Presentation on Research methodology

Research Topic : Quality of work life and its underlying constructs

Presented by: Shahid Akram

MS Research Scholar CIIT Lahore

MSMS-f11-028

Presented to: Dr. Abdul.haque

Department of Management Sciences CIIT Lahore.

Abstract.

The focus of this research project/presentation is to find out the basic constructs of Quality of work life by studying different research papers and finding their impact on job satisfaction, job commitment, work design, organizational performance, job demand control, and employee’s motivation. After analyzing the literature based on quality of work life and research finding this derived that there is room for more research avenues in Pakistan’s work setting with reference to Quality of work life.

Key words: QWL, Constructs of QWL, organizational performance, employee’s motivation, employee’s motivation

Introduction.

Many attempts have been made to gain insight of the interaction between the psychosocial work factors and Quality of Work Life (QWL).Quality of work life is a multidimensional concept which fulfills the psychological well being of employees as well as satisfaction and commitment with work. Effective work life HR strategies and policies leads to more productive and effective workforce, which overall increase the productivity of the organizations. In current economic downturn talent management and retention is becoming a challenge for organizations, so effective QWl framework is viable for organization to enhance employee’s engagement, and retaining talented and productive workforce which can only be assured with better work life policies and practices so it is necessary that the employees feel motivated and committed to their job. And bringing in the quality to their working life by paying attention on various measures is way to make the employee feel motivated and satisfied with their job. This research project will identify that what are the most important QWL constructs which have significant impact on employees job satisfaction, motivation, commitment ,and organizational performance by analyzing predetermined research studies and what research methodologies were adopted in order to measure them. In the end a brief analysis is given which identifies the research gap and future research avenues in the area of quality of work life pertaining to Pakistani demographics and work settings

Literature Review.

Quality of Work Life (QWL) is a multi-dimensional construct, made up of a number of interrelated factors. It is associated with job satisfaction, job involvement, motivation, productivity, health, safety and well-being, job security, competency development and balance between work and non work life (De Jonge & Landerweerd, 1993; Hood & Smith, 1994; European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Work Conditions, 2002) .Quality of work life is an important factor that affects motivation at work (Ghosh, 1992). Quality of work life programmes has two objectives: to enhance the productivity and the satisfaction of employees (Gardon, 1984). Glasier (1976) thinks that quality of work life implies job security, good working conditions, adequate and fair compensation, more even than equal employment opportunity all together. Walton (1973) suggested eight major conceptual areas for understanding quality of work life. These were adequate and fair compensation, safe and healthy working conditions, development of human competencies, growth and security, social integration, constitutionalization and total life space and social reliance. Runcie (1980) remarked that should an employee have positive perception of the quality of worklife in the company, he would further probably strive to further improve the working conditions, increase production and quality products. Blishe and Atkinson (1978) have shown that there are two kinds of indicators for defining quality of life. One is an objective indicator, for example money and the other is subjective indicator, such as financial status, living standard, job etc. Quality of worklife has direct relationship with organizational performance as QWL practice involves acquiring, training, developing, motivating and appraising for the best performance of the employees as per organizational objectives. Indeed, core elements of QWL are of working conditions, employee job satisfaction, employees’ behavioral aspects, and employees’ financial and non-financial benefits, growth and development, and supervision (Lau & May, 1998; Hackman & Oldham, 1975; Taylor & Bowers, 1972). It is well known that employee intrinsic motivation has an impact on organizational performance and Herzberg et al. (1959) had shown that motivated employees tend to performs better. Company need to find out the factors that influence employees’ satisfaction and to ensure their quality of work life (Gilgeous, 1998). Rice (1985) emphasized the relationship between work satisfaction and Quality of people’s lives. He contended that work experiences and outcomes can affect person’s general Quality of life, both directly and indirectly through their effects on family interactions, leisure activities and levels of health and energy.

Attempts also have been made to empirically define QWL (Levine et al., 1984; Mirvis & Lawler, 1984; Taylor, 1978; Walton, 1975).Comprehensive delineation of the QWL concept is found in three major works: Levine et al. (1984), Taylor (1978) and Walton (1975). Other researchers have attempted to measure QWL in a variety of settings using combinations of various questionnaires such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, alienation, job stress, organizational identification, job involvement and finally work role ambiguity, conflict, and overload were studied as proxy measures of QWL. There appeared to be no one commonly accepted definition for quality of work life. Heskett, Sasser and Schlesinger (1997) proposed that QWL, which was measured by the feelings that employees have towards their jobs, colleagues, and companies would enhance a chain effect leading to organization’s growth and profitability.To summarise, 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 According to Havlovic (1991), Scobel (1975) and Straw and Heckscher (1984), the key concepts captured in QWL include job security, better reward systems, higher pay, opportunity for growth, and participative groups among others. Thompson indicated quality of work life programs a movement toward greater engagement with the cooperation, knowledge and tactic skills of the work force. Delamotte and Walker (1974) indicated that the number of emphasis have been made in the humanization of work including: the need to protect the worker from hazards to health and safety, the wage work bargain, the protection of workers from hazards of illness and unemployment and the protection of the worker from arbitrary the authority of management.

