QUALITY OF WORK -LIFE INTRODUCTION

According to Rose, Beh, Uli and Idris (2006) QWL is a philosophy or a set of principles, which holds that people are trustworthy, responsible and capable of making a valuable contribution to the organization. It also involves treating people with respect. The elements that are relevant to an individuals QWL include the task, the physical work environment, the social environment within the organization, administrative system and a relationship between life on and off the job (Rose, Beh, Uli & Idris, 2006). Dolan, Garcia, Cabezas and Tzafrir (2008) state that the concern for QWL has preoccupied social scientists for the past several decades. QWL is a major issue for employees, and how organizations deal with this issue is both of academic and practical significance. Therefore, it is no wonder that thousands of studies have revolved around the concept of job satisfaction and stress as core concepts. QWL and its relationship with employee health and performance has become an explicit objective for many of the human resource policies in modern organizations (Dolan, Saba, Jackson & Schuler, 2007).

QUALITY OF WORK- LIFE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In today's high tech, fast-paced world, the work environment is very different than it was a generation ago. According to the Institute of Industrial Engineers, it is not uncommon for a person to change careers an average of six times in his or her lifetime. It is now rare for a person to stay with a single company his or her entire working life. Because employees are often willing to leave a company for better opportunities, companies need to find ways not only to hire qualified people, but also to retain them. Unfortunately, many employees these days feel they are working harder, faster, and longer hours than ever before. Job-related employee stress can lead to lack of commitment to the corporation, poor productivity, and even leaving the company; all of which are of serious concern to management. Many employees bring work home with them on a regular basis, especially now that it is so easy for them to do that. With the wide availability of cell phones, pagers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and computers, employees find it harder to get away from the office. One of the more stressful professions today is in the Information Technology (IT) field. Not long ago, IT professionals were extremely well respected and in demand. As technology advanced rapidly, there was a high demand for programmers and engineers. Most had their choice of high-paying jobs as technology companies competed to recruit the best of them. This is not the case today. In June 2004, Meta Group, Inc. surveyed 650 companies and found that nearly 75 percent of the companies acknowledged morale problems among their IT staffs. This number was up from the year before, which showed that two-thirds cited poor worker morale as an issue. Perhaps this is because the U.S. technology sector experienced widespread layoffs during the third quarter of 2004. In general, when layoffs happen the remaining employees are forced to pick up the workload of those who were laid off. This leads to added responsibility and longer work hours, often without additional compensation. This in turn leads to stress, burnout, and resentment. Other causes of employee dissatisfaction include low wages, lack of challenges, insufficient resources, unrealistic expectations, pressure to produce, willfully blind management, unreasonable policies and procedures, difficulty balancing family and work, and increased health benefit costs. As employers try to address employee turnover and job satisfaction issues, they must first determine what the issues are. Several companies have convened focus groups and conducted employee-satisfaction surveys to find out how their employees feel and to determine what they can do to make their employees happy. Founded in 1989, FWI is known for ahead of the curve, non-partisan research into emerging work-life issues; for solutions-oriented studies addressing topics of vital importance to

