Quality of Work Life in Health Care

HRM TERM PAPER | QUALITY OF WORKLIFE IN HEALTHCARE | Jyoti Kumari- 121116
Kanth Reddy- 121216
Suryadevara Pramoda- 121157

Jefia Ann James- 121315

Hanumantha Rao- 121409

Jyoti Kumari- 121116
Kanth Reddy- 121216
Suryadevara Pramoda- 121157

Jefia Ann James- 121315

Hanumantha Rao- 121409

|

Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. Objectives of Work-Life Quality 1 3. Components of quality of work life 1 5. Work-Life Quality- In Healthcare 1 6. Importance of quality of work life in healthcare 1 7. Factors causing dissatisfaction 1 8. Results of dissatisfaction 1 9. Measures to overcome the dissatisfaction 1 10. Research study 1 Quality of work life among primary health care nurses in the Jazan region, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study 1 Background 1 Methods 1 Results 1 11. Conclusion 1 12. References 1

Quality of Work Life in Healthcare 1. INTRODUCTION
Quality of work life
Quality work Life is any conscious effort for improving working conditions, work content, and safety, security, wages and benefits, etc. It can be said to be all the original inputs which aim at improving the employees’ satisfaction and enhancing organizational effectiveness. It is a concern not only to improve life at work, but also life outside work. It is nothing but having a work environment where an employee’s activities become more important. This means implementing procedures or policies that make the work less routine and more rewarding for the employee. These procedures or policies include autonomy, recognition, belongingness, development and external rewards.
Quality of work life can be defined as the environment at the work place provided to the people on the job. QWL programs is the another dimension in which employers has the responsibility to provide congenial environment i.e. excellent working conditions where people can perform excellent work also their health as well as economic health of the organization is also met. The quality of personal life is always reflected in professional life and vice versa. Now a day to retain the employees in the organization providing healthy QWL is the key factor. In earlier times QWL means only job enrichment. In addition to improving the work system, QWL programs usually emphasize on development of employee skills, the reduction of occupational stress and the development of more co-operative labor-management relations.

Through quality work life the people involved get a sense of satisfaction in their work. Work then becomes not a burden but a means by which the abilities of a person can find expression. Quality work life is just humanizing the work.
Quality work life is equal to the sum total of physical (working conditions), psychological and economic factors which affect the job.

2. Objectives of Work-Life Quality

* To improve standard of living of the people. * To improve the productivity. * To create a positive attitude in the minds of the employees. * To increase effectiveness of the organization- profitability, goal, accomplishment etc. 3. Components of quality of work life
Free communications – open communication in the organization with the co- workers is the vital factor that ensures good quality of work life. It leads to more of informal communication between co-workers and subordinates during the rest hours of the organization.

Reward system – reward is related to monetary or non-monetary rewards eg- incentives, movie tickets, and family health insurance, sponsoring the education of children etc. any kind of reward given to the employee promotes good quality of work life.

Employee job security - job security is the one vital element to get maximum productivity from the employee, the employee should feel secured regarding the job.

Career growth – the organization should provide career growth to the employee i.e. promotion, authority with responsibility, hike in the salary to retain the talented employee.

Workers participation in decision making of the organization – employees should be encouraged to take participate actively in the decision making body of the organization so that should feel that we are also of some value to the employers. They will be more loyal, committed towards the organization.

Opportunities- organizations should provide some basic opportunities to their employees e.g. Research, training sessions based on increase of skills and knowledge. These kinds of organizations are required than the vice versa.

Stress level – stress level should not be in proportion to the work life. Higher the stress level poor is the quality of work life, lower is the stress level higher is the quality of work life.

4. Measures to improve quality of work life

Flexibility on job – flexibility on job means flexible working hours, no fixed working hours, different time intervals etc. By this flexibility in the job can be introduced.

Job enrichment – job enrichment focuses on designing the job in such a way that becomes more interesting and challenging so that it satisfies the higher level needs.

Secured job –security of job should be provided to the employee to make him feel committed and loyal to the organization

Grievance handling - the disciplinary procedure, grievance procedures, promotions, and transfer matters should be handled with of justice, fair and equity

Participative Management - Employees should be allowed to participate in management participative schemes which may be of several types. The most sophisticated among them is quality circle.