Selected Research papers, research Methodology & Findings.

Research paper 1

Topic:

FACTOR CREDENTIALS BOOSTING QUALITY OF WORK LIFE OF BSNL EMPLOYEES IN JAMMU REGION.

By: Dr. Meenakshi Gupta & Ms. Parul Sharma. APJRBM Volume 1, Issue 2 (November, 2010) ISSN 2229-4104.

Objectives of the study.

To examine the demographic profile of the employees

To analyze the factors determining the satisfaction with the quality of work life in the organization

To study the nature of relationship between the factors affecting quality of work life and satisfaction level with the quality of work life in the organization .

Factors of QWl.

Factor 1.fair & adequate compensation

Factor 2. Safe and healthy working conditions.

Factor 3.Oppurtunity to use & develop human capacity

Factor 4.oppurtunity for career growth

Factor 5.Social integration in the workforce.

Factor 6.Constitutionalism at workplace

Factor 7.Eminance of work life

Factor 8.Social relevance of the work

Methodology:

The study was carried out in the organized sector i.e. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and is based mainly on the primary data collected from employees with the help of a well drafted pre tested structured questionnaire. The universe of the study included all those employees who were working in BSNL in Jammu region.

Sampling:For the selection of sample, proportionate method of sampling was followed. A list of all employees working in BSNL was prepared with the help of the administrative staff of the organization. All these employees (826) were grouped into different categories as:

Employee Category Population Sample Sub Divisional Engineer and Junior Telecom Officer

153 38

Telecom Telegraph Assistant

60 15

Telecom Mechanic 326 81 Line Man 30 8 Regular Mazdoor 50 12 General Senior Telecom Office Assistant

125 31

Phone Senior Telecom Office Assistant

60 15

Total 804 200

Analysis technique.

Factor Loading

Table 2 shows the factor loading on the various statements. This approach helps in detecting the structure in the relationship between variable i.e. to classify the variables. It was discernible from the table that the most important factor as perceived by BSNL employees was Social relevance of work‖ with the factor mean score of 3.4318 and the attributes named Promotion of Employee Welfare activities‖ and My job enhances my social prestige‖ were loaded on this factor with factor loading of 0.691 and 0.652 respectively.

The second most important factor as perceived by BSNL employees was Opportunities to use & develop human capacity” with the factor mean score of 2.6394.

The third most important factor as perceived by BSNL employees was ―Eminence of Work Life” with the factor mean score of 2.6273.

The fourth most important factor as perceived by BSNL employees was Opportunities for career growth” with the factor mean score of 2.56815.

The fifth most important factor as perceived by BSNL employees was ―Safe & healthy working conditions.” with the factor mean score of 2.5515.

The sixth most important factor as perceived by BSNL employees was ―Adequate Income & Fair Compensation” with the factor mean score of 2.53635.

The seventh most important factor as perceived by BSNL employees was ―Social integration in the work force” with the factor mean score of 2.43027

The eighth most important factor as perceived by BSNL employees was Constitutionalism in work organization‖ with the factor mean score of 2.359075

CORRELATION BETWEEN FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY OF WORK LIFE AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION AMONG THE EMPLOYEES

FACTOR 1

FACTOR 2

FACTOR 3

FACTOR 4

FACTOR 5

FACTOR 6

FACTOR 7

FACTOR 8

SATISFACTION LEVEL

.122 .098 .312(*)

.229 .421(*) .429(*) .150 .042

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Findings :It is discernible from table that the Constitutionalism which is factor 6 in work organization is positively correlated with satisfaction level of the employees. So, it indicates that by improving the constitutionalisation of the organization satisfaction level can also be enhanced. The other factors that are positively correlated with satisfaction level are Social integration in the work force (with correlation coefficient 0.421), Opportunities to use & develop human capacity(with correlation coefficient 0.312), Opportunity for career growth(with correlation coefficient 0.229), Eminence of Work Life(with correlation coefficient 0.150), Adequate Income & Fair Compensation(with correlation coefficient 0.122), Safe & healthy working conditions(with correlation coefficient 0.098) and Social relevance of work(with correlation coefficient 0.042).

