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By an eHow Contributor

Quality of work life refers to the level of

happiness or dissatisfaction with one's
career. Those who enjoy their careers are
said to have a high quality of work life,
while those who are unhappy or whose
needs are otherwise unfilled are said to have
a low quality of work life.

Ä r

„ Quality of life is defined as
the level of enjoyment in a
person's life. In general, it is
based on many factors. At a
minimum, a person's basic
needs must be met for them
to have a high quality of life--
-they must be generally
healthy, have enough to eat
and have a place to live.
Once a person's basic needs
are met, that person's quality
of life is largely determined
by their own personality,
their desires and their level of
personal fulfillment. A
person with a high quality of
life tends to feel as though all
of their important needs and
wants are fulfilled. They are
generally happy and overall
feel as though their life is
good. A person without
 quality of life is lacking in
one or several basic areas of
his life. For example, the
very ill or those who are no
longer able to care for
themselves or do activities
they enjoy because of
physical, mental or financial
restrictions are often said to
have a low quality of life.

° 


 
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„ Quality of work life is
specifically related to the
level of happiness a person
derives for his career. Each
person has different needs
when it comes to their
careers; the quality level of
their work life is determined
by whether those needs are
being met. While some
people might be content with
a simple minimum wage job
as long as it helps pay the
 bills, others would find such
a job to be too tedious or
involve too much physical
labor and would find such a
position to be highly
unsatisfactory. Thus,
requirements for having a
high "quality of work life"
vary from person to person.
Regardless of their standards,
those with a high quality of
work life generally make
enough to live comfortably,
find their work to be
interesting or engaging and
achieve a level of personal
satisfaction or fulfillment
from the jobs that they do. In
other words, employees who
are generally happy with their
work are said to have a high
quality of work life, and
those who are unhappy or
unfulfilled by their work are
said to have a low quality of
work life.

Ñ
„ While requirements for a
high quality of work life vary
from person to person,
certain factors are generally
required for anyone to have a
high quality of work life.
These minimum factors are
the equivalent of heath, food
and shelter for standard
quality of life; however, they
are more specific to careers
or jobs. For example, to have
a high quality of work life,
generally a person must be
respected at work. Coworkers
and senior level employees
must treat them fairly and
politely. The work must not
cause the employee any
physical discomfort or mental
anguish. The employee must
feel as though he is doing
something enjoyable or at
least not unpleasant. The
worker must feel the salary
he is paid is sufficient for the
work he is doing. Finally, the
employee must feel valued or
 appreciated, as though he is
doing something of
importance for the company.

°  
 


c

„ To achieve a high quality of
work life, it is essential to
choose a job that fulfills your
needs. First, you must
determine what those needs
are. If you want a job that
engages your mind and
challenges you, it is
important to understand that
in advance so you can earn
the qualifications that will
allow you to obtain such a
job. It is helpful if you
choose a job you are
interested in; you need to
consider what your interests
are and research jobs within
those areas. Make a list of
things you are looking for in
a job and speak with a career
 counselor or attend career
fairs to determine which jobs
are most likely to fulfill those
needs. Finally, pay attention
to your interaction with
existing employees when you
go for interviews---the way
you are treated by your boss
and coworkers will have a
tremendous impact on your
quality of work life. You will
want to ensure the culture of
the business matches your
own comfort level.

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„ ÿnfortunately, despite their
best efforts, some people find
themselves with a low quality
of work life. They may be
forced to take a job they don't
enjoy because of personal or
financial circumstances such
as a lack of options or
eduction or qualifications.
 For those with a low quality
of work life who are unable
or unwilling to change jobs, it
is important to cope
effectively with the situation.
ÿnhappy employees can
attempt to improve their
quality of work life by
choosing to focus on the
positive components of their
jobs. A shift in mindset to
focus on the benefits, even if
those benefits are minimal,
can improve the quality of
work life. ÿnhappy
employees can also explore
opportunities to speak to
coworkers and management
to remove factors that reduce
the quality of their work life,
if possible depending on the
job situation.

