A conceptual analysis of Quality of Work Life (QWL): Before and After Covid 19

Abstract

QWL describes how individuals are with their jobs. It is a relatively recent term since in previous centuries the jobs available to individuals were often predetermined by the occupation of their parents. QWL implies doing a job one appreciates, doing it well, and being suitably rewarded for one’s efforts. QWL in a job further implies enthusiasm and happiness within the work one is performing. While the QWL concept was first brought forward and gained considerable importance as from the 1960’s, the parameters through which it is measured kept changing with changes in prevailing business and socio-economic conditions. (See Nanjundewsar swamy and Sandhya, 2016) From the 1980’s the world faced radical changes in business with the emergence of globalization, information technology, world business competitiveness, and scarcity of natural resources. While the business community was still grappling with these changes, they were made to face with yet an unprecedented circumstance of a pandemic. The new normal which had to be adopted lasted for nearly two years and also had an unprecedented impact on the labour force worldwide, forcing all organisations to employ “new ways of working”. Such drastic changes in the world of work changed the perception of businesses, employers and also workers who, by that time, had developed new perceptions about work, work conditions and thus eventually, QWL. In the light of the above, we attempt to scrutinise extant literature on QWL from the year 2000 and try to showcase its evolution as a multi-dimensional dynamic construct. After thorough analysis of existing literature, we discuss the various parameters which influence QWL and argue whether there has been any change in the parameters influencing QWL before and after the Covid 19 pandemic.