Research Paper 2 Topic:

Constructs of Quality of Work Life A Perspective of Textile and Engineering Employees

By: Mu.Subrahmanian, ASIAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT RESEARCH

Objectives of the Study

The study was undertaken with the following objectives: To identify the major factors that influence the Quality of Work Life of

employees To compare the Quality of Work Life that prevails in Engineering and

Textile industries To suggest the measures to improve the Quality of Work Life in the two

industries.

Research InstrumentA structured, interview schedule was prepared for the purpose of collecting the data. The factors of the study were drawn out from the related studies and the statements of the schedule were framed representing the factors. These were given shape in consultation with the field experts. The survey was preceded by a pilot study, conducted by interviewing a sample of 50 respondents. After computing the score of each respondent for the first test and retest, Cronbach Alpha Score was calculated. As the score of the test for the tool was above 0.50, the tools were found to be reliable.

Population and Sampling

It was decided to collect the necessary information from 250 employees of each industry. So total of 500 employees were selected for the final study. These employees were drawn from five concerns according to the number of employees on the roll at thetime of the study. A Nonprobability, proportionate quota sampling was used for the study.

Hypothesis testing using Chi square test:

Nature of Job Pay and Compensation Development and Encouragement Human Relations and Social Integration Workers Participation in Management Working Conditions Occupational Stress Alternative Work Schedule Grievance Procedure Promotion Policy

Example:

Ho: There is no significant association between nature of industry and satisfaction Regarding nature of job.

The results show that there is a significant association between nature of industry and satisfaction regarding nature of job at 5% significance level.

Research paper 3Topic:

Quality of work life and organizational performance: Empirical evidence from Dhaka Export Processing Zone.

By:

Md. Zohurul Islam and Sununta Siengthai ILO Conference on ‘Regulating for Decent Work, to be held at the International Labour Office, Geneva during July 8-10, 2009

Hypothesis:

Based on the review of relevant literature, the following sets of hypotheses are formulated on the quality of work life in DEPZ.

OP = f { QWL, JS, WAGPOL, COMPOL, Union) JS = f{QWL, OP, WAGPOL, COMPOL, Union)

Where: OP = Organizational Performance QWL = Quality of Work Life JS = Employee Job Satisfaction WAGPOL = Company wage policy COMPOL = Company policy UNION = Union

SamplingThe researcher had a full scale survey on managerial level, with 53 enterprises among all the A, B and C categories enterprises. By validating the data and information conducted a structure questionnaire survey. Simple random sampling method was used for collecting data. The sample size was 216.

Measurement

Following factors were measured by administering questionare with 5 point lickert scale [1’ strongly disagree to ‘5’ strongly agree). these factors were

highlighted by different researchers so the current researcher modify them according to local settings.

Organizational performance Employees Job satisfaction QWL Wage policy Company policy Union

Reliability test

In this study, reliability measurement is important to verify the variables consistencies through employee job satisfaction, quality of work life and organizational performance. Cronbach’s alpha is computed using SPSS scale reliability programme for each set of constructs. The value of Cronbach’s alpha is reported in Table 1.

Factor Items Cronbach’s Alpha

Organizational performance 6 .3469

QWL 10 .3336 Job satisfaction 7 .6698 Company policy 4 .5825 Wage policy 4 .4391 Union 2 .2713 Overall 33 items 33 .8185

Data Analysis

Regression results testing the relationship between quality of work life and organizational performance/Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R Square

F change

Std. Error of the

Sig.

Estimate 1 .754(a) .569 .559 55.418 .31924 .000

Regression result has been used to test the hypothesis 1 to measure with the variables of job satisfaction, wage policy, company policy, union, quality of work life and organizational performance. The correlation of coefficient is (+.754). The R-square adjusted is .559. Thus, the model composing of job satisfaction, company wage policy, company policy, union, and quality of work life can explain about 55.9% of the total variation in organizational performance and also the result is statistically significant at the level of .05.

Coefficients(a) Model Unstandardized

CoefficientsStandardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) .512 .173 2.958 .003

OP

.339 .053 .411 6.429 .000

QWL

.184 .071 .144 2.581 .011

WAGPOL

.115 .060 .124 1.916 .057

COMPOL

.171 .042 .231 4.079 .000

U .021 .026 .040 .811 .418

The coefficient Table 6 reports that organizational performance is highly positive significant relationship with employee job satisfaction and it has explained 41.1% of total variance. Similarly, QWL has a positive and significant relationship with employee job satisfaction at the level of .05, thus explained 14.4% of total variance. Wage policy also have a positive significant relationship with employees job satisfaction thus can explain 12.4% of total variance. Company policy is highly significant relationship with employees’ job satisfaction at the level of .05 and thus explained 23.1% of total variance. Union has a positive relationship but not significant with employee job satisfaction. All the five variables in equation 2 is account for 94.7% of total variance. Result further revealed that QWL was related to employees’ job satisfaction.

