers and health professionals attributed symptoms like headaches, dizziness, fatigue and nausea to heat. Factory health professionals observed changes in cardiovascular strain (eg, altered blood pressure responses) in workers during summer. Other key informants identified higher absenteeism across summer. Heat was identified as an impediment to overall productivity by workers themselves and others working across the sector. Conclusion: This qualitative study identified how heat exposure in indoor work environments of RMG in Bangladesh influences health of workers and how productivity is influenced directly by heat but also indirectly via necessary cooling measures to reduce heat strain that take workers away from the production line. Despite knowledge of access to hydration as an important heat health risk mitigation strategy, quota pressures inherent in these factories restrict the use of this vital measure. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1c4bdfd404204ba6be4aa104dff3e4c6 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2434-4931 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Japan Society for Occupational Health |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental and Occupational Health Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-1c4bdfd404204ba6be4aa104dff3e4c62025-08-20T03:23:59ZengJapan Society for Occupational HealthEnvironmental and Occupational Health Practice2434-49312025-06-017110.1539/eohp.2024-0009eohpHeat impacts on health and productivity: the case of two ready-made garment factories in tropical BangladeshFarzana Yeasmin0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3123-7452Aaron J. E. Bach1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5581-5018Jean P. Palutikof2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5248-6925Fahim Tonmoy3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0963-112XFahmida Tofail4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2301-9196Mahbubur Rahman5Shannon Rutherford6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5851-2987School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Australia; Cities Research Institute, Griffith University, Australia; Environmental Health and WASH, Health System and Population Studies Division, International Center for Diarrheal Diseases Research, BangladeshCities Research Institute, Griffith University, Australia; School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University, AustraliaCities Research Institute, Griffith University, Australia; National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Griffith University, AustraliaGriffith University, Australia; Sustainability & Climate Change, DeloitteNutrition Research Division, International Center for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, BangladeshEnvironmental Health and WASH, Health System and Population Studies Division, International Center for Diarrheal Diseases Research, BangladeshSchool of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Australia; Cities Research Institute, Griffith University, AustraliaObjective: The ready-made garment (RMG) sector is pivotal to Bangladesh’s economy, providing export opportunities and employment. To ensure sustained productivity and a thriving workforce, workplace hazards like heat must be acknowledged, assessed and managed. This paper explores heat impacts on health and productivity of production-line workers in two RMG factories of Bangladesh. Methods: Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with the workers of two RMG factories in Dhaka in 2022 to identify perceived heat-related health and productivity impacts and explore barriers to workers accessing heat-related medical care. Key informant interviews were conducted with factory officials, onsite health professionals, government officials, the RMG peak body, and non-government organisation professionals with expertise in industry and workplace issues. Results: Workers and health professionals attributed symptoms like headaches, dizziness, fatigue and nausea to heat. Factory health professionals observed changes in cardiovascular strain (eg, altered blood pressure responses) in workers during summer. Other key informants identified higher absenteeism across summer. Heat was identified as an impediment to overall productivity by workers themselves and others working across the sector. Conclusion: This qualitative study identified how heat exposure in indoor work environments of RMG in Bangladesh influences health of workers and how productivity is influenced directly by heat but also indirectly via necessary cooling measures to reduce heat strain that take workers away from the production line. Despite knowledge of access to hydration as an important heat health risk mitigation strategy, quota pressures inherent in these factories restrict the use of this vital measure.https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/eohp/7/1/7_2024-0009/_html/-char/enextreme heatheat stress disordersoccupational healthoccupational stressworking conditions |
| spellingShingle | Farzana Yeasmin Aaron J. E. Bach Jean P. Palutikof Fahim Tonmoy Fahmida Tofail Mahbubur Rahman Shannon Rutherford Heat impacts on health and productivity: the case of two ready-made garment factories in tropical Bangladesh Environmental and Occupational Health Practice extreme heat heat stress disorders occupational health occupational stress working conditions |
| title | Heat impacts on health and productivity: the case of two ready-made garment factories in tropical Bangladesh |
| title_full | Heat impacts on health and productivity: the case of two ready-made garment factories in tropical Bangladesh |
| title_fullStr | Heat impacts on health and productivity: the case of two ready-made garment factories in tropical Bangladesh |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heat impacts on health and productivity: the case of two ready-made garment factories in tropical Bangladesh |
| title_short | Heat impacts on health and productivity: the case of two ready-made garment factories in tropical Bangladesh |
| title_sort | heat impacts on health and productivity the case of two ready made garment factories in tropical bangladesh |
| topic | extreme heat heat stress disorders occupational health occupational stress working conditions |
| url | https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/eohp/7/1/7_2024-0009/_html/-char/en |
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