Introduction
In modern scenario, Quality of work life (QWL), as a strategy of HRM is being recognized as the ultimate key development among all the work systems. This should be the basic strategy of any organization towards its wholesome growth. Today’s workforce consists of literate workers who except more than just money from their work. Apart from money and job security, there are some other requirements which are contributing smooth functioning of the organization. Over the years, Industrial revolution, IT revolution has urged an imperative need to look in to the QWL in a new perspective. Again the new global workplace demands prerequisites such as higher order thinking skills like experimental enquiry, problem solving and team work.
Quality of work life (QWL) was conceptualized in terms of need satisfaction stemming from an interaction of workers' needs (survival, social, ego, and self-actualization needs) and those organizational resources relevant for meeting them. It was hypothesized that need satisfaction (or QWL) is positively related to organizational identification, job satisfaction, job involvement, job effort, and job performance; and negatively related to personal alienation.
Concept
Ø Quality of work life is what exact quality an employee has on his living environment due to the condition which he set by being employed.
Ø It can be the status that he gets it in the society or his increasingly spending capacity or the overall environment available for him in his work life.
Ø It is totally a physically as well as psychological combination of satisfying tangible and intangible needs of a person by virtue of his profession.
Ø The QWL approach considers people as an asset to the organization rather than as costs. It believes that people perform better when they are allowed to participate in managing their work and making decision.
Ø Quality of work life (QWL) is viewed as an alternative to the control approach of managing people.
Ø This is integral to any organization towards its wholesome growth. This is attempted on par with improved strategies of Customer Relation Management.
Ø Over the years, since industrial revolution, much experimentation has gone into exploiting the potential of human capital in work areas either explicitly or implicitly.
Ø Thanks to the revolution in advanced technology, the imperative need to look into the QWL in a new perspective is felt and deliberated upon. Major companies are tirelessly implementing this paradigm in Human Resources Development (some call it People's Excellence). Globalization has lowered national boundaries, creating a knowledge-based economy that spins and spans the world.
Ø Through good Human Resource Management and practices this self-motivation chip can be instilled in the organizational behavior leading to excelling performance.
Role of HR manager in implementing QWL
The HR department can develop a bundle of systems that can together create a highly motivational culture such as:
1. Executive compensation policy as per the performance of the program
2. Proper incentive for extra work or smart work
3. Providing ESOP, company issues its share to star performers.
4. Creating a proper culture or environment: Employers should instill in the workers the feeling of trust and confidence by creating appropriate work culture and reducing various short comings. It improves the feelings of job security.
5. Creating an environment for team work
6. Encouraging for participation and communication
7. Considering no economic aspects like recognition, self respect, growth and advancement.
8. Providing proper working conditions by reducing chances of accidents which cause health problem, by providing transport facility etc.
9. Reducing time spent on work- to help employees work smarter rather than harder and establishing a life work balance for more job satisfaction.
10. Development of an off hour recreation program for employees to relax in work place. The Japanese are far advanced in this than any other country.
11. Gymnasiums which are nowadays part of any organization’s premises, allow employees to even take a nap or just sniff pure oxygen during their lunch breaks. This approach encourages informal team activities and spirit to spread at the workplace.
Hertzberg when conducting a research on job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction on a sample of 1,685 employees, had found out that that their satisfaction is derived from ‘a job related’ factors that are directly influencing their feelings (81%) and only (69%) of their job dissatisfaction is caused by ‘job context’ factors such as the style of management, policies and procedures, the workplace, and the members of the team.
- This approach motivates people by satisfying not only their economic needs but also their social and psychological ones.
- To satisfy the new generation workforce, organizations need to concentrate on job designs and organization of work.
- Further, today's workforce is realizing the importance of relationships and is trying to strike a balance between career and personal lives.
- Successful organizations support and provide facilities to their people to help them to balance the scales.
- In this process, organizations are coming up with new and innovative ideas to improve the quality of work and quality of work life of every individual in the organization.
- Various programs like flex time, alternative work schedules, compressed work weeks, telecommuting etc., are being adopted by these organizations.
- Technological advances further help organizations to implement these programs successfully.
- Organizations are enjoying the fruits of implementing QWL programs in the form of increased productivity, and an efficient, satisfied, and committed workforce which aims to achieve organizational objectives.
- The future work world will also have more women entrepreneurs and they will encourage and adopt QWL programs.
Conclusion
Quality of work life (QWL) is not a single theory or technique; it’s not a job-enrichment, profit-sharing or incentive scheme. QWL is a process of joint decision making, collaboration and building mutual respect between management and employees. This process seems to cause a change in people—in how they feel about themselves, their work and each other. It is this change in the human climate that QWL advocates claim increases satisfaction and facilitates better solutions to management and production problems.
QWL endeavors have taken a variety of forms. General Motors, America’s largest industrial employer, has made a major commitment to QWL and has plant-level labor-management committees involved in everything from specifying tools and setting up safety committees to altering traffic flow and redesigning jobs. The move to improve the quality of working life is not just a humanistic cause or productivity campaign. Rather, it indicates a growing belief that the future of any industry lies in finding more effective and democratic ways of supporting and using skills, energy and ideas of people.