Background: Inadequate ergonomics can affect factors such as productivity and job involvement that play an important role in the sustainable development of organizations. To this end, the present study investigated the effect of workplace ergonomics and body composition on productivity and job involvement of employees in Kermanshah Oil Refinery.
Methods: The participants in this descriptive cross-sectional study were 160 persons who were selected using convenience sampling from refinery employees. The data were collected using the In-Body: Body Composition Analyzer, the Rapid Office Strain Assessment (ROSA), Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), Employee Productivity Scale (Achieve), and Job Involvement Scale. The data were analyzed using simple and multivariate linear regression analysis with SPSS 25 software at the significance level of 0.05 (P = 0.05).
Results: The findings of the present study showed that the decreased level of workplace ergonomics has a negative and significant effect on productivity (p = 0.0001) and job involvement (p = 0.0001) of employees in Kermanshah Oil Refinery. Furthermore, employees’ body mass index (BMI) had a negative and significant effect on productivity (p = 0.031) and the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) had a negative and significant impact on employees' job involvement (p = 0.039).
Conclusion: Inadequate workplace ergonomics, high body mass index, and a high waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) can negatively affect the productivity and job involvement of oil refinery employees. Therefore, in addition to evaluating workplace ergonomics, managers are suggested to adopt strategies to provide proper ergonomics and promote employees’ health by holding training courses on healthy nutrition.