About the Program

The research is designed to generate a greater understanding of how improvements in working conditions affect the lives of workers, especially women, and their families. The research explores the impact of working conditions on life quality, child schooling, work trajectory, gender norms and stereotypes, and social interactions workers have with their families and community members.

Existing evidence suggests that social compliance programs such as Better Work, a joint program of the International Labor Organization and the International Finance Corporation, and social auditing by reputation sensitive international buyers have had a significant impact on wages and work outcomes. Workers in Better Work factories will be compared to workers in non-Better Work factories to evaluate life quality.

Thus, the main goal of the research is to determine the life quality of garment workers in ASEAN, with particular attention to: (1) women’s empowerment, (2) power mindset, (3) dehumanization and (4) impacts of FDI nationality on the lives of workers.

The Labor Lab is collaborating with the University of Indonesia and RT Analytics in Vietnam to conduct this research.

From initial planning stages to final dissemination events, this study was conducted between July 2016 to July 2020. In that time, data was collected in focused discussion groups and quanitative survey interviews which resulted in a dataset of over 9000 observations between Indonesia and Vietnam. The analysis was conducted by researchers at every career stage including well-established scholars, PhD candidates and graduate and undergraduate students, many of whom are planning to continue to work in studying the interplay between gender and development. Much of the research is ongoing with plans for future publications.

Conceptual Framework
        Survey Instrument
Primary Policy Recomendations

A goal of this project was to make all findings public and provide access to the large dataset that was created. The link below directs to a Box folder with data files that are available for use. Please make sure to follow proper citing instructions.