all sectors of society; and for fostering connections among workplaces, families, and communities." Every five years FWI conducts the National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW), a nationally representative sample of employed workers designed to collect and compile information on the work and personal/family lives of the U.S. workforce. The study is widely used by policy makers, employers, the media, and all those interested in the widespread impacts of the changing conditions of work and home life. The 2002 NSCW showed a slight increase from 1992 in the number of companies that offer work-life supports on the joboth specific benefit entitlements and less formal policies and practices. Despite this, the survey showed a large increase in the number of employees with families who felt there was interference between their jobs and their family lives, than employees 25 years ago. The NSCW also found "the importance of supportive work-life policies and practices, such as flexible work arrangements, is clearhen they are available, employees exhibit more positive work outcomes, such as job satisfaction, commitment to employer, and retention, as well as more positive life outcomes, such as less interference between job and family life, less negative spillover from job to home, greater life satisfaction, and better mental health." What does this mean to the employer? As more companies start to realize that a happy employee is a productive employee, they have started to look for ways to improve the work environment. Many have implemented various work-life programs to help employees, including alternate work arrangements, onsite childcare, exercise facilities, relaxed dress codes, and more. Quality-of-work-life programs go beyond work/life programs by focusing attention less on employee needs outside of work and realizing that job stress and the quality of life at work is even more direct bearing on worker satisfaction. Open communications, mentoring programs, and fostering more amicable relationships among workers are some of the ways employers are improving the quality of work life. The 1998 BWLS enables us to assess the extent to which businesses are addressing some of the factors we have identified as predictive of workers. productivity and wellbeing. Specifically, we ask: . To what extent do companies provide benefits, programs, and policies and create supportive workplace environments that address the work-life needs of their employees? . What are the characteristics of companies most likely to provide this assistance and support?

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

How organizations are handling human resource by providing a favourable working environment and attending to their workers need to ensure quality of work life?

(1) STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES / RESEARCH OBJECTIVE To Study QWL in Vadilal Industries Ltd. To Find out how quality work life leads to high satisfaction. To know existing working conditions , industrial health & safety help to improve QWL To study how training & development helps to improve the QWL To study how welfare & other benefits help in better QWL

LITERATURE REVIEW
This article reviews literature on quality of work life (QWL) in terms of its meaning and constructs specifically from the perspective of information technology (IT) professionals. We first review the definitions of QWL in order to come up with a conclusive meaning of QWL. Secondly, we describe who IT professionals are and why QWL is significant to them. Thirdly, we discuss the theoretical constructs of QWL and research that used these constructs to highlight their significance to IT profession and organizational performance. Finally, we conclude by formulating a conceptual paradigm of QWL that may inspire future research in the realm QWL. As the work culture changes drastically in the recent years, the traditional concept of work to fulfils humans basic needs are also facing out. The basic needs are continued to diversify and change according to the evolution of the work system and standards of living of a workforce. Thus a definition by Suttle (1977) on the QWL as the degree to which work are able to satisfy important personal basic needs through their experience in the organisation is no longer relevant. Generally jobs in the contemporary work environment offer sufficient rewards, benefits, recognition and control to employees over their actions. Although to some extent contemporary workforce are compensated appropriately, their personal spending practices, lifestyles, leisure activities, individual value systems, health and so forth can affect their levels of need. It is similar to the argument posted in the Maslows hierarchy of needs in which each individual has different level of needs because in reality what is important to some employees may not be important to others although they are being treated equally in the same organization. This definition, focusing on personal needs has neglected the fact that the construct of QWL is subjective and continuously evolves due to an evergrowing needs of each and every employees. Hackman and Oldhams (1980) further highlight the constructs of QWL in relation to the interaction between work environment and personal needs. The work environment that is able to fulfill employees personal needs is considered to provide a positive interaction effect, which will lead to an excellent QWL. They emphasized the personal needs are satisfied when rewards from the organisation, such as compensation, promotion, recognition and development meet their expectations. Parallel to this definition, Lawler (1982) defines QWL in terms of job characteristics and work conditions. Later definition by Beukema (1987) describes QWL as the degree to which employees are able to shape their jobs actively, in accordance with their options, interests and needs. It is the degree of power an organization gives to its employees to design their work. This means that the individual employee has the full freedom to design his job functions to meet his personal needs and interests. This definition emphasizes the individuals choice of interest in carrying out the task. However, this definition differs from the former which stresses on the organization that designs the job to meet employees interest. It is difficult for the organization to fulfill the personal needs and values of each employee.

