2.2.

4 Components of Quality of Work Life

A human being always functions within an environment composed of systems and subsystems, such as the physical environment, cultural environment, social environment and psychological close environment, as was discussed in Chapter 1. These environmental influences imply that when criteria are considered, a wide range of factors has to be taken into account. Different categories of job components are considered, namely extrinsic and intrinsic job factors, social factors and the organisational climate as a factor that influences the overall satisfaction with quality of work life. However, the diversity of the employees of an organisation implies that demographic variables should also be considered

as possible predictors.

2.2.4.1 Demographic Variables

Different authors placed emphasis on different demographic aspects. Nordenfelt (1993) commented on environmental influences. The physical environment within which the individual functions, forms the basis for his or her actions, that is, it provides the opportunity to indulge in various activities. These opportunities vary in different parts of the country. Cities provide the opportunities for entertainment, better education, information and better medical facilities. Rural areas provide opportunities to be close to nature, clean air and open spaces (Nordenfelt, 1993). Faubion, Palmer and Andrew (2001) conducted a study among vocational rehabilitation counsellors to determine perceived differences between rural and urban employees. The results indicated that rural counsellors were more satisfied than urban counsellors with extrinsic factors, such as office location, safety in the office, parking and surrounding areas and safety in job related travel. Additionally, rural counsellors reported being more satisfied with the healthiness and various comfort factors of their work environment. However, no differences were found related to overall job satisfaction and other demographic variables, such as gender, race, age, education and work experience.

In the 1930's, Robert Hoppock found that different levels of satisfaction were related to different occupational levels, with the highest occupational level (professional, managerial and executive) being accompanied by the highest satisfaction. There were more unskilled manual workers who reported dissatisfaction than professionals (Landy, 1989). Koberg, Boss, Senjem and Goodman (1999) reported findings that individuals at higher levels of the organisation, who traditionally hold the most power, and individuals with more seniority in the organisation feel more empowered, while variables such as gender and race (Whites and non-Whites) had no significant effect on feelings of

empowerment. Their findings further suggest that workers who feel empowered, irrespective of position, have increased job satisfaction. Stouffer, Suchman, DeVinney, Star and Williams (1977) found that in the military, factors such as ambition to become an officer, level of education, a chance to choose the post and appointment in the chosen post to be important for job satisfaction. Satisfaction was also associated with formal status and with informal status (for example, men in more prestigious corps were more likely to be satisfied with their jobs then men in other branches). Contrary to his expectations, Pool (1997) did not find that professional orientation correlated with a significant positive effect on job satisfaction. As far as needs are concerned, it is generally proposed that management jobs require people to exercise power more than non-management jobs do, and that managers as a group have a higher need for power than most other workers (Medcof & Hausdorf, 1995). Schaffer (1953) also mentioned the possibility that certain common needs are associated with members of the same occupational groups, and that the occupation provides the opportunity to derive common satisfactions from it. Ducharme and Martin (2000) found that older workers and workers in higher status occupations are significantly more satisfied with their jobs. However, when job rewards were held constant, the significant influences were reduced to non-significance.

The period a person spends in a position can be useful for predicting or influencing the satisfaction if it is also considered how the person sees his or her chances to be promoted. A person who has just been promoted may be more satisfied than the individual who was not, while being within an established career ladder, with known advancement stages, for example, rank promotion in the military. Satisfaction will be affected by gradual awareness that these will or will not be realized. Another job aspect that can be influenced by the period in a position is that an initially challenging job may become less so as the occupant gains competence by experience and the novelty of new skill also gradually wears off. Promotion to a higher position also entails an increase in salary and the individual may initially be satisfied with his or her income, which after a number of years without a raise may not be as satisfactory any more (Seashore, 1975).

