RMG Worker Mental Health & Wellbeing in Bangladesh | Chum
For RMG factories & HR / compliance teams

Worker mental-health support for RMG factories

A practical, Bangla-first wellbeing programme for ready-made garment factories, built around buyer-audit expectations, worker stress, floor conflict, absenteeism and turnover.

Delivered inside Bangladesh’s factories under IFC · World Bank and Better Work · ILO, in supply chains for H&M, M&S, Levi’s, PUMA, Regatta & Target.
Chum Wellness worker-wellbeing briefing on a Bangladesh garment factory production floor
A worker-wellbeing session on the production floor, delivered where the workforce actually is.
Why now

The pressure on RMG factories is rising

Psychosocial welfare is no longer a soft issue, it is being scored in buyer audits, and it shows up in your absenteeism and productivity numbers long before it shows up on paper.

48%
Roughly 1 in 2 Bangladeshi garment workers screen positive for depressive symptoms, with women, who make up most of the RMG workforce, at consistently higher risk.Cross-sectional survey of 411 workers · Int. Journal of Occupational Safety & Ergonomics, 2023

Buyer audits now check it

BSCI, SEDEX, SA8000 and Better Work are all expanding psychosocial-welfare criteria, and ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment at work is raising expectations further. Factories with a documented, supervised programme are ahead in supplier reviews.

Absenteeism & turnover

Worker stress, conflict and low morale drive absence and attrition, the costs are real but rarely traced back to the cause.

Lost productivity

Distress on the floor means slower lines, more mistakes and supervisor friction. Wellbeing is an output issue, not just a welfare one.

What we do

A complete worker-wellbeing programme, on your factory floor

We assess, support, train and document, so wellbeing improves and you have the evidence buyers ask for.

Anonymous worker wellness assessment

A short Bangla survey across the floor, turned into a department-level report on stress, morale and conflict hotspots.

On-site & online counselling

Confidential support for workers, plus psychological first-aid capacity for supervisors.

HR, supervisor & welfare-officer training

Practical, clinically-grounded training so your own team can recognise and respond to distress.

Buyer-ready documentation

Branded reports your compliance team can show management and auditors.

HR and supervisor psychosocial training session at a Bangladesh garment factory
Supervisor & HR training session at a partner factory.
The engagement model

Start small, scale on evidence, three levels of commitment

Every factory is at a different point. Begin at the level that fits you now; each step is a natural upgrade from the one before, once the results are in your hands.

See the delivery

1-Day Workshop

A 3-5 hour interactive session for your management and HR / welfare / compliance leads, on-site. Worker mental-health in numbers, a stress-mapping activity, practical coping techniques and open Q&A.

One-time · no commitment. The lowest-risk way to see our delivery quality first.

Recommended

6-Month Pilot

The full non-clinical support track, proven inside one factory. A named cohort of 8-15 HR, welfare and compliance staff is trained over 6 days across 3 phases, with at least 8 supervision sessions and a documented before/after result.

6 months · single factory. Prove the model, then decide on scaling.

Deepest capability

12-Month Track

Everything in the pilot, plus advanced-risk, trauma-informed and suicide-risk modules, formulation & treatment planning, special populations, and quarterly case-conceptualization clinics, 24 supervision sessions in all.

12 months · a durable in-house psychosocial capability.

What’s inside

A structured, supervised curriculum, not a one-off awareness day

The programme trains your own HR, welfare and compliance staff to notice distress, respond with real counselling skills and refer appropriately, without over-reaching into clinical territory. It is built in three phases and grounded in the University of Dhaka / IOM Essential Psychological Skills for Mental Health Service Providers curriculum (30 chapters), recontextualised for the factory floor.

1

Foundational relational & ethical skills

Reflective listening, empathy, questioning, cultural sensitivity, ethics, and working with transitions, new joiners, shift changes, return-to-work after leave or maternity.

2

Practical technique orientation

A deliberately scope-limited toolkit, motivational interviewing, group facilitation, CBT orientation, emotion regulation, sleep and anger management, assertion, and self-care for the supporter.

3

Applied, supervised practice

Real cases from your own floor, worked through the referral pathway under supervision, reinforcing the core boundary: staff provide initial support and refer, they do not manage a diagnosable disorder themselves.

