QUALITY OF WORK LIFE – THE HUMAN IMPLICATIONS

“One cannot do right in one area of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in another. Life is one invisible whole” – Mahatma Gandhi

      How true and difficult is to paraphrase the profound truth contained in the words of one of the greatest human beings of the modern world. The harsh reality of modern life is that Quality of Work Life (QWL) has taken a beating because most of us are working harder than ever. On average people in the developed countries spend an astonishing 14 to 15 hours a day against the accepted 8 to 9 hours. What is very disturbing is that the trend is on the rise. Burn out; stress leading to health hazards is the natural offshoot. The concept of lifetime employment or job security through hard work has been on a decline since more and more people are on short-term contracts and lack security of long-term employment.

      Although traditional work structures seem to be dissolving, this hasn’t necessarily resulted in more flexibility for the workers. Employers, by and large, are still reluctant to absorb employees on a permanent basis before they have ‘proved their worth’. The psychological pressure on the employee is tremendous and their lives are characterised by a pronounced conflict between professional and private lives. Lesser employees doing greater work make the work monotonous and gruelling for the employee. The implication of all this is that it leaves the worker with less and less time for interests, family and leisure time in general.

      It is not uncommon to see people who aspire to have work and personal life in synchronisation. The work life balance has become the buzzword for the present generation. Thus in an ideal world, most people would like their output assessed by the results they achieve at work and not by the hours they spend slaying away at their desk. Thus, in turn, would leave them free to pursue their personal interests outside work. Only a handful of employees have understood this intrinsic desire of employees and have turned it into a competitive advantage. Occupational Psychology assumes a key role as it contributes to work models but also with the thorough study of factors underlying the work/life balance. The study of work and family life is a relatively recent field. They argue out a case for alternative work models.

      Workplace flexibility is increasingly becoming important both for the employers as well as the employees. A good fit between people’s personal and work roles can go a long way in resolving conflicts. In fact researchers claim that by helping to manage employee’s work/life conflicts the company actually increases “psychological availability for work” of an employee. This is at least true of some learning organisations that are open to such novel HR practices. They look at flexible work arrangements as an opportunity for more efficient recruitment, decrease in staff turnover and absenteeism. Very importantly it helps them to project an improved corporate image.

      Occupational psychology conducted in UK points out that managers feel to be working unjustifiably long hours and to be pushing their staff too hard. Only a relatively small percentage felt reasonably sure that they have indicated their preference for more flexible working hours. Nearly half perceived increased difficulties in balancing their work and personal life and well over half said pressure to perform at work left them less and less time for their personal life, making them feel that they are missing out. The analysis of this research data was descriptive and no attempts were made to analyse any traits underlying the work/life balance. There are two important issues to be looked at. They are:

Ä Two distinct factors underlying the work/life balance. One is related to the general status quo of the workplace and the other one to attitudes held by the individual.

Ä That these factors would correlate with other variables, such as commitment, gender or age.

It is instinctive human desire to secure oneself in material comforts in the early phase of life to enjoy good quality of life at a later point in the life span. The point that many do not realise is that life is not so compartmentalised that one can do the activities in a sequential order – one after the other. Life is a bundle that contains all the strands together and hence the need to balance work life and other related issues. There is nothing wrong in having career ambitions. We all have a deep human hunger to create something great through the work we do and shine in our chosen profession.

One important dimension is the relationship balance. Many of us rationalise by rationing “quality time” for the family. Fact of the matter is that we tend to perceive that the time spent with family should be qualitatively superior and quantity doesn’t matter. One must go the extra mile and ensure that the right quantity of time is provided for the bonds of trust and love to grow. Children, in particular, believe that the more time you spend with them reflects how much you love them. It is said laughter is the shortest distance between two people. The “Relationship Balance” creates a sense of fulfilment and the synergy spill over positively in all of the other areas of your life. The warmth and love on the home front enables a person to focus intensively and concentrate fully on the professional work and achieve high degree of success. The other important dimension is career balance. Einstein once said that one should be a person of value rather than a person of success. There is a natural human urge in most of us to have deep sense of fulfilment through our work lie. Our personal life will be very dull and boring if work life isn’t exciting and doesn’t offer scope to bring out the dormant talent in us. The urge to do some commercial activity by creative methods to succeed in the market place and obtain monetary as well social rewards is inherent in all human beings.

      The point of wisdom is simply this: Do not trade-ff the pleasure of living for the sake of achievement. Instead, joyfully achieve. Balance your commitment to being the best you can be at work with a deep commitment to being a great family person and loving friend. Understand that without balance in every core area of your life, you’ll never find lasting happiness and a sense that you have lived well.