Another variable that was taken into account by Seashore (1975) is age. Normallife experience increases with aging, abrupt changes of economic inflation orchanging levels of employment may alter the meaning a person attaches to a joband his or her satisfaction with it.Early research on age and job satisfaction focused on attempts to prove andreport a positive linear relationship between age and job satisfaction. However,a non-significant linear relationship may actually be a significant non-linearrelationship. When Hochwater, Ferris, Perrewe, Witt and Kiewitz (2001) realizedthat previous research assessing the relationship between age and jobsatisfaction provided mixed results and no stable conclusions could be drawnform it, they statistically controlled variables, such as gender, supervisor andposition status and affective disposition. Their results portrayed a Ushaperelationship between age and job satisfaction. Reasons proposed for such arelationship are that younger employees have high expectations, have a limitedunderstanding of what makes a satisfying job and earning money is enoughsatisfaction for them. Later on they may realize that their expectations are notmet, they find out more about other types of job opportunities and the incentivesmay not be as enticing any more. More rewarding, upper level positions are notavailable to younger employees and more mature people who earned thesepositions experience more satisfaction. It was also suggested that the powerand prestige inherent in senior positions contributes to higher levels ofsatisfaction among older people.Mutran, Reitzes, Bratton and Fernandez (1997) researched gender differencesagainst other variables, such as age, career phase, education and occupation inorder to explore their assessment of the quality of time spent at work and theirsatisfaction with work. They had the expectation that men and women who arebetter educated, have higher income and may have experienced fewerdifficulties with occupational mobility would be more likely to be satisfied withtheir jobs. They also surmised that highly educated individuals would be lesssatisfied with their work, because of elevated, but potentially unfulfilledexpectations. On the other hand, it can be assumed that individuals withprestigious and higher paying jobs will be more positive in their subjectiveresponses to work. Their research results showed that there are no overalldifferences in the way that middle-aged working men and women perceive theirjobs. In their research it was found that as far as work conditions go, men aremore likely than women to hold upper-level occupations, to have more variety intheir jobs, and to exert more self-direction in their work than women. As theyexpected, they found that those with the greatest education tend to be lesssatisfied with their work. They concluded that education contributes to havingmore alternatives to consider. They further found that it is more often women(African Americans more than Whites) than men who assess the quality of timeat work in a positive light in terms of meaning and purpose. Married persons toohave a positive assessment of their time at work, as well as those who havemore autonomy and self-direction at work and those whose work is non-repetitive. Moen (2000) found that some characteristics of the work environmentpredict quality of work life differently for men and women. Autonomy on the job is

positively related to coping or mastery for men and negatively related to theirexperience of overload. Having the option to negotiate work hours is related tolower overload for women, while being able to work at home tends to predictfewer stress symptoms for men. Working a varying job shift is associated withoverload for men and tends to be linked to men's work/life conflict. Nordenfelt (1993) refers to a study Veenhoven presented in 1984 where 245studies by researchers, mainly psychologists, investigated the importance ofvarious background conditions for happiness and satisfaction. Thedemographic factors did not come out as strong predictors, but the correlationbetween happiness and such factors as education, intelligence and generalactivity were still evident. Looking at cross-cultural variations in predictors of satisfaction with life, Diener,Lucas, Oishi and Suh (1999) found that financial satisfaction was more stronglyassociated with satisfaction with life in poorer nations, whereas satisfaction withhome life was more strongly related to satisfaction with life in wealthy nations.From the literature it seems that no one demographic variable can be singled outas predictor, but rather that they may have a moderating effect or have an impactin combination with other variables. 2.2.4.2 Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Job Factors Considerations in the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic job factors, thathave to do with satisfaction with quality of work life, are described by Warr(1987), Deci and Ryan (1985), Thomas and Velthouse (1990) and Snelders(1996). Extrinsic factors concern aspects of a job that form the background orcontext to the task itself. It consists of activities that are externally motivated byrewards and it is carried out only because of its effects. Examples of extrinsic job factors are pay, working conditions, working hours, procedures and jobsecurity. Intrinsic factors cover aspects inherent in the conduct of the job itself. Itconsists of activities that are intrinsically motivating, meaning that they arerewarding by themselves. The intrinsic motivation would be brought about by thefeelings of competence and self-determination that someone experiences whileengaging in a task, also known as content satisfaction. Intrinsic reward, such asenjoying the work itself or the feeling of satisfaction that something meaningful isaccomplished, can be even more rewarding than tangible rewards (Snelders,1996). Examples of intrinsic job factors are freedom to choose how toundertake the work (autonomy), amount of responsibility and initiative that isallowed, skill requirements and variety.When people are intrinsically motivated, they experience interest and enjoymentand in some instances they experience a natural flow of energy. The antithesisof interest and energy is pressure and tension. Insofar as people are pressuringthemselves, feeling anxious, and working with great urgency, it can be sure thatextrinsic motivation is involved. Their self-esteem may be on the line, they mayhave deadlines, or some material reward may be involved (Deci & Ryan, 1985).Although extrinsic