5. Work-Life Quality- In Healthcare
“A fundamental way to better healthcare is through healthier healthcare workplaces. It is unacceptable to work in, receive care in, govern, manage and fund unhealthy healthcare workplaces.”
6. Importance of quality of work life in healthcare
Quality of work-life is important in health care:
To improve customers’ safety: This means that better quality of work life is important in the case of giving a sense of safety to the customers of the organization. If better work life is given to the health providers then they will be able give their entire attention to their customers who comes before them with full trust.
Improve the quality of care given to customers: If a better work life quality is provided to the health providers they can take care of their customers with an ease. Here we can take the supply of high quality equipment to be used in surgeries and other health related needs then the care that has to be given to the customers can be improved.
To support health system sustainability and performance: Inorder to support the sustainability of the health care system the work life quality is a must because the employees are the key asset of an organization and if they are given due respect as well their requirements are rightly taken care then only the health care system can have and sustain something for the future generation. Also the quality of work life also directly impacts the performance of the employees in the organization and the performance of the organization.
To enhance the commitment towards the duties and responsibilities: To enhance a commitment in the minds of the employees towards their duties and responsibilities in the organization a better quality work life is to be provided. To develop a sense of belongingness and an organizational citizenship it is required.

Because healthy work environments …
Deliver better healthcare: To deliver a better service to the customers the employees has to be provided with better quality of work life because employees are the internal customers of an organization and their satisfaction must be given first preference then they will take care and satisfy the outside customers.
Experience higher retention and superannuation rates: Through providing a better work life quality the organization can retain their most skilled employees and keep up their better performance in the midst of the competitors. Also through a better quality of work life the organization can reduce the rate of superannuation. This will help to sustain within the market and enable them to give a tough competition to the others in the same field.
Lower costs related to absenteeism and turnover: if a better work life quality is ensured to the employees the attrition level will be reduced as well as the absenteeism will also be reduced and thus the organization can reduce their cost of recruiting new employees and maintain their performance.
7. Factors causing dissatisfaction
Poor working environments: Poor working environment may lead to poor performance of the employees. It means that if there is a lack of facilities then the employees will get demotivated and dissatisfied.
Workload, inability to deliver quality of care preferred: If the workload is high and the employees are unable to handle the customers and deliver the required services it may lead to self-underestimation and demotivation which may result in their poor performance and also dissatisfaction towards the organization.
Balance of work and family: the another point when the dissatisfaction arises in the case of the quality of work life is when the employees are stressed out because of the inability to balance both the work as well as life together. This mainly arises in the case of married women who have to take care of kids as well as their home and other members of the house. When they feel that they are not able to manage both their duties and responsibilities towards the organization and their family members this may lead to huge stress and they may be dissatisfied with their job. To avoid such a situation in a hospital they should take initiative to provide crutch facility to take care of the small kids of their fellow employees.
Shiftwork: The shiftwork may be dissatisfactory in case of some employees i.e. when two people living in same home are having different shifts in work they may face a problem of not getting time to spend with each other. This situation may lead to dissatisfaction among the employees and lead to a weaker performance.
Lack of involvement in decision making: Giving a chance to participate in the decision making of the organization may give the employees a sense of belongingness and they may feel that their opinion is also taken into consideration and they are being given a value in the organization
Lack of recognition: Lack of recognition within the organization for the task they perform the employees may get dissatisfied because need for self-esteem is one of the important need in the Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. It must be taken care and must be fulfilled by the organization.
Poor relationships with supervisor/peers: Poor relationships with the supervisors are a major problem in the healthcare sector as well as in the other sectors because often the opinions of the supervisor and the subordinates do not match. There is also a saying that “employees leave their bosses not the organization”
Role ambiguity: the lack of role clarity may lead to the dissatisfaction of the employees and the employees may not be able to focus on their job as well as their performance within the organization.
8. Results of dissatisfaction The results for the above mentioned dissatisfaction may cause: Destruction of organizational loyalty and decaying morale among healthcare workers: The dissatisfaction may lead to a lack of willingness in the minds of the employees to perform the task given to them and it may destruct their loyalty and commitment towards the organization. Burnout, emotional exhaustion and depression: burnout means the experience of long-term exhaustion and depression in the minds of the employees which may lead to their poor performance and also a poor performance of the organization too. Increasing attrition: the dissatisfaction among the employees may lead to an increase in the attrition rate of the organization. The employees may prefer leaving the organization rather working for the organization. A lack of congruence between their own values and organizational values: the dissatisfaction among the employees may lead to the non-conformance of the organizational goals and the individual goals. Increasing absenteeism: the dissatisfaction among the employees may force the employees to take leave from the organization and sit idle. This may hinder the production performance of the organization as well as the individual. Incurs huge cost: If there is an increased attrition within the organization then there can be a huge cost which may incurred for the organization in the course of recruiting new efficient employees. They are often isolated due to a lack of coordination, integration and shared learning.
9. Measures to overcome the dissatisfaction The measures that can be taken to avoid the dissatisfaction among the health providers are: Inorder to cope up with the situation the organization can adopt the policy of creating positive work environments that may encourage older health providers to delay their superannuation. Also the organization can retain younger health professionals throughout the course of their careers. The organization can also adopt the policy of managing the dynamics of the supply and demand of health providers within the organization itself in an efficient manner. Health providers should be viewed and treated as core long-term assets of the health system; this may give them a sense of citizenship within the organization. More concentrated investment is needed to support health providers to be healthy and productive as in the case of the supply of the surgical equipment and other necessary instruments and materials required to offer better services to the customers.
10. Research study Following is a research study conducted by Brooks, an organization which conducts research on the healthcare systems.

