QoWL (Quality of Working Life)—What, How, and Why?

Abstract

The term “QoWL” (quality of work life) has been used in academic literature for over 50 years and usually refers to aspects of the broader concept of quality of life that relates to the work setting. Typically, the conceptualisation of QoWL has incorporated job satisfaction and stress, but agreement on what else should be included among key facets has been hard to achieve. We provide here a brief overview of the development of the concept of QoWL, before considering evidence relating to its relevance in the workplace. We then describe the WRQoL (work-related quality of life) scale and provide an overview of the development of this measure and the psychometric properties of the six subscales. We go on to review evidence which indicates that, having defined and identified a method of measuring QoWL, how attention to this aspect of the work setting may lead to a range of benefits. Lastly, we discuss issues relating to the future development and refinement of the application of the WRQoL scale and how it might be of benefit a broad range of individuals and organisations.