Health-Related Quality of Life Among Blue-Collar and White-Collar Workers at a Thermal Power Plant

Introduction- Occupational stress has emerged as one of the foremost health concerns. Workplace environment, ergonomics, physical and psychosocial factors affect workers' health. Methods - This cross-sectional study assessed health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using the WHOQoL-Bref among blue-collar and white-collar workers using hierarchical regression modelling, selected via OpenEpi random sampling. Sociodemographic, occupational profiles, anthropometric, and musculoskeletal (MSK) pains using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Result - Blue (70.4%), and white-collar (29.6%) groups were comparable in age, sex, marital status, and illness. White-collar workers had higher education and obesity rates. blue-collar workers endured longer shifts (> 6 hours: 85.9%), income insufficiency (84.6%), and low autonomy, yet reported fewer MSK pains; white-collar workers showed higher neck (65%), shoulder (58.8%), wrist/arm (63.6%, p = 0.017), and back pains, suggesting ergonomic/stress vulnerabilities despite advantages. Occupationally, blue-collar workers endured longer shifts (> 6 hours: 85.9%, p < 0.001), income insufficiency (84.6%, p = 0.009), and low autonomy, yet reported fewer MSK pains; white-collar workers showed higher neck (65%, p < 0.001), shoulder (58.8%, p = 0.006), wrist/arm (63.6%, p = 0.017), and back pains, suggesting ergonomic/stress vulnerabilities despite advantages. Hierarchical linear regression model explained 40–44% variance in HRQoL domains. Key predictors included married status (positive social p < 0.001), graduate education (negative psychological p = 0.030), > 21 years’ experience (psychological health; p = 0.023), white-collar role (physical health; p = 0.047), long hours (mixed effects), high autonomy/income sufficiency (environmental health; p < 0.01), lower back pain (physical p < 0.001), and obesity (psychological p = 0.050). Conclusion - Involving workers, integrating ergonomics modification with work organization, pain interventions for workers specially focused on aging workers, quality, and productivity, along with a multisectoral public health approach, ensures successful interventions.