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Read more: What is the Meaning of "Quality

of Work Life"? | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/about_5079610_mea
ning-quality-work-
life.html#ixzz1GhHx2D23



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It is
impossible to
list all the
rich array of
attributes
he best way of approaching
quality of life measurement is
related to the
concept of to measure the extent to which
"Quality ofpeople's 'happiness
Life", but requirements' are met - ie those
literature has
mentioned requirements which are a
the necessary (although not
following: sufficient) condition of
anyone's happiness - those
 'without which no member of
° the human race can be happy.'

Ability ð
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 %
Adaptation 
&
'
 (
Appreciation
 Basic Needs (("ð()*
Belonging
Control
Demands and
responsibiliti
es cHAT IS QOL? QOL may
Distress be defined as subjective well-
Diversity being. Recognising the
Enhancement subjectivity of QOL is a key to
Enjoyment
Envronment understanding this construct.
Expectations QOL reflects the difference,
Experiences the gap, between the hopes and
Flexibility expectations of a person and
Freedom their present experience.
Fulfilment
Gaps Human adaptation is such that
Gender life expectations are usually
Happiness adjusted so as to lie within the
Health realm of what the individual
Hopes perceives to be possible. This
Identity
Improvement enables people who have
Inclusivity difficult life circumstances to
Integrity/Inta maintain a reasonable QOL.
ctness
Isolation ð+


ðð 
Judgements
Knowledge
Lacks
Living
Conditions uality of Life is tied to
Mismatches perception of 'meaning'. The
 Needs quest for meaning is central to
Opportunities the human condition, and we
-erceptions
-leasure are brought in touch with a
-olitics sense of meaning when we
-ossibilities reflect on that which we have
QOL created, loved, believed in or
Domain: left as a legacy.
existential
QOL
Domain: ð,
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%
 
physical 
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QOL !"56
Domain:
psycological
Religion
Safe
Satisfaction
ur definition of quality of
Secure life is: The degree to which a
Security person enjoys the important
Self-esteem possibilities of his/her life.
Society -ossibilities result from the
Spirituality opportunities and limitations
Status
Stress each person has in his/her life
Truth and reflect the interaction of
Well-being personal and environmental
Wishes factors. Enjoyment has two
Working components: the experience of
Conditions
satisfaction and the possession
or achievement of some
characteristic, as illustrated by
the expression: "She enjoys
good health." Three major life
domains are identified: Being,
Belonging, and Becoming. The
conceptualization of Being,
Belonging, and Becoming as
the domains of quality of life
were developed from the
insights of various writers.
The ¢
  ¢

¢ includes refers to
domain the the
includes person's fit purposeful
the basic with activities
aspects of his/her carried out
"who one environme to achieve
is" and nts and personal
has three also has goals,
sub- three sub- hopes, and
domains. domains. wishes.
-hysical -hysical -ractical
Being Belonging Becoming
includes is defined describes
aspects of as the day-to-day
physical connection actions
health, s the such as
personal person has domestic
hygiene, with activities,
nutrition, his/her paid work,
exercise, physical school or
grooming environme volunteer
, clothing, nts such as activities,
and home, and seeing
physical workplace, to health
appearanc neighbourh or social
e. ood, school needs.
-sycholo and Leisure
gical community Becoming
Being . Social includes
includes Belonging activities
the includes that
person's links with promote
psycholog social relaxation
ical environme and stress
health nts and reduction.
and includes These
adjustmen the sense include
t, of card
cognition acceptance games,
s, by intimate neighbour
feelings, others, hood
and family, walks, and
evaluatio friends, co- family
ns workers, visits, or
concernin and longer
g the self, neighbourh duration
and self- ood and activities
control. community such as
Spiritual . vacations
Being Communit or
reflects y holidays.
personal Belonging Growth
values, represents Becoming
personal access to activities
standards resources promote
of normally the
conduct, available improvem
and to ent or
spiritual community maintenan
beliefs members, ce of
which such as knowledge
may or adequate and skills.
may not income,
be health and
associated social
with services,
organized employme
religions. nt,
educational
and
recreationa
l programs,
and
community
activities.

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 7
7
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B Ô Being
-
 physical
 
 ly able
E to get
I around.
Ô My
N nutrition
and the
G food I
eat.

