QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE
Q. Define QWL. Principles and techniques of QWL?
environment of an organization for its employees.
It is generic term which covers a person’s feelings about every dimension of his work e.g.
economic incentives and rewards, job security, working conditions, organizational and
interpersonal relationships etc.
According to Harrison “QWL is the degree to which work in an organization contributes to
material and psychological well being of its members.’’
According to D.S.Cohan “QWL is a process of joint decision making, collaborations and
building mutual respect between management and employees.’’
Features
It have following features :
QWL is an indicator of how free the society is from exploitation, injustice or inequality.
QWL shows the degree to which members of an organization are able to satisfy their personal
needs.
The indicators of QWL are job involvement, Job satisfaction and productivity.
The QWL approach considers people as an ‘assets’ to the organization rather than as ‘costs’.
SCOPE OF QWL
1.COMPENSATION. There should be a just and equitable balance between the effort and the
reward.
2.HEALTH AND SAFETY. The working environment should be free from all hazards
detrimental to the health and safety of the employees.
3.JOB SECURITY. Employees should not have to work under a constant concern for their
future stability of work and income.
4.JOB DESIGN. QWL can be improved if the job allows sufficient autonomy and control,
provides timely feed back on performance and uses a wide range of skills.
5.SOCIAL INTEGRATION.The workers should be able to feel a sense of identity with the
organisation and develop a feeling of self esteem.
6. SOCIAL RELEVANCE OF WORK. Work should be a mean of social welfare.
7. SCOPE FOR BETTER CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. The management should provide
facilities to the employees for improving their skills both academic and otherwise.
PRINCIPLES/APPROACHES OF QWL
1.The Principle of Security- The working conditions must be safe and fear of economic
want should be eliminated.
2.The Principle of Equity. There should be a direct and positive relation between effort and
reward.
3. The Principle of Individualism. Every individual should be provided the opportunities
for development of his personality and potential.
4. The Principle of Democracy. This means greater authority and responsibility to
employees.
TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING QWL
1.Flexible Work Schedules. Alternative work schedules for the employees can be flexi time,
staggered hours, compressed work weak etc.
2. Job Redesign. It helps to satisfy the higher level needs of the employees.
3. Opportunity for Development. If the employees are provided with opportunities for their
advancement and growth, they will be highly motivated.
4.AUTONOMOUS WORK GROUPS. The employees are given freedom of decision
making.
5. EMPLOOYEE’S PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT. Quality circles,
Management by objectives, suggestion system and other forms of employee’s participation in
management help to improve the QWL.
6.JOB SECURITY. Employees want stability of employment.
7.EQUITABLE JUSTICE. The principle of equitable administrative justice should be
applied in disciplinary actions, grievance procedures,promotions,transfers,work assignments
etc.
Q.4 Discuss health and safety measures for employess.
Ans:4
HEALTH AND SAFETY PROVISIONS
Provisions for the workplace health and safety in any Organization which include:
➢ Preventing work related injuries and illnesses;
➢ Fostering a workplace safety culture in which employees and their supervisors work
together to ensure workplace safety;
➢ Establishing administrative procedures that encourage employees to report unsafe
conditions and unsafe practices to their supervisors without fear of being disciplined;
➢ Developing appropriate hiring, training and performance appraisal practices;
➢ Recruiting and Retaining the best employees who care about their own well being and
the wellbeing of co-workers.
➢ Ensuring that the health and safety policies and procedures conform with the
applicable occupational health and safety legislation and accepted best practices in
similar organizations;
➢ Establishing procedures for enforcing company safety rules;
➢ Helping reduce costs associated with losses due to absenteeism injuries, Workers'
Compensation, disability, and health care;
➢ Maintaining records of injuries, illnesses and workers’ compensation;
➢ Coordinating first aid training and the provision of first aid to employees;
➢ Providing advice to employees and the employer in matters of occupational health and
safety.
Workplace Safety Programs
Effective designing and implementation of workplace safety programs can minimize the loss
and damage caused to persons and property by eliminating the risk of industrial accidents.
The employee safety programs can result in substantial cost savings, increased productivity
and establishing harmonious relations with workers.
For designing effective safety plans and implementing them requires thorough analysis of
workplace conditions and determining the level of protection required. The degree of
protection depends upon the degree of risk involved in any job.
For example, people working in mines require more safety that those working in a Business
Processing Outsourcing (BPO). It also depends on the kind of job the person is engaged in.
Sales personnel may require higher level of protection than the one in any administrative job.
Workplace safety programs are not only effective in eliminating the risk of damage caused to
person but is also an effective tool in retaining the existing and attracting new talent from the
industry.
