Workplace Cold and Perceived Work Ability: Paradoxically Greater Disadvantage for More vs. Less-Educated Poultry Industry Workers in Thailand

Abstract

The association between worksite temperature and perceived work ability (WA) in various educational classes remains unknown. Therefore, we interviewed 286 poultry industry workers in Thailand about their WA and linked their responses to worksite temperature. WA was based on the self-assessment of current work ability compared with their lifetime best ability (scores 0–10). Education was classified as high (university or vocational school) or low (less education). Temperature was classified as cold (−22–10°C) or warm (10–23°C). WA and the occurrence of a low WA were regressed on worksite temperature, education, and their interaction with the adjustment for sex, age, job category, physical work strain, moving between cold and warm sites, thermal insulation of clothing, relative humidity, and air velocity. The average worksite temperature was 10°C for high- and 1°C for low-educated workers. The average WA score was 8.32 (SD, 1.33; range, 4–10) and classified as low (<8) in 23% of the workers. In highly-educated workers, the adjusted mean WA decreased from 9.11 in the warm areas to 8.02 in the cold areas and the prevalence of a low WA increased from 11 to 30%, while no significant change was observed in less-educated workers. The WA score was estimated to decline by 10% more (95% CI, 4–16%) in the cold areas for the more vs. less-educated workers and the prevalence of a poor WA was estimated to increase 3.09 times (95% CI, 1.43–5.45) more. Highly-educated workers in this industry are a risk group that should be given customized advice.

Self-Assessed Threshold Temperature for Cold among Poultry Industry Workers in Thailand

“…In addition, some contextual effects not captured by individual-level data could play a role, such as dress codes applied at workplaces or fashion trends furtively adopted within occupational subgroups, sometimes referred to as occupational [40] or academic "tribes" [41]. The observed association of a high CT with office work may have been mixed with the effects of higher education, which is a factor in cold-related symptoms [3].…”

“…We also adjusted for a reasonable number of confounders, which has not always been performed in studies in this field. Our results are based on a well-examined database that provides a reference for cold-related adversities in this industry [1][2][3]14].…”

“…Poultry industry workers, who often work at temperatures down to −20 • C, frequently suffer from cold-related harm. In Thailand, for example, most of them report poor work performance, or musculoskeletal or respiratory symptoms [1][2][3][4][5]. Studies conducted elsewhere have shown a wide variety of cold-related respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal symptoms, worsening of chronic medical conditions [6][7][8][9][10] and poor work ability [11] among them.…”