and intrinsic job factors tend to be positively inter-correlated,many investigators emphasized their conceptual separation (Warr, 1987).However, in the literature, authors do not always deal with them separately. Extrinsic Factors Adequate and fair compensation . Even though acceptedoperational measures are not available to judge the adequacy of income from work and the fairness of compensation, the twofactors are important determinants of the quality of working life: Adequate income: Does the income from full-time work meetsocially determined standards of sufficiency or the subjectivestandard of the recipient? Fair compensation: Does the pay received for certain work bearan appropriate relationship to the pay received for other work?(Walton, 1975) A positive relationship between standard of living and mentalhealth has been recorded in many national populations. Someresearch has found that people with higher incomes are moresatisfied with their pay; and others have obtained similar results inrespect of perceived fairness, relative to ones own and othersresponsibility and skill level. In view of the central importance ofmoney to meet the needs of oneself and ones family, it seemsvery probable that incomes judged to be inadequate would beassociated with health and satisfaction (Warr, 1987). Physical Work Conditions . The comfort dimension of jobsatisfaction assesses the employees reactions to aspects of thejob, which include travel to and from work, the physicalsurroundings, the work hours and sufficient time to completeassignments (Chelte, 1983). According to Payne (1987), thephysical environment, such as architecture, equipment, noise,lighting, decoration and use of plants, is likely to make an impactupon a persons achievement, affective satisfaction, andpsychological strain. Stein (1983) mentioned any decent workingconditions, subject to the constraints of the particular setting, task,or technology. Moen (2000) studied effective work life strategiesregarding work conditions. Work-hour preferences were found tobe a characteristic related to quality of life. A significant predictorof quality of work life is whether or not respondents are working thehours they see as ideal. Those wishing to work fewer hours on thejob tend to experience more conflict between work life andpersonal life, more stress and more overload. Existing structuralconstraints, policies and practices prevent significant numbers ofemployees from working the hours they would like, with importantconsequences for their well-being. Promotion Prospects

. A worker who feels overqualified (forexample promotion overdue according to promotion policy) for hisjob will almost always be concerned about his possibilities forpromotion. There are of course reasons other than satisfaction forwanting promotion, the most obvious of which is more pay, butsurveys reveal almost universally greater concern with promotionthan with pay or other job aspects. With promotion, different needscan be involved such as more power, more pay, more status,sense of achievement and new challenges. Comparablequestions, items and clusters show that this is generally the jobaspect with which satisfaction is lowest (Thurman, 1977). Thepromotion dimension utilizes items such as the good chances forpromotion, and the employer is interested in providing opportunityfor advancement (Chelte, 1983). Benefits These are the usual benefits that flow from work,including pay, promotion or position, rank and status, privilege ofposition, security and fringe benefits (Chelte, 1983; Stein, 1983).Ducharme and Martin (2000) found extrinsic rewards to have astatistically significant effect on overall job satisfaction, butcompared to other job stressors it had the least influence. Job Security . Job security is associated with feelings of securityabout future employment, for example, feeling secure knowing thatone is not likely to get laid off (Sirgyet al.2001). Moen (2000)studied effective work life strategies regarding work conditions,gender and life quality. Job insecurity was found to give rise tostress symptoms and overload, as well as higher levels of intra-personal conflict concerning work and personal life. Safe and healthy working conditions . It is widely accepted in oursociety, as well as enforced by law, that workers should not beexposed to physical conditions that are unduly hazardous ordetrimental to their health (Walton, 1975). Thurman (1977) alsomentioned health and safety as important aspects. Resources adequacy . Resource adequacy has to do withenough time and equipment, adequate information and help tocomplete assignments (Chelte, 1983). Job Demands . Workers are required to accept certain goals,often imposed as task demands arising from their job description.This is one of the aspects that is a normal requirement of a job, butwhen there is too much of it, it can be experienced as stressful(Warr, 1987). Job demands can be described as psychologicalstressors. This refers to what the person is