Organizations can reduce the risk of accidents at workplace by identifying the level of risk,
modifying the already existing policy and implementing it effectively. For this, it needs to
design proper and efficient management programs to improve physical environment
employee assistance programs to help them diagnose and treat their stress-related problems.
Here is a mention of few workplace Safety Programs that are implemented by top-notch
organizations to ensure workers’ physical and mental safety:
Safety Policy: It contains a declaration of the employer’s intent towards the safety of
employees and means to realize it. It includes causes, extent and remedies for accidents at
workplace. The policy specifies the company’s goals and responsibilities and caveats and
sanctions for failing to fulfill them.
Provision of Physical Health Services: Many organizations render periodical physical health
check-up services to their employees. Regular medical check-ups of employees help detect
the signs and symptoms of tension, stress, ulcers, depression and other diseases resulting
from the exposure to harmful gases or other irritants.
It is considered as one of the major steps to control occupational health hazards and treat
them before they become worse. In addition to this, it helps managers in rehabilitating the
employees by redesigning their jobs in order to eliminate the further damage to their health.
Mental Health Services: In order to reduce the risk of mental breakdowns because of tension,
pressure and depression and mental illness, a mental health service is provided to the
employees in different ways such as psychiatric counseling, co-operation and consultation
with specialists, educating employees about the importance of mental health and
establishment, development and maintenance of harmonious human relations at workplace.
Employee Assistance Programs: These are specially designed to deal with stress-related
problems of the employees and help in diagnosis, treatment, screening and prevention of both
work and non-work related problems. These programs provide real help to professionals and
do not carry any negative implications.
Fitness Programs: These programs focus on overall health of employees and include both
disease identification as well as lifestyle modification. The most common programs carried
out by the organizations are hypertension identification, physical fitness, exercise, nutrition,
smoking and drinking cessation, diet control and personal and work-related stress
management.
Awareness Programs: Conducting the workshops about sexually transmitted diseases such as
HIV AIDS help a lot in raising the awareness of employees towards such dreadful diseases.
Such programs clear out the confusion and disruption in the workforce.
We all must have heard of a simple phrase, "Health is Wealth." This is true for individuals as
well as organizations. Understanding, developing, implementing and evaluating workplace
safety programs not only helps individuals in maintaining their health but also helps
organizations in retaining their resources.
Source : Internet and Books
Ans: QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE (QWL)
QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE refers to the favorableness or un-favourableness of the jobenvironment of an organization for its employees.
It is generic term which covers a person’s feelings about every dimension of his work e.g.
economic incentives and rewards, job security, working conditions, organizational and
interpersonal relationships etc.
According to Harrison “QWL is the degree to which work in an organization contributes to
material and psychological well being of its members.’’
According to D.S.Cohan “QWL is a process of joint decision making, collaborations and
building mutual respect between management and employees.’’
Features
It have following features :
QWL is an indicator of how free the society is from exploitation, injustice or inequality.
QWL shows the degree to which members of an organization are able to satisfy their personal
needs.
The indicators of QWL are job involvement, Job satisfaction and productivity.
The QWL approach considers people as an ‘assets’ to the organization rather than as ‘costs’.
SCOPE OF QWL
1.COMPENSATION. There should be a just and equitable balance between the effort and the
reward.
2.HEALTH AND SAFETY. The working environment should be free from all hazards
detrimental to the health and safety of the employees.
3.JOB SECURITY. Employees should not have to work under a constant concern for their
future stability of work and income.
4.JOB DESIGN. QWL can be improved if the job allows sufficient autonomy and control,
provides timely feed back on performance and uses a wide range of skills.
5.SOCIAL INTEGRATION.The workers should be able to feel a sense of identity with the
organisation and develop a feeling of self esteem.
6. SOCIAL RELEVANCE OF WORK. Work should be a mean of social welfare.
7. SCOPE FOR BETTER CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. The management should provide
facilities to the employees for improving their skills both academic and otherwise.
PRINCIPLES/APPROACHES OF QWL
1.The Principle of Security- The working conditions must be safe and fear of economic
want should be eliminated.
2.The Principle of Equity. There should be a direct and positive relation between effort and
reward.
3. The Principle of Individualism. Every individual should be provided the opportunities
for development of his personality and potential.
4. The Principle of Democracy. This means greater authority and responsibility to
employees.
TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING QWL
1.Flexible Work Schedules. Alternative work schedules for the employees can be flexi time,
staggered hours, compressed work weak etc.
2. Job Redesign. It helps to satisfy the higher level needs of the employees.
3. Opportunity for Development. If the employees are provided with opportunities for their
advancement and growth, they will be highly motivated.
