Do You Have Quality Of Working Life?

Most of us spend a good part of our lives working, but we don’t always stop to think if we actually have a good quality of work life or not. Although we are in the 21st century, the idea that work necessarily generates sacrifice and even suffering is still very widespread.

The main source of income for most of the planet’s inhabitants is work. For this reason, the fundamental motivation for many is simply to have the necessary resources to survive and satisfy their consumption needs. Regardless of whether or not this is so, the truth is that we all have the right and the duty  to have a good quality of working life.

A part of this quality of working life is provided by the employer ; another is run by co-workers. Likewise, the activity and the conditions in which it is carried out have to do with this; finally, we ourselves enrich this area of ​​work or not.

What is the quality of working life?

It is not easy to define the concept of quality of working life, since there are many factors involved in this and several of them are strictly subjective. In general terms, we could say that the quality of working life exists when a worker basically experiences positive feelings towards the work they do and towards the organization where they carry it out.

It must be said that these positive feelings are born from many factors, which not only depend on the worker , but also on the organization. It implies the existence of objective and subjective conditions, which together lead the worker to make and feel his balance as positive.

There are some connoisseurs of the subject who do not put so much emphasis on the emotional aspect, but refer to other parameters to define the quality of work life. From this perspective, said quality has to do with the possibilities offered by work so that a person can and wants to develop their potential  in all dimensions of their life.

The objective factors of the quality of working life

For there to be quality of working life, minimum objective conditions must be met. These are the ones that generate, in principle, the positive feeling in the worker and the perception of being in a process of growth from their work.

The most notable objective factors are the following:

• Physical environment. It refers to the facilities in which the worker carries out his tasks. They include aspects such as ergonomics of the workplace, light, temperature, personal space, distance to the home, etc.

• Technological environment. It has to do with the equipment that the worker uses to carry out their work and their efficiency or functionality.
• Contractual environment. It basically includes two components that are definitive in the worker’s feeling of satisfaction. One is salary and the other is job security.
• Productive environment. It refers to the volume of tasks that a worker must carry out and the hours in which they must be carried out. It also includes a crucial element which is the possibility of promotion or promotion.

Subjective factors

In order for there to be a good quality of working life, there is also a whole set of subjective factors, which affect the satisfaction and well-being of the worker. They are subjective because they depend more on personal perception than on measurable data. The subjective factors are:

• Professional activity. This factor is related to the degree of satisfaction that the work provides to each worker.
• Relations between the work team. It refers to the quality of the links established with co-workers and with managers.
• Perception of leadership. A person feels better in his work when he perceives that the person who directs his work is a valuable person and shows leadership skills.
• Private sphere. When there are problems in personal life, the most common is that the quality of work life is deteriorated.
• Esperanza. It refers to the way in which the worker imagines his situation within the organization, in the future tense. The more hopeful that future is, the more satisfaction there will be.

The quality of work life is essential for personal balance. It is also a determining factor for the smooth running of an organization and has been proven to affect its productivity. Likewise, in the long term it generates a better reputation for a company, reduces absenteeism and promotes creativity.