Ô Being
free of
worry
and
stress.
-
  Ô The
 
 mood I
am
usually
in.

Ô Having
hope for
the
future.
   Ô My own
 
 ideas of
right and
wrong.

Ô The
B -
 house or
 

apartme
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Ô The
L neighbo
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O live in.

N
Ô Being
close to
G people
in my
I  family.
Having
N  


Ô
 a spouse
or
G special
person.

Ô Being
able to
get
á
 professi
onal

 services
 

(medical
 , social,
etc.)
Ô Having
enough
 money.

Ô Doing
things
around
my
house.
-  Ô Working
B  
 at a job
or going
to
E school.

C Ô Outdoor
activitie
O s (walks,
cycling,
etc.)
M O   Ô Indoor
 
 activitie
I s (TV,
cycling,
N etc.)

G
Ô Improvi
ng my
å   physical
 
 health
and
fitness.
 Ô Being
able to
cope
with
changes
in my
life.

ð

 '
 7
7
8

^n quality of life research one

often distinguishes between the
subjective and objective
quality of life. Subjective
quality of life is about feeling
good and being satisfied with
things in general. Objective
quality of life is about
fulfilling the societal and
cultural demands for material
wealth, social status and
physical well-being.

ð

ðð '
 
9
-
he approach to the
measurement of the quality of
life derives from the position
that there are a number of
domains of living. Each
domain contributes to one's
overall assessment of the
quality of life. The domains
include family and friends,
work, neighborhood (shelter),
community, health, education,
and spiritual.
ð8 7
-

  

c-

he City of Vancouver

measures QOL using the
following indicators:
Community Affordability
Measure, Quality of
Employment Measure, Quality
of Housing Measure, Health
Community Measure,
Community Social
Infrastructure, Human Capital
Measure, Community Stress
Measure, Community Safety
Measure, Community
-articipation Measure.

ðc 
.


ÿND- has been publishing

the annual Human
Development Index (HDI) for
countries around the worlkd. It
examines the health, education
and wealth of each nation's
citizens by measuring:

Ô life expectancy
Ô educational
achievement -- adult
literacy plus combined
 primary, secondary and
tertiary enrolment; and
Ô standard of living --
real GD- per capita
based on --- exchange
rates.

ð:
9 '

7093!""#

here are essentially two

perspectives taken in quality of
life research: 


research which considers the
elites' valuation of what the
people need, and 

;

  research which
studies what people want, in
order to improve their quality
of life.

ð

 '
- 

- <
3 
!"*"
 he purpose of the Quality
of Life Index (QOLI) is to
provide a tool for community
development which can be
used to monitor key indicators
that encompass the social,
health, environmental and
economic dimensions of the
quality of life in the
community. The QLI can be
used to comment frequently on
key issues that affect people
and contribute to the public
debate about how to improve
the quality of life in the
community. It is intended to
monitor conditions which
affect the living and working
conditions of people and focus
community action on ways to
improve health. Indicators for
the QOLI include:

Ô SOCIAL: Children in
care of Children´s Aid
Societies; social
 assistance
beneficiaries; public
housing waiting lists
etc.
Ô HEALTH: Low birth
weight babies; elderly
waiting for placement
in long term care
facilities; suicide rates
etc.
Ô ECONOMIC: Number
of people unemployed;
number of people
working; bankruptcies
etc.
Ô ENVIRONMENTAL:
Hours of
moderate/poor air
quality; environmental
spills; tonnes diverted
from landfill to blue
boxes etc.

÷
O is the product

of the interplay among social,
health, economic and
environmental conditions
which affect human and social
development.



9 

 !""#

ow does QOL compare

with 'Standards of Living'?

 O
 is a
measure of the quantity and
quality of goods and services
available to people. It meaures
such aspects as GD- -er
Capita, life expectency,
Births/1000, Infant
Mortality/1000, Doctors/1000,
Cars/1000, TV/1000,
Telephones/1000, Literacy
levels, %GD- spent on
Education, %GD- spent on
Health, Cinema attendence,
Newspaper circulation,
Fertility Rate, Density,
-opulation per dwelling, etc.
÷
O is the product
of the interplay among social,
 health, economic and
environmental conditions
which affect human and social
development.