Supervision is what turns knowledge into skill. Alongside the training days, at least 8 live supervision sessions on real cases correct the most common failure mode, jumping to advice instead of using the skills being taught. Behind it stands a standing support layer: a free online self-assessment for any worker, 1:1 sessions with Chum Wellness psychologists for critical cases, and our nationwide therapist network for escalation.

Start with no cost, no commitment

Three ways to begin, all free

You can see the value before you spend anything. Start with the assessment; the rest follows naturally.

Start here

Worker Wellness Assessment

A 5-minute anonymous survey in Bangla for your workers. You get back a clear, written report, stress, morale and where the friction is, broken down by department.

Free, and ready in a few working days. Useful for your own planning and for buyer documentation.

Go further

A session for your HR & compliance team

A free one-hour session, online or at your factory, led by a clinical psychologist. We walk through what buyers now look for in psychosocial audits, plus practical tools your team can use right away.

No sales pitch, just genuinely useful training for your welfare and compliance people.

See the proof

Your Company Wellness Map

A branded report built from your workers’ own anonymous answers, stress and morale by department, the top risks, and clear next steps.

Free, and yours to share with management and buyers. Ready within five working days.

Proven inside the industry

This isn’t theory, it’s been delivered on the floor

10+RMG factories engaged
IFCWorld Bank GEAR programme
ILOBetter Work Bangladesh
7+ yrsclinical practice

Our factory work has been delivered under IFC (World Bank Group) and Better Work (ILO), including gender-bias reduction, soft-skill training for operators, burnout and stress management, and Training-of-Trainers for HR and compliance teams across factories in Dhaka, Gazipur, Ashulia, Savar, Tongi and the KEPZ export zone.

It is led by Saima Akther, a clinical psychologist (MPhil in Clinical Psychology, University of Dhaka) and founder of Psycoach, who has delivered worker-wellbeing programmes across factories supplying globally recognised brands.

H&MM&SLevi’sPUMARegattaRalph LaurenVF CorporationTarget
Worker mental-health awareness session at a Bangladesh RMG factory
Worker wellbeing session at a partner factory.
Evidence, not projection

What the pilot proves, before you scale

Every pilot produces documented before/after data you can show your own leadership, your buyers and your auditors.

Capability gain

Pre/post assessment (Month 1 vs 6) shows whether the cohort’s knowledge, confidence and referral judgment actually improved.

A working pathway

Cases identified and appropriately referred, proof the referral pathway works in practice, not just on paper.

Real reach

Self-assessment uptake across the workforce and sessions used for critical cases, proof the support reaches workers, not just the trained cohort.

How it works

Simple to start, built to last

1

Assess

Anonymous Bangla worker survey across departments.

2

Report

A clear, branded report on stress, morale and risk areas.

3

Act

A tailored programme, counselling, training and supervisor capacity.

4

Sustain

Ongoing support and documentation, audit-ready.

Why it pays off

Wellbeing is a business outcome

Fewer absences

Address the stress and conflict that quietly drive absenteeism and turnover.

Higher productivity

Calmer, supported workers mean steadier lines and fewer errors.

Audit-ready

Documented psychosocial-welfare programmes strengthen your standing in supplier reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Will this satisfy buyer psychosocial-welfare audits (BSCI, SEDEX, SA8000, Better Work)?

Yes. Our programme is built around what international buyers now check, and produces branded, data-backed documentation your compliance team can show in audits.

Is the support available in Bangla?

Yes, worker surveys, counselling and supervisor training are all delivered in Bangla, designed for factory-floor realities.

Is the worker survey anonymous and confidential?

Yes. Worker responses are anonymous; HR receives aggregated, department-level results only.

Can sessions run on-site at the factory?

Yes. We deliver on-site at your factory or online, depending on what works best for your teams and shifts.

How do we start?

Request the free Worker Wellness Check below. We run a short anonymous survey, return a written report within a few working days, and discuss next steps from there.

Get your free Worker Wellness Check

Tell us a little about your factory. Our team will set up your free anonymous worker survey and report, no cost, no commitment.

We’ll only use these details to set up your free assessment. Confidential & no obligation.