Occupational Health and Safety, Employee Engagement and Employee Job Performance in the RMG Sector in Bangladesh

The objective of this study is to discuss safety and health management practices (six dimensions are
elaborated) theoretically and empirically test the relationship of safety objectives with performance
outcomes through employee engagement. Although the readymade garments industry is one of the
dominant sectors in Bangladesh, it is also considered one of the most hazardous industries. Having an
effective occupational health and safety (OHS) management system is very crucial to safeguard
employees and the industry more broadly. This study gathers the data from 351 garments employees
through a standardized questionnaire to evaluate the link between different safety practices and employee
job performances. The analysis in this paper shows a positive correlation between occupational health
and safety systems and employee engagement and job performances. Moreover, this study shows that,
among the six dimensions of an OHS system, management commitment towards safety is one of the
stronger predictors for both employee engagement and job performances. It is also found that employee
engagement has a mediating role on job performance. This study concludes that employee job
performances are highly influenced by the OHS system. Particularly, management commitment is to
ensure the effective development of safety process and procedures at the workplace.