Quality of work life among primary health care nurses in the Jazan region, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study
Background
Quality of work life (QWL) is defined as the extent to which an employee is satisfied with personal and working needs through participating in the workplace while achieving the goals of the organization. QWL has been found to influence the commitment and productivity of employees in health care organizations, as well as in other industries. However, reliable information on the QWL of primary health care (PHC) nurses is limited. The purpose of this study was to assess the QWL among PHC nurses in the Jazan region, Saudi Arabia.
Methods
A descriptive research design, namely a cross-sectional survey, was used in this study. Data were collected using Brooks’ survey of quality of nursing work life and demographic questions. A convenience sample was recruited from 134 PHC centers in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. The Jazan region is located in the southern part of Saudi Arabia. A response rate of 91% (n = 532/585) was achieved (effective response rate = 87%, n = 508). Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, t-test and one way-analysis of variance. Total scores and sub scores for QWL items and item summary statistics were computed and reported using SPSS version 17 for Windows.
Results
Findings suggested that the respondents were dissatisfied with their work life. The major influencing factors were unsuitable working hours, lack of facilities for nurses, inability to balance work with family needs, inadequacy of vacations time for nurses and their families, poor staffing, management and supervision practices, lack of professional development opportunities, and an inappropriate working environment in terms of the level of security, patient care supplies and equipment, and recreation facilities (break-area). Other essential factors include the community’s view of nursing and an inadequate salary. More positively, the majorities of nurses were satisfied with their co-workers, satisfied to be nurses and had a sense of belonging in their workplaces. Significant differences were found according to gender, age, marital status, dependent children, dependent adults, nationality, nursing tenure, organizational tenure, positional tenure, and payment per month. No significant differences were found according to education level of PHC nurses and location of PHC.

11. Conclusion Through a detailed study regarding the importance of the quality of work life within the organization we came to know that providing a high quality of work life is a must factor in any organization and this will increase the performance of an organization among their competitors. The employees are the primary customers of the organization, if they are been given proper guidance, good working environment, better working conditions etc. then they will work efficiently for the organization and they will take maximum effort to satisfy the external customers and try to keep them happy. So providing better work life quality to the employees is a factor which must be given maximum care.

12. References en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_of_working_life http://www.accreditation.ca/.../2007%20QWQHC%20Within%20Our%20G.. http://www.qwqhc.ca/ http://www.human-resources-health.com/content http://www.slideshare.net/.../quality-worklife-quality-healthcare sunnybrook.ca ›

References: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_of_working_life http://www.accreditation.ca/.../2007%20QWQHC%20Within%20Our%20G.. http://www.qwqhc.ca/ http://www.human-resources-health.com/content http://www.slideshare.net/.../quality-worklife-quality-healthcare sunnybrook.ca ›