Impact of Stress, Coping Strategies on Psychological Well-being among Apparel Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Bangladesh

Abstract

The apparel industry plays a crucial role by fetching a major portion of its foreign currency earnings. Further, this industry has been providing employment opportunities for impoverished workers, mostly from underprivileged rural areas. The workplace milieu of the apparel factories is not congenial for the physiological and psychological wellness of employees; the wages of workers are insufficient to make ends meet, ensuing in suboptimal physical and psychological soundness to execute their roles efficiently. Moreover, the steep growth of the industry created stress and health risks for workers. While even a minimal level of stress can act as a demotivating factor, increased stress can render negative impact on employees’ well-being. When employees experience higher psychological well-being, their commitment to the organization increases, ultimately enhancing their individual performance and, by extension, the organization’s productivity. Employees suffering from mental health issues are unable to work effectively and efficiently. This present study attempts to look into the impact of stress and coping strategies on psychological well-being (PWB) among apparel workers. The necessary information was collected using the Bengali version of the perceived stress, coping, and PWB scales. The study results unearthed that while stress had a significant adverse impact on PWB, coping strategies demonstrated a significant and positive correlation. A multiple regression analysis showed that stress and coping strategies predict PWB. The independence sample t-test revealed lower PWB of female than male workers and also reported that dissatisfied workers had lower PWB than satisfied workers. The study’s findings could help researchers, managers, policymakers, academicians, and therapists design appropriate training and intervention programs to improve the psychological well-being of workers in the apparel sector.