4.AUTONOMOUS WORK GROUPS. The employees are given freedom of decision
making.
5. EMPLOOYEE’S PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT. Quality circles,
Management by objectives, suggestion system and other forms of employee’s participation in
management help to improve the QWL.
6.JOB SECURITY. Employees want stability of employment.
7.EQUITABLE JUSTICE. The principle of equitable administrative justice should be
applied in disciplinary actions, grievance procedures,promotions,transfers,work assignments
etc.
Q.4 Discuss health and safety measures for employess.
Ans:4
HEALTH AND SAFETY PROVISIONS
Provisions for the workplace health and safety in any Organization which include:
➢ Preventing work related injuries and illnesses;
➢ Fostering a workplace safety culture in which employees and their supervisors work
together to ensure workplace safety;
➢ Establishing administrative procedures that encourage employees to report unsafe
conditions and unsafe practices to their supervisors without fear of being disciplined;
➢ Developing appropriate hiring, training and performance appraisal practices;
➢ Recruiting and Retaining the best employees who care about their own well being and
the wellbeing of co-workers.
➢ Ensuring that the health and safety policies and procedures conform with the
applicable occupational health and safety legislation and accepted best practices in
similar organizations;
➢ Establishing procedures for enforcing company safety rules;
➢ Helping reduce costs associated with losses due to absenteeism injuries, Workers'
Compensation, disability, and health care;
➢ Maintaining records of injuries, illnesses and workers’ compensation;
➢ Coordinating first aid training and the provision of first aid to employees;
➢ Providing advice to employees and the employer in matters of occupational health and
safety.
Workplace Safety Programs
Effective designing and implementation of workplace safety programs can minimize the loss
and damage caused to persons and property by eliminating the risk of industrial accidents.
The employee safety programs can result in substantial cost savings, increased productivity
and establishing harmonious relations with workers.
For designing effective safety plans and implementing them requires thorough analysis of
workplace conditions and determining the level of protection required. The degree of
protection depends upon the degree of risk involved in any job.
For example, people working in mines require more safety that those working in a Business
Processing Outsourcing (BPO). It also depends on the kind of job the person is engaged in.
Sales personnel may require higher level of protection than the one in any administrative job.
Workplace safety programs are not only effective in eliminating the risk of damage caused to
person but is also an effective tool in retaining the existing and attracting new talent from the
industry.
Organizations can reduce the risk of accidents at workplace by identifying the level of risk,
modifying the already existing policy and implementing it effectively. For this, it needs to
design proper and efficient management programs to improve physical environment
employee assistance programs to help them diagnose and treat their stress-related problems.
Here is a mention of few workplace Safety Programs that are implemented by top-notch
organizations to ensure workers’ physical and mental safety:
Safety Policy: It contains a declaration of the employer’s intent towards the safety of
employees and means to realize it. It includes causes, extent and remedies for accidents at
workplace. The policy specifies the company’s goals and responsibilities and caveats and
sanctions for failing to fulfill them.
Provision of Physical Health Services: Many organizations render periodical physical health
check-up services to their employees. Regular medical check-ups of employees help detect
the signs and symptoms of tension, stress, ulcers, depression and other diseases resulting
from the exposure to harmful gases or other irritants.
It is considered as one of the major steps to control occupational health hazards and treat
them before they become worse. In addition to this, it helps managers in rehabilitating the
employees by redesigning their jobs in order to eliminate the further damage to their health.
Mental Health Services: In order to reduce the risk of mental breakdowns because of tension,
pressure and depression and mental illness, a mental health service is provided to the
employees in different ways such as psychiatric counseling, co-operation and consultation
with specialists, educating employees about the importance of mental health and
establishment, development and maintenance of harmonious human relations at workplace.
Employee Assistance Programs: These are specially designed to deal with stress-related
problems of the employees and help in diagnosis, treatment, screening and prevention of both
work and non-work related problems. These programs provide real help to professionals and
do not carry any negative implications.
Fitness Programs: These programs focus on overall health of employees and include both
disease identification as well as lifestyle modification. The most common programs carried
out by the organizations are hypertension identification, physical fitness, exercise, nutrition,
smoking and drinking cessation, diet control and personal and work-related stress
management.
Awareness Programs: Conducting the workshops about sexually transmitted diseases such as
HIV AIDS help a lot in raising the awareness of employees towards such dreadful diseases.
Such programs clear out the confusion and disruption in the workforce.
We all must have heard of a simple phrase, "Health is Wealth." This is true for individuals as
well as organizations. Understanding, developing, implementing and evaluating workplace
safety programs not only helps individuals in maintaining their health but also helps
organizations in retaining their resources.
Source : Internet and Books
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