In the same vein Heskett, Sasser and Schlesinger (1997) define QWL as the feelings that employees have towards their jobs, colleagues and organizations that ignite a chain leading to the organizations growth and profitability. A good feeling towards their job means the employees feel happy doing work which will lead to a productive work environment. This definition provides an insight that the satisfying work environment is considered to provide better QWL. This review on the definitions of QWL indicates that QWL is a multi-dimensional construct, made up of a number of interrelated factors that need careful consideration to conceptualize and measure. It is associated with job satisfaction, job involvement, motivation, productivity, health, safety and well-being, job security, competence development and balance between work and non work life as is conceptualized by European Foundation for the Improvement of Living Conditions (2002). To summarize, QWL is viewed as a wide-ranging concept, which includes adequate and fair remuneration, safe and healthy working conditions and social integration in the work organization that enables an individual to develop and use all his or her capacities. Most of the definitions aim at achieving the effective work environment that meets with the organizational and personal needs and values that promote health, well being, job security, job satisfaction, competency development and balance between work and non-work life. The definitions also emphasize the good feeling perceived from the interaction between the individuals and the work environment. Understanding the nature of work in the contemporary environment, we define QWL as the effectiveness of work environment that transmit to the meaningful organizational and personal needs in shaping the values of the employees that support and promote better health and well-being, job security, job satisfaction, competency development and balance between work and non-work life. This definition quantifies the QWL among the IT professionals with the aim to gain leverage in recruiting, motivating and retaining the valuable IT workforce as the nature of work continues to diversify.

2) RESEARCH DESIGN
There are 2 types of Research design CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH. The study is based on descriptive research design

SAMPLING PROCEDURE:-

There was a little scope for change consideration in this study therefore simple random sampling is used.

Methodology
TYPES OF DATA AND ITS SOURCE The researcher can gather secondary data primary data, or both. Secondary data are data that work collected for another purpose and already exist somewhere. PRIMARY DATA Primary data are freshly gathered data for a specific purpose or for specific research project. I have used primary data in order to conduct our research by the way of questionnaire forming and making them filled up by the selected respondents. SECONDARY DATA Researchers usually start their investigation by examining secondary data to see whether the problem can be partly or holy sold without collecting costly primary data. Secondary data are statistics not gathered for the immediate study at hand but for some other purposes.

 SAMPLING DECISIONS Sampling decisions are very important for any research study conduct as in we have to decide in what way we shall choose the sample and in how to conduct the research to get the perfect conclusions. DATA COLLECTION METHODS After deciding the source of data, the next step is to decide the methods of obtaining data from the particular source. The methods of obtaining data are adopted in accordance with the objectives and nature of the research methodology. The main 2 methods of obtaining data are: Observation Communication

DATA COLLECTION TOOLS Researchers have a choice of 2 main research instruments in collecting primary data. QUESTIONNAIRE QUALITATIVE MEASURES

FIELD WORK Management field force can play a significant role in research. It is not only reduce efforts but even helps in completion of objectives. The importance of effective management of the field force become important when a large number of consumers with varied tastes, aptitudes and interests are interviewed Managing the field work involves selection, supervision, controlling and evaluating.

QUESTIONNAIRES

1) NAME : 2) AGE : 3) QUALIFICATION : 4) DESIGNATION : 5) EXPERIENCE : Less than 1 year 5- 10 year 6) INCOME Less than 5000 10,000-20,000 5000-10,000 20,000 or more 1-5 year 10 or more

7) The job allows me to use my skills and abilities to maximum level Strongly agree Disagree agree strongly disagree

8) Conditions in the job allows me to productive Strongly agree Disagree agree strongly disagree

9) The opportunities for promotion are good Strongly agree Disagree agree strongly disagree

10) Supervisor is concerned about welfare activities? Strongly agree Disagree agree strongly disagree

11) Does training opportunities help in improving QWL? Yes No

12) How often do you find work stressful? Always Often never sometimes

13) How often you are given a challenging job? Always Often never sometimes

14) Do you feel your job is secured? Yes No

15) What is your usual work schedule? First shift Third shift second shift general shift

16) Rank the following motivational insights. Rank Interesting work Awards & Rewards Compensation Friendly Co-Workers 17) Your suggestions to improve QWL ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________