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on the reviews. Improving the Quality of Work Life, barriers and Issues of QWLdescribed.However, there is positive and significant relationship between QWL and employees jobsatisfaction. QWL practice involves acquiring, training developing, motivating and

appraisingfor the best performance of the employees as per Organizational objectives. QWLprovides forthe balanced relationship amongwork, non-work and family aspects of life. We therefore, haveundertaken this study influence of workers QWL.KEYWORDS:QWL, Quality of Work Life, Employees, Organizations, Quality Circles.________________________________________________________________

__________INTRODUCTIONThe Quality of Work Life (QWL) has assumed increasingly interest and importance inall thecountries of the World. It is very significant in the context of commitment to work,motivationand job performance. It is also means to facilitate the gratification of human needs and goalachievement. Work life naturally means the life of workers, physical and intellectual,in theirwork environment in office or factory or field-working. What is expected of the worker? Whatare the conditions of the work place? What is the compensation that the worker gets? What arethe incentives offered to him? How about his contentment with the work environmentand thecompensation? These are the questions to be tackled by the Researcher in anystudy of work life.Quality of work Life is referred to as humanizing the working life and emphasizing the

humanfactor. It mostly refers to favorableness or unfavourableness of a job environment forthe peopleinvolved in it. The basic objective is to develop jobsthat are excellent for people as well as forproduction. So we can see the basic questions of Quality Work Life....IRJCInternational Journal of Marketing, Financial Services & Management ResearchVol.1 Issue 10,October 2012, ISSN 2277 3622

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141What is Quality? Quality is the ability of a product or service to consistently meet orexceed customer expectations.What is work? Work can

be defined as the application of discretion within limits in orderto produce a result.What is work life? Work life does not merely means the facilities provided to theemployees during office hours. It comprises of all the collusive feelings, which reside in themind of the employee while he works in the organization, he is in the office or awayfrom it.MEANING OF QWLQuality of work Life is a Persons life. It covers a persons feelings about everydimension of work including economic rewards and benefits, security, working condition,

Organizational and interpersonal relations and its intrinsic meaning in persons life.Thereforewe can simply say Q.W.L. is a concern not only to improve life at work, but also lifeoutsidework.VARIOUSDEFINITIONSOFQUALITY OF WORK LIFEFirst definition 1969-

1972Quality of Work Life = VariableSecond definition 1969-1975 Quality of Work Life = ApproachThird definition 1972-1975 Quality of Work Life = MethodsFourth definition 1975-1

980 Quality of Work Life = MovementsFifth definition 1979-1982 Quality of Work Life = EverythingSixth definition Quality of Work Life = EverythingThe term Quality of Work Life has different connotation to differentpersons. And also Robbins (1989) defines QWL as a process by which anOrganizationresponds to employee needs by developing mechanisms to allow them to share fully

in makingthe decisions that design their lives at work.

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London conductedObjectivesof Q.W.L.To improve the standard of living of the employees.

To increase the productivityTo create a positive attitude in the minds of the employees.To increase the effectiveness of the organization (profitability, goal accomplishmentetc.,)IRJCInternational Journal of Marketing, Financial Services & Management ResearchVol.1 Issue 10,October 2012, ISSN 2277 3622


142ORIGION OF THE CONCEPTAfter Industrial Revolution, the importance of human factor reduced because of thevastmechanization. Various problems like job dissatisfaction, boredom, absenteeism,lack ofcommitment etc came up.Most management theories give emphasis on production, manipulating the skills of

employees.Tavy stock Institute of Human Relations me research on workers problems inIndustrialworld and they produced a study approach called Socio-technical system in which theygave great importance to job design to satisfy human needs adequately and the need forQ.W.L. in an organization was emphasized.LITERATURE REVIEWCohen and Rosenthal (1980)describes QWL as an intentionally designed effort tobringout increased labour management, and co-operation to jointly solve the problem of improvingorganizational performance and employees satisfaction.According to Walton, (2005).He proposed eight major conceptual categories relatingto