Research Paper 4Topic:

Work Condition and Predictors of Quality of Work Life of Information System Personnel

By:

Guna Seelan RethinamMaimunah Ismail

Mthodology

Data collection:

A self administered questionnaire was developed based on Karasek‟s (1979) and Kristensen‟s (1995) studies, The questionnaire was in English. Some minor changes to the questionnaire were made after pre-testing. Cronbach alpha values of more than .7 were shown in all the components tested in this study.

Sampling:

Randomized cluster sampling was utilized to identify the personnel to represent the respective occupational grouping

Data Analysis:

Table below depicts the results of the regression analysis (Stepwise method). Three psychosocial variables (as the independent variables) were regressed with QWL (as the dependent variable). Among the three psychosocial variables, organizational support shows the strongest contributor of QWL with a standardized beta of .415, followed by job control (beta = .370) and job demand (beta = -.141). Organizational support contributes 33% to QWL. Job control and demand contribute 6.3% and 1.5% to QWL, respectively. All the selected psychosocial variables in this research were included in the regression model. This shows that the selected variables were able to significantly predict the variance in QWL.Table : Multiple Regressions of QWL and Components of Work Condition (n = 453) Variables b Beta Adj. R2 R2 Change Organizational Support Job Control

Job Demand

Constant

2.025

1.428

-.387

178.396

.415

.370

-.141

.332

.394

.408

.334

.063

.015

R= .642 R2 = .412 Adj. R2 = .408 F = 114.437 Sig. F= .000

The significant F value of 114.44 at a probability of .000 indicates that the variables used in the model are significant.

Research Paper 5Topic:

QUALITY OF WORKLIFE A WAY TO MANAGE BUSINESS IN CURRENT ECONOMIC SCENARIO

By:Prof. Rajnish Ratna

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The research study aims at assessing the importance of various QWL factors to employees in the two organizations; examining the relevance of various QWL

factors in terms of their contribution to the satisfaction of employees to their job ; and identifying the areas having potential for improving employee motivation and job satisfaction.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. Research Design: Descriptive Research

2. Sampling method: Simple Random Sampling has been used for the selection of the sample.

3. Data Sources: The study uses both primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected through a questionnaire which was prepared to find out the satisfaction level of employees towards various QWL variables. The questionnaire was designed using 5 point likert scale and dichotomous scale. The questionnaire was designed for evaluating quality of working life of employee with 10 different parameters. The parameters are identified after doing the review of literature. The 10 parameters are Work Family Balance; Relationship with peers; Role Clarity; Meaningfulness of Job; Access to Resources; Working Environment; Opportunity to Develop new Skills; Health Care Benefits and Welfare; Fair and Equitable pay; Opportunity to grow in Career.

4. Sample Size: The sample size was 80 respondents comprising of managers and executives from 2 different manufacturing companies.

5. Analysis of the data: Percentage scores and mean scores has been used to analyze the data. Pearson‘s correlation analysis is done to find out the degree of correlation between various QWL variables and Job Satisfaction and its comparison with the mean score rank order is done to find out the areas having potential for improving employee motivation and job satisfaction.

Observations & Recommendations.Different researchers has adopted different methodologies to measure different constructs of QWL, models of QWL were adopted from predetermined research current studies were mostly conducted in south Asia so there is need to conduct same type of research in Pakistani work setting as Pakistan has quite similar demographics like India & Bangladesh being a part of subcontinent, so we can identify that what are the most important factors which effect QWL in our local settings and how our organizations can fulfill the requirements of QWL in order to retain and motivate productive workforce.

References:Gupta, D. M. (2010). FACTOR CREDENTIALS BOOSTING QUALITY OF WORK LIFE OF BSNL EMPLOYEES IN

JAMMU REGION. APJRBM.

Islam, M. Z. (2009). Quality of work life and organizational performance: Empirical evidence from Dhaka Export Processing Zone. ILO Conference on ‘Regulating for Decent Work, International Labour Office, Geneva. Geneva.

Mu.Subrahmanian. (2010). Constructs of Quality of Work Life A Perspective of Textile and Engineering. ASIAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT RESEARCH.

Ratna, P. R. (2012). QUALITY OF WORKLIFE- A WAY TO MANAGE BUSINESS IN CURRENT ECONOMIC SCENARIO. international journal of management & science.

Rethinam, G. S. (n.d.). Work Condition and Predictors of Quality of Work Life of Information System Personnel.