Improving Workplace Conditions for Mexican Workers in a Transnational Garment Sweatshop: Cross-Cultural and Lean Innovation Training as Interventions

Background: The globalized economy and expanding reach of transnational businesses have increased the prevalence of labor exploitation. Calls have been made in the field of social work to address social injustices in sweatshops by improving work conditions of vulnerable populations (Polack, 2004). The maquiladora (sweatshops) industry in Mexico employed an estimated 1,202,134 workers in 2006 (INEGI, 2006) and has become notorious for difficult work conditions, low wages, and are largely foreign owned (Berry, Conklin, & Ray, 1997).

The negative impact of poor working conditions on maquiladora workers in transnational plants is exacerbated by cross-cultural misunderstandings and conflicts emerging between domestic workers and expatriate administrators. A poor work environment coupled with cross-cultural conflicts in one such transnational factory served as the impetus for the present study. This study is based in a maquiladora in Mexico owned and managed by Koreans with Mexican workers and North American customers. The research aims to contribute to the social work knowledge-base by exploring the impact of cross-cultural training and Lean innovation (relying on team work, worker empowerment and waste reduction) on working conditions. The training was designed and implemented by social workers and aimed to improve workplace conditions, employee well-being, and the work relationship between Mexican workers and Korean administrators. Training curriculum included 4 modules: mutual respect, cross-cultural communication, inclusion in the organization, and balancing work family needs.

Methods: The study sample of 200 Mexican workers is largely comprised of women (90.8%), with low educational attainment (65% reporting less than a high school education). Data for the present study were collected through open-ended questions eliciting Mexican workers' perspectives on changes in workplace conditions. Content analysis of 186 (14 non-responses) open-ended questionnaires was conducted using ATLAS.ti software to examine emergent themes in workers' perceptions of workplace conditions one year post intervention.

Results: The following were the emergent themes related to the impact of the intervention on workplace experiences: 1) an improvement in communication and social interaction with peers and Korean supervisors; 2) a transition from isolated independent work to collaborative team work ; 3) feelings of empowerment resulting from cross-training and skill development; 4) the development of an environment where line workers can share their ideas and opinions; and 5) a reduction in feelings of work related stress.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that a cross-cultural and team-based manufacturing intervention goes beyond a change in cross-cultural competence to an overall improvement in work conditions and well-being of the workers. This promising intervention model needs to be tested in other work environments and with larger samples but these results indicate that it could lead to better working conditions, reduced stress, and improved well-being.

References

Berry, B.J., Conkling, E.C., & Ray, M.D. (1997). The global economy in transition (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

INEGI. (2006). Sistema de cuentas nacionales de Mexico y Estadisticas de la industria maquiladora de exportacion. (EME, Mexico).

Polack, R.J. (2004). Social justice and the global economy: New challenges for social work in the 21st century. Social Work, 49, 281-290.