QWL as (1) adequate and fair compensation, (2)safe and healthy working conditions, (3)

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immediately opportunity for continued growth and security, (4) Opportunity to useand develophuman capacities, (5) Social integration in the work organization, (6),Constitutionalism in thework organization, (7),

Work and total life space and (8), Social relevance of work life. Severalpublished works have addressed the constructs that make up the QWL domain andkey elementsof QWL programs.Cherg.S saysin a High Quality of work life there should be apositive impact on personallife, an opportunity to be involved in decision as well as acceptable level of physicalcomfort.The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment excellence,regardless

of their chosen field of endeavor.-Vincent LombardiHack man and Oldham(1976)drew attention to what they described as psychologicalgrowth needs as relevant to the consideration of Quality of working life. Several suchneeds wereidentified: Skill variety, Task Identity, Task significance, Autonomy and Feedback. Theysuggested that such needs have to be addressed if employees are to experiencehigh quality ofworking life.GENERAL CONCEPT OF Q.W.L.The concept was being given potential importance right from early 1950s. It is interpretedand viewed in different ways.Management and supervisory styleIRJCInternational Journal of Marketing, Financial Services & Management ResearchVol.1 Issue 10

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143Freedom and autonomy to make decision on the jobSatisfactory Physical surroundingsJob safetyMeaningful tasks.

HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENTS ROLEThe role of human res

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ource department in QWL efforts varies widely. In someorganizations,top management appoints an executive to ensure that QWL and productivity effortsoccurthroughout the organization. In most cases, these executives have a small staff and

mustrely on the human resource department for help with employee training, communications,attitude survey feedback, and similar assistance. In other organizations, thedepartment isresponsible for initiating and directing the firms QWL and productivity efforts. Perhaps themost crucial role of the department is winning the support of key managers.Managementsupport particularly top management support appears to be an almost universalprerequisite for

successful QWL programs. By substantiating employee satisfactionand bottom-line benefits,which range from lower absenteeism and turnover to higherproductivity and fewer accidents, thedepartment can help convince doubting managers. Thepolicies and practices of the departmentalso influence motivation and satisfaction indirectly. Rigorous enforced safety and healthprograms, for example, can give employees and supervisors a greater sense ofsafety fromaccidents and industrial health hazards. The motivation and satisfaction ofemployees act asfeedback on the organizations QWL and on the departments day-to-day activities.

QWL IN INDIAThe quality of work Life (QWL) Apart from ensuring fair pay, the fair treatment ofemployees and safe working conditions, many companies respond to specificemployee needs. InIndia, some of the companies that emphasize the quality of work life are Hewlett-Packard, SmithKline Beecham, American Express, Colgate Palmolive, Gillette, Dr.ReddysLaboratories,Reliance and Maruti Udyog Limited.HP allows flexible working arrangements for its

employees

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and follows certain innovative practices such as allowing employees to avail leavefor specialoccasions (marriage, exam preparation, adoption of a child, bereavement in thefamily, andpaternity). QWL in India has emerged as a movement. Followi

ng are the factors that led to theQWL movement in our country:1.Changing profile of the Indian worker from and illiterate, rural, low caste individual toeducated, urban and essentially belonging to upper strata of caste structure hasmadehim/her more concern for own hopes and aspirations.2.That worker is not just like other factors of production such as, machinery, land, andcapital but a human being with feelings and emotions, has made organizations

behavewith workers accordingly. The establishment of aseparate Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment by the Government of India is a testimony to such realization.IRJCInternational Journal of Marketing, Financial Services & Management ResearchVol.1 Issue 10,October 2012, ISSN 2277 3622

www.indianrese

archjournals.com1443.In India, around 10 per cent of workers in organized sector are unionized. The pastrecordrelation to labour unions lends enough evidence thatthe unionized work force has beenmuch vocal for demands of one type or other.4.That human behavior is highly unpredictable and complex underlines the need forthestudy of organizational behavior. QWL is one of the newer concepts experimentinghowto makeeffective utilization of human resources.QWL in India seems in practice in a variety of operational systems like workersparticipation, job enrichment, quality circles, etc. Here, an attempt has been made togive anoverview of these in terms of their broad coverage and experiences of Indian organization withthem.