Dataset

Testing the Theoretical Framework

Can Supervisor Support Influence Job Insecurity, Psychological Wellbeing, and Job Satisfaction (An Empirical Study of the Indonesian Textile Industry) – Sari Wahyuni, Widya Nandini, Candra Marudut
Comparison of Indonesian and Vietnam Workers on Life Satisfaction and Turnover Intention – Sari Wahyuni, Muthia Pramesti, Aulia Safira
Do Incentives and Load of Work Have Impact to Job Search In Indonesia and Vietnam Garment Workers? – Aryana Satrya, Permata Wulandari, Fahrina Yuliani
Do Working Condition and Resilience Have an Impact Towards Promotion and Life Satisfaction Through Empowerment as Mediation? – Permata Wulandari, Uliyatun Nikmah, Fahrina Yuliani 
Does Any Differences of Organizational Context Dimensions between Garment Factories that Joining and Not Joining Better Work Indonesia Program? – Permata Wulandari, Fahrina Yuliani, Uliyatun Nikmah
Does Employee Development Impact Turnover Intention among Garment Workers? – Sinta Ayu Kurniawati, Sari Wahyuni
Does Growth Mindset and Empowerment Have an Impact on Life Satisfaction and Turnover Intention? Empirical Study of Workers in Indonesia – Aulia Safira, Sari Wahyuni
The Effect of Empowerment, Work-Family Conflict, and Emotional Exhaustion on Turnover Intention (Case Study- Garment Workers in Indonesia) – Bunga Citra Y. M,., Arviansyah, Permata Wulandari, Muthia Pramesti, Tansy Andrainie C. 
The Effect of Financial Welfare Factors Towards Job Search: Case Study of Garment Workers in Indonesia and Vietnam – Tansy Andrainie Chandra, Permata Wulandari
The Effects of Social Support and Distributive Justice Towards Withdrawal Cognitions through Emotional Exhaustion- Empirical Study of Female Garment Workers in Indonesia – Fadhilatul Ulfah, Muthia Pramesti, Permata Wulandari, Siti Hanifah
The Effects of Verbal Abuse and Abusive Supervision toward Turnover Intention through Emotional Exhaustion: Empirical Study of Garment Workers in Indonesia – Siti Hanifah, Muthia Pramesti, Sari Wahyuni
Gender Analysis and The Importance of Psychological Wellbeing on Textile Labors in Indonesia – Widya Nandini, Sari Wahyuni 
How Can We Increase Garment Competitiveness? A Critical Outlook on Employee Welfare – Dian Rahmasari, Sari Wahyuni
Human Resource Management Strategy In The Garment Industry: Improving Business by Ensuring Employees Welfare – Sari Wahyuni, Dian Rahmasari
The Impact of Empowerment, Working and Work-Family Conflict on Emotional Exhaustion and Turnover Intention Among Garment Workers in Indonesia – Sari Wahyuni, Debryana Y. Salean
Important Variables That Influence Life Satisfaction Of Workers: Empirical Evidence In Indonesia And Vietnam – Sari Wahyuni, Permata Wulandari, Fahrina Yuliani, Le Dang Trung
The Influence of Employee Voice and Employee Resilience to Turnover Intention through Emotional Exhaustion as Mediator on Industrial Garment Workers in Indonesia – Afifah Thohiroh, Aryana Satrya
The Influence of Empowerment and Workload on Turnover Intention through the Mediation of Emotional Exhaustion on Indonesian Garment Workers – Novahana N. Pradita, Aryana Satrya
Influence of Supervisor Behavior on Empowerment, Work Life Balance, and Emotional Exhaustion Which Could Impact Turnover Intention – Imas Trisna Handayani, Yasmine Nasution 
The Influence of Work-Family Conflict, Perceived Organizational Support, and Emotional Exhaustion on Turnover Intentions – Monica Natalin, Aryana Satrya
Life Satisfaction of Garment Workers: An Interaction of Workload, Empowerment, and Work Conflict – Ryan Saputra Alam, Aryana Satrya
The Mediating Effect of Psychological Empowerment on the Relationship Between Employee Training and Life Satisfaction in Garment Factories in Indonesia – Nimas Alief Alfianita, Aryana Satrya 
Organizational Context of Working Condition on Garment Workers in Indonesia- A Comparative Study between BWI Factories and Non BWI Workers – Permata Wulandari, Fahrina Yuliani. Uliyatun Nikmah
Revealing the Impacts of Growth Mindset and Employee Development on Turnover Intention – Sari Wahyuni, Sinta Ayu Kurniawati, Aulia Shafira
The Role of Working Conditions and Social Support on Work-Family Conflict: A Qualitative Study on Garment Industry – Luthfianti Zakia, Aryana Satrya
Understanding Gender Inequality Towards The Firm- The Case of Garment Factories in Vietnam 2012-2014 – Annisa H. Imron, Muthia Pramesti, Sari Wahyuni 
Understanding Work-Family Conflict Among Garment Workers in Indonesia: Looking at Gender and Marital Status – Luthfianti Zakia, Aryana Satrya
What Are the Factors that Impact Male and Female Workers to Change Their Job in Indonesia’s Garment Industry? – Permata Wulandari, Uliyatun Nikmah, Fahrina Yuliani, Chika Athaya 
Why is Gender Inequality Still Appearing in Garment Factories, in Indonesia? – Annisa Halimah Imron, Muthia Pramesti, Sari Wahyuni
Workers In The Garment Industry: Revealing The ‘Black Box’ Between Working Conditions And Turnover Intention – Monica Devina 
Working Conditions and Quality of Life for Female Workers in Garment Factories in Indonesia – Aryana Satrya, Permata Wulandari, Muthia Pramesti, Sari Wahyuni, M.Zuhdi
Working Condition and Retention in Garment Industry: Evidence from Indonesia – Uliyatun Nikmah
Working Conditions and Turnover Intention of Indonesia’s Garment Workers: Comparison Between BWI and non-BWI Companies – Chika Athaya Chairunnisa, Permata Wulandari

Measuring the Contributions of Better Work

Baseline Analysis

Authored by Kaileigh Stopa, Arin Kerstein, Dira Djaya, and Elyse Voegeli 
Health & Life Satisfaction
Working Conditions & Turnover Intention
Piece Rate Pay and Turnover Intention
Conditions Related to Psychological Stress
Empowerment, Mindset, and Life Satisfaction
Promotion Opportunity, Social Dialogue, and Turnover Intention
Growth Mindset and Turnover
Gender

Endline Analysis

Authored by Kaileigh Stopa and Ana Antolin

Pay and Hours
Household Wealth
Health and Facilities
Turnover Intention and Job Security
Worker-Management Relations
Promotions and Women in Leadership Positions
Psychological Variables

Endline Simultaneous Equation Models

Authored by Ana Antolin, Laura Babbitt, Drusilla Brown, and Le Dang Trung

Brief 1: Empowerment
Brief 2: Training
Brief 3: Training Needs
Brief 4: Weekly Hours
Brief 5: Total Pay, Bonus Pay and Hourly Pay 
Brief 6: Verbal Abuse 
Brief 7: Working Conditions
Brief 8: Health
Brief 9: Dehumanization, Work-Life Balance, Social Dialogue
Brief 10: Turnover Intention
Brief 11: Training Needs and Future Plans
Brief 12: Life Satisfaction
Brief 13: Worker Borrowing Behavior

Funders

International Development Research Center (IDRC)