required to do, andparticularly to the quantity and quality of work to be done. Jobs thatsimultaneously demand high quantity and high quality within littletime can be particularly stressful. Such situations can be verychallenging and exciting, so it all depends on the strength of thedemands. Too little demand leads to boredom, just enough toexcitement, and too much to breakdown (Payne, 1987; Janssen,2000). Moen (2000) found that those in demanding jobs areespecially vulnerable to overload and stress. Ducharme andMartin (2000) found that high job pressure is inversely andsignificantly related to satisfaction. Fellow Workers . The emphasis onesprit de corpsinorganisations necessitates that we pay greater attention to the roleof co-worker relations in determining the nature and quality of worklife. Hodson (1997) found that the effects of co-worker relations onjob satisfaction and on good relations with management aresubstantial, often more than those of job characteristics. Conflictand infighting among fellow workers are associated with lower jobsatisfaction, while worker harmony is associated with greater jobsatisfaction. Supportive co-worker relations appear to be part of afavourable environment. A measure for relations with fellowworkers is the amount of interpersonal contact and communicationon the job (Chelte, 1983). According to Stein (1983), people needto be treated with dignity and respect under all circumstances.This could form part of ones satisfaction with fellow workers asrespect is normally expected from people one works with. Supervisors . Davis et al. (1984) made use of a step-by-step Delphi analysis to develop a definition and measure of quality of working life. Their results identified the degree to which superiors treat subordinates with respect and have confidence in their abilities as significant predictor of quality of working life. Koberg et al. (1999) found that feelings of empowerment are more likely in a work group with an approachable leader who encourages the worth of the group and that these feelings are positively correlated

to job satisfaction. Superior leadership occurs when leaders broaden and elevate the interests of their followers and when they emphasize the purposes and mission of the group. The transformational type of leadership, as described by Bass (1990), is characterized by qualities such as consideration for followers, as well as the ability to inspire and intellectually stimulate followers. The transformational leader meets the emotional needs of each follower by paying attention to their particular development needs. Followers are assigned tasks with those needs in mind, as well as the needs of the organisation. People with high needs to develop, who need to be creative, to do challenging work and to master skills and achieve goals, will be particularly very satisfied with this type of leader and their satisfaction with their work life will be increased. Pool (1997) hypothesized that leadership behaviour indicating friendship and respect between the leader and subordinates would have a significant and positive impact on job satisfaction and it did prove to be a powerful predictor. He also suggested that an inverse and significant relationship would exist between the leadership behaviour in which the leader organises and defines the relationships in the group and job satisfaction. He demonstrated that the higher the level of this leadership behaviour, the lower the level of job satisfaction. When the leader dictates how the job is to be performed, this results in little room for autonomy and creativity. Frone (2000) developed and tested a

model of interpersonal conflict at work in a sample of young workers. The model predicts that conflict with supervisors is predictive of organisationally relevant psychological outcomes, such as job satisfaction. Bateman and Organ (1983) found a correlation between leader behaviour perceived as positive by workers and specific facets of satisfaction. Satisfaction with supervision and promotional opportunities was found to be more important than pay, coworkers and the work itself. The rationale seems to be that the immediate supervisor represents the most direct source of variance in events that arouse a felt need to reciprocate or that influence positive affect. Yukl (1998) sees supporting, developing, recognizing, rewarding and conflict management supervisor behaviour as conducive to good quality working relationships. It is more satisfying to work with someone who is friendly, cooperative, and supportive than with someone who is cold, hostile or uncooperative. Some forms of supporting behaviour reduce the amount of stress in the job; higher job satisfaction is likely to result and less unhealthy consequences such as alcoholism and drug use. Overall extensive research demonstrates that subordinates of supportive leaders are usually more satisfied with their leader and with their job. Yukl (1998) mentions the following behaviours that are associated with supportive leadership: acceptance and positive regard; polite and patient, not arrogant and rude; bolster self-

esteem; recognition for achievements and contributions by each employee; assistance with the work when needed and help to overcome bureaucratic obstacles and willingness to help with personal problems. A demanding job and job insecurity are associated with low life quality, while supervisor support appears to be an important component of high life quality. Moen (2000) found that employees with supportive supervisors experience far better quality of life. Intrinsic Factors After analysing the data of international surveys, Thurman (1977) came to the conclusion that the major causes of dissatisfaction lay in the continuing lack of responsibility, autonomy and discretionary authority offered by most jobs, that results in limited opportunities to use knowledge and abilities. He also discovered that the job aspects about which workers express the least satisfaction and are frustrated with are career aspirations and the desire for interesting, fulfilling work. These are all intrinsic facets of work as they are embedded in the work itself. Other facets that fall in this category are: Job Content . Thurmans (1977) analysis found several aspects of a good job. These are variety, learning opportunities, the possibility of organising ones own work, mental challenge, growth and being given a chance to do the things one does best. He also found that there is a need to create jobs that are more meaningful and creative and that such jobs are more satisfying and give a