WHY NEED QUALITY OF WORK LIFE?In current scenario every

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Adequate and Fair compensation2.Safe and healthy working conditionsIRJCInternational Journal of Marketing, Financial Services & Management ResearchVol.1 Issue 10

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1453.Opportunity to develop human capacities4.Opportunity for career growth

5.Social integration in theworkforce6.Constitutionalism7.Work and Quality of Life8.Social relevanceMEASURES TO IMPROVE QWLA) QWL THROUGH EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT (EI

): One of the most common methods usedto create QWL is employee involvement.Employee involvement(EI) consistsof a variety ofsystematic methods that empower employees toparticipate in the decisions that affect them andtheir relationship with the organization.Through (EI), employees feel a sense of responsibility,even ownership of decisions in which they participate.To be successful, however, EI must be more than just a systematic approach; it mustbecomepart of the organizations culture by being part of managementsphilosophy. Some companieshave had this philosophy ingrained in their corporate structure for decades; Hewlett-Packard,IBM, General Motors, Ford, etc.B) QUALITY CIRCLES:

Quality circles are small groups of employees who meetregularly

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with their common leaderto identify and solve work-related problems. They are ahighly specifi

c form of teambuilding, which are common in Japan and gained popularity inNorth America in the late1970s and early 1980s. By the 1980s most medium-and large-sized

Japanese firms hadquality control circles for hourly employees. This effort began as a qualityimprovementprogram but has since become a routine procedure for many Japanese managersandcornerstone of QWL efforts in many Japanese firms.Several characteristics make this approach unique.First, membership in the circle involuntary for both the leader (usually the supervisor) andthe members (usually hourlyworkers). Secondly, the creation of quality circles is usually preceded by in-housetraining.For supervisors these sessions typically last for two or three days. Most of the time isdevoted.to discussions of small

-group dynamics, leadership skills, and indoctrination in theQWL and quality circle philosophies. About a day is spent on the differentapproaches toproblem-solving techniques.The workers also receive an explanation of the supervisors role as the groups discussionleader and information on the quality circle concept. Thirdly, as is pointed out in thetraining, the

group is permitted to select the problems it wants to tackle. Management maysuggest problems

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of concern, but thegroup is empowered to decide which ones to select. Ideally, the selectionprocess is not by democratic vote but is arrived at by consensus, whereby everyone agrees on theproblem to be tackled.

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146(If management has been pressing problems that need to be solved, these problems can be

handled in the same way that they were resolved before the introduction of qualitycircles).When employees are allowed to select the problems they want to work on, they arelikely tobemore motivated to find solutions. And theyare also more likely to bemotivated to stay on asmembers of the circle and solve additional problems in the future.C)SOCIO

-TECHNICAL SYSTEMS:Another intervention to improve QWL is the use ofsocio-technical systems. Socio-technical systems are interventions in the work situation thatrestructure the work, the work groups, and the relationship between workers and thetechnologiesthey use to do their jobs. More thanjust enlarging or enriching a job, these approaches mayresult in more radicalchanges in the work environment.D)AUTONOMOUS WORK GROUP:A more common, still rare, approach to employeeinvolvement is the use of autonomous work groups. These are teams of workers,without a

formal company-

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appointed leader, whodecide among themselves most decisions traditionallyhandled by supervisors. The keyfeature of these groups is a high degree of self

-determination by employeesin themanagement of their day-to-day work. Typically this includes collective control over thepace of work, distribution of tasks, organization of breaks, and collective participation in therecruitment and training of new members. Direct supervision is often necessary.

