Purpose: Paper and paper products are goods used daily in ordinary life. The production and manufacturing processes require manual handling and machine operation. Since the process involves the use of force and repetitive actions by the human body’s limbs and torso, musculoskeletal discomfort and labor fatigue can develop. By investigating employees of the paper industry, this study provides a differential comparison of musculoskeletal discomfort and labor fatigue for three types of labor: blue-collar, repetitive, and white-collar.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study method is applied in this research. For a certain mediumsized paper manufacturing factory in the northern area, on-site observation and a survey was conducted with a total of 100 effective questionnaires.

Results: Among the paper manufacturing employees surveyed, necks (25.7%) and backs (38.6%) were shown to be the body parts where musculoskeletal discomfort occurs most often. The type of work and the self-aware level of fatigue are correlated statistically. Blue-collar laborers often or always experience fatigue, and those blue-collar workers who feel fatigued constantly for six months comprise the majority, 89.4%. Night shifts (23PM-7AM) and the fi rst day of work each week are the shift and work day when both white-collar and blue-collar workers experience the most serious fatigue. Blue-collar employees of a laborious and repetitive work type spend most of their working hours onsite on the production line. Blue-collar laborers are more often exposed to source fatigue such as heavy workloads, environmental noises, high indoor temperatures, and moving, whereas the whitecollar employees suffer more from weariness of mental strength, pressure, and lack of sleep and rest.

Conclusion: Due to the different exposure sources of fatigue of the different work types among paper industry workers, the resulting factors of musculoskeletal discomfort and fatigue between blue-collar and white-collar employees vary. This study suggests that more attention should be paid to the factor of fatigue and health improvement programs in order to reduce employees’ musculoskeletal injuries and thus effectively decrease any occurrence of musculoskeletal injuries and fatigue.