QUALITY OF WORK

LIFE

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 Concept of QWL

The concept of “QWL originated in India in mid-

1970s when the country was passing trough a

phase of intense labor unrest

However, it failed to take roots

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 What is QWL?
 QWL has been defined as “the quality of
relationship between employees and the total
working environment”
 Seeks to create conditions which
 Promote individual learning and development
 Provide individuals with influence and control
over what they do and how they do
 Make available to the individuals interesting
and meaningful work 3
 What is QWL?

 Refers to

 Concern about the impact of work on people

as well as on organizational effectiveness

 The idea of participation in organizational

problem solving and decision-making

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 What is QWL?

 According to Walton, it is a process by which an

organization responds to employee needs for

developing mechanisms to allow them to share

fully in making the decisions that design their lives

at work

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 What is QWL?
 Eight criteria
 Adequate and fair compensation
 Safe and healthy environment
 Development of human capacities
 Growth and security
 Social integration
 Constitutionalism
 Total life space
 Social relevance 6
 What is QWL?

 Overall, QWL is related to

 Job satisfaction, humanizing work or

individualizing the organization

 OD programmers

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 2 important areas…
 Impact of work and the work environment
on employees and organizational
productivity

 It focuses on improving the conditions of

work to create a supportive and healthy
work environment
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 Redesigning organizations was
triggered by a number of factors:
 Globalization

Competition

Timely delivery

Quality

Cost

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 Redesigning organizations was
triggered by a number of factors:

 Work environment

Unhygienic environment

Stressed out employees

Profitability of organizations was affected

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 Redesigning organizations was
triggered by a number of factors:

 Productivity

 Falling productivity became a major

concern
 Ill-health and ineffectiveness of

organizations was the cause

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 Redesigning organizations was
triggered by a number of factors:

 Technology

 Advanced technology helps to

accomplish complex tasks

 Reduction in production and

operational costs

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 Redesigning organizations was
triggered by a number of factors:

 Profile of workforce

o more educated, informed, affluent,

independent and refined

o women workforce coming into

limelight

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 The needs….

 Provision of a safe and healthy environment

 Establishment of effective supervision and

management

 Adequate and fair compensation

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 The needs….

 Development of work skills

 Creation of a positive attitude towards work

and the organization

 Effective management of change and

transition
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 Benefits of QWL

• Healthy environment

• Productive workforce

• Opportunities for learning and professional

growth

• Employee participation in decision-making

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 Benefits of QWL

• Better communication between labor and

management

• Fair compensation and security for workers

• It builds mutual trust among the members of

the organization
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 Benefits of QWL

• More positive feelings towards one’s self

• More positive feelings towards one’s job

• More positive feelings towards the

organization

• Improved physical and psychological health

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 Benefits of QWL

• Greater growth and development of the

individual

• Decreased absenteeism and turnover

• Higher quality and quantity of output

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Potential difficulties of QWL

If QWL initiatives are collaboratively launched

by the management and the union

•Management feels it might result in

loss of managerial control over the
union

•Union fears it might be overpowered

by the management
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 Strategies for improving QWL
J Richard Hackman and J L Suttle have
recommended 6 strategies to improve QWL in
organizations:
 Effective career guidance
 Reward Systems
 Role of supervision and management
 Job design
 Design and maintaining group and inter-
group relationships
 Internal and external strategies for change
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