QWL is more likely to improve as workers demand jobs with more behavioralelements.These demands will probably emerge from an increasingly diverse and educated work force thatexpects more challenges and more autonomy in its jobs such as workerparticipationindecisions traditionally reserved for management.BARRIERS TO QWLo

Resistance to changeboth by management and employees.o

There is a general perception that Q.W.L. implementation will cost much to theorganizationo

Continuous increase in QWL may result in less productivity, i.e.., after a certainlevelthe productivity will not increase in proportion to the increase in QWL.o

Widespread unhappiness due to comparison with colleagues.o

Regional prejudiceo

Skepticism about the performance appraisal system and promotion criteria.HOW TOIMPROVETHE QWL?In our country, recently many changes have introduced in the Government policies likeprivatization. The Government organizations are mismanaged incurring heavy losson public

money either due to corruption by bureaucrats intervention of politicians and TradeUnion

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147leaders and their affiliated political parties with the motives of winning elections. The scope fortransfer of technology has increased and inflow of investments from non-resident Indiansallowed. The privatization created many avenues for many unemployed people byreducing

severity ofthe problem. Hence, it is absolutely necessary to improvement in the Quality of WorkLife of our country.Following are some suggestions that can help, to a large extent, improve Quality ofworking lifein India:THE EMPLOYERS SHOULDProvide physical amenities at the work place, health and safety and welfare provision.Involve workers in decision-

making on all matters.Initiate suitable forms of work designFormalize QWL experience for future use.Develop an appreciation of changing environment.THE UNIONS AND WORKERS SHOULDEducate and make workers aware of QWL.Identify areas of collaboration with management.Encourage workers to participate in QWL activities.THE PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SHOULDOrganize workshops and seminars to bring about greaterawareness of QWL.Initiate specific research projects in this field.Provide professional assistance to organizations to help generate internalcompetence.Develop state-ofart profiles on QWL.

THE GOVERNMENT SHOULDLegislate standards and norms in newer

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areas.Execute in policy to provide greater autonomy experiment with QWL.Execute actions to ensure implementation of legislated facilities.IRJCInternational Journal of Marketing, Financial Services & Management ResearchVol.1 Issue 10

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148Encourage and adopt appropriate technology.Find projects on QWL.TOP TEN TIPSTO IMPROVE QUALITY OF WORK LIFE (BY

JUDY WORRELL&BRIAN WARD)The following ten tips are designed to get one thinking. They apply as much to theCEO asthey do to the front line worker:1)HAVING A PERSONAL VISION-of who you want to be and what you want to do-

keep in mind that if you do not have one for yourself, you will likely become part ofsomeone else's vision!2) TEST OUT ONES OWN PERSONAL VISION-with that of your organizations-inhow many waysdo they support each other? Ask questions to better understand yourorganization's mission, vision, and values.3) LEARN, AND KEEP ON LEARNING-go training sessions and in-services, enroll incollege courses, read books. Know why, not just how.4) BUDDY-

UP-

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find ways to share the load with other team members. Sharing the loadmakes work easier to manage and less stressful.5) SHARE YOUR SUCCESSES-

this allows you to learn from the successes of others, aswell as giving you a boost when you need6) GET IT OFF YOUR CHEST-talk things over with your buddy, friend, supervisor whenthings troubleyou, dont keep it bottled up inside.7) FIND JOY IN BEING OF SERVICE TO OTHERS-think about how the person you areserving is

better off as a result of your work, rejoice n that knowledge.8) TAKE TIME FOR BREAKS-pay particular attention to the need to refresh body, mindand spirit.9) TRY OUT NEW IDEAS-to innovate is to grow. By using your creativity and innovationlifebecomes exciting and fulfilling.10) HAVE FUN AT WORK-laughter is the best medicine, but use only appropriatehumor. Damaging someone elses self esteem for the fun of it is no laughing matter.

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