Occupational safety and health (OSH) among small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) in Indonesia
Creators: name: Maharani, Cynthia Febrina
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2026
Subjects: low and middle income countries
occupational safety and health
qualitative
small and medium sized businesses
Indonesia

description: Small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) play an important role in boosting economic growth and providing employment around the globe, including in Indonesia. According to a recent report by the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium sized Businesses, one of the fastest growing industries among SMBs in Indonesia is manufacturing, which contributed over 8% of the economic growth in the country in 2019. However, the manufacturing industry also accounted for a high number of workplace injuries and often faces challenges to implementing occupational safety and health (OSH) programs. As the manufacturing industry continues to grow in Indonesia, it is important to understand how OSH programs can be implemented in these businesses.
description: The long-term goal of this research is to reduce injury among manufacturing workers in SMBs in Indonesia. The overall objective was to determine how to implement OSH programs into small and medium companies in the food and bag manufacturing industries. Food and bag manufacturing businesses were studied because these industries have a higher risk of injuries compared to companies in other manufacturing sectors. The specific aims of this study were to describe business owners, employees, and other stakeholders’ perceptions towards OSH and OSH program implementation in small and medium-sized food and bag manufacturing businesses in Indonesia and to identify the components and contents of an OSH program that are acceptable and practical for small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses to implement. Three studies were used to address these aims.
description: In the first study, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted among business owners and relevant stakeholders of small and medium sized food and bag manufacturing v businesses in Indonesia. Relevant stakeholders consisted of governmental and non governmental organizations, such as Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Health, National Insurance Agency, National Agency of Drug and Food Control, and business owners’ associations. The focus was to understand their perceptions towards OSH program implementation and identify the existing OSH programs and involvement they might already have. The second study recruited employees of small and medium sized food and bag manufacturing businesses to understand their perceptions and practices in OSH. Then, based on the in-depth interview findings with business owners, relevant stakeholder, and employees, focus group discussions were conducted in the third study with business owners and relevant stakeholders to identify the components and contents of an OSH program that are acceptable and practical for small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses to implement. Business owners and relevant stakeholders that participated in the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were completely different people.
description: The findings from the in-depth interviews with business owners and stakeholders (e.g., Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Health, National Insurance Agency, National Agency of Drug and Food Control, International Labor Organization, business owners’ association, and a local non-profit organization) showed that there were deep gaps in national policies, as well as owner awareness and implementation, of OSH programs in SMBs in Indonesia, and a tendency of business owners to shift responsibility of occupational injuries to the employees alone. There was also deferment of OSH responsibilities from national stakeholders to business owners. Stakeholders stated that business owners commonly did not have sufficient knowledge of OSH; however, the stakeholders themselves did not provide training, and if they did, the trainings vi were offered infrequently and were not available to all. In addition, results of the in-depth interviews with the small and medium sized business employees showed that employees had health and safety concerns in their workplaces but chose not to express them to the business owners because they felt the owners were in a position that deserved their respect. Small and medium sized businesses often have close relationships between business owners and employees, which may explain why this is the case. This relationship could also be a reason employees do not seem to mind the absence of written OSH policies and procedures or the lack of employer-provided health insurance. Further, despite experiencing injuries, employees internalized what the business owners told them about simply needing to be more careful to ensure their safety at work.
description: Findings from the in-depth interviews with business owners, relevant stakeholders, and employees were utilized to develop a basic OSH program plan with low-cost and no-cost strategies for small and medium-sized businesses in Indonesia to implement. Focus group discussions with small and medium sized business owners and stakeholders were then conducted to identify the practicality and acceptability of the program plan. Results showed that participants suggested some key strategies to increase the success of program implementation in small and medium sized businesses in Indonesia, including integration of the OSH program with the existing certification program from the National Agency of Drug and Food Control and integration through occupational health units from the local public health centers.