greater personal stimulus to development than specialized, routine tasks. Davis, Levine and Taylors (1984) analysis to develop and define a measure of quality of working life resulted in the identification of variety in the daily work routine, challenge of work, good future work opportunities and contribution to society as significant predictors of quality of working life. Variety . Observations of workers before and after the introduction of greater variety into their jobs made it clear that highly repetitive work gave rise to low satisfaction (Warr, 1987). Opportunity to use and develop human capacities . With regard to opportunities to use and develop abilities and skills in a job, Walton (1975) questions whether a particular job allows for substantial autonomy and self-control relative to external controls; permits the learning and exercise of a wider range of skills and abilities, rather than a repetitive application of few skills; obtains meaningful information about the total work process and the results of ones own actions, in order to appreciate the relevance and consequences of ones actions; embraces a whole task in order to provide meaningfulness; embraces planning as well as implementation activities; contributes to maintaining and expanding ones capabilities; and provides the opportunity to use acquired knowledge and skills in future work assignments. Workers reporting no opportunity to use their abilities in their job

exhibited significantly lower job satisfaction (Warr, 1987). Control or autonomy . This is the degree to which a workenvironment permits an individual to control activities and events.Freedom of action, discretion, influence, power, participation indecision-making and decision latitude on the job is inseparablefrom a high quality of work life (Stein, 1983; Warr, 1987). Meaningfulness .Spreitzer, Kizilos and Nason (1997)investigated the effect of dimensions of psychologicalempowerment on satisfaction. They report that most empiricalresearch has shown a strong link between meaning and worksatisfaction and this was also confirmed in their research. Theybase their choice of this dimension on literature that emphasisesthe importance of the degree to which an individual finds workpersonally meaningful as precondition for work satisfaction. Theyalso refer to the link between meaning and satisfaction in thetransformational leadership literature, where it is argued that asense of meaning results in increased motivation and satisfaction. Autonomy. Another dimension found by Spreitzeret al. (1997) as being a critical determinant of satisfaction and which is considered a key component of intrinsic motivation, is autonomy. In their study, Ducharme and Martin (2000) found autonomy to be the strongest predictor of overall job satisfaction compared to complexity, pressure and income. Reis, Sheldon, Gable, Roscoe and Ryan (2000) described activities related to autonomy as something not enforced by the external environment, but rather performed out of interest and enjoyment. Initiative . High discretion tends to be associated with more loosely defined jobs, such as those given to senior managers.

Some jobs can be clearly laid down, but leave the person discretion within the boundaries specified. Others may require even a manager to check with a senior before taking any decision that is not strictly a routine task. The balance between the degree of clarity in the role and the amount of discretion allocated to it is important, for between them they determine the degree of control the person has over his or her environment. Control is becoming a central concept in the stress literature, where lack of it seems to increase peoples perceptions of stress which leads them to experience emotional strain (Payne, 1987). Some researchers take a very strong position regarding the importance of personal control; they posit that persons are motivated to seek control and that the possession of control is necessary for the individuals wellbeing. As an important aspect of work, this will translate into the sense that people are given opportunities to use their own initiative in the execution of their work, are involved in participation in decision-making and are able to influence certain outcomes (Greenberger & Strasser, 1986). Recognition . Recognition means being known as an individual and being visible not only personally but as a contributor (Stein, 1983). Recognizing is one of the behaviours of leaders mentioned by Yukl (1998). It involves giving praise and showing appreciation to others for effective performance, significant achievements and important contributions. According to Yukl, recognizing is one of

the most neglected managerial practices, even though it can be one of the most effective for building commitment, increased job satisfaction and improving working relationships. Most studies that measured positive contingent reward behaviour using questionnaires found a positive correlation with subordinate satisfaction. Progress and development . These are among the benefits we derive from work. They include the internal rewards available from the organisation: challenge, exercise of competence, development of skill and a sense of accomplishment (Stein, 1983). Challenge . The amount of challenge a person has in a job is noticeable in development of abilities, freedom to decide on work control methods, degree of interesting work and a chance to see results of work (Chelte, 1983). The social relevance of work life . Organisations seen not to be acting in a socially responsible manner, for example honouring human rights, will cause increasing numbers of workers to depreciate the value of their work and careers which in turn affect their self-esteem (Walton, 1975). Clarity . Low levels of clarity, or high uncertainty, are generally found to be detrimental, especially over long periods of time. Warr

(1987) describes three types of clarity: information about the results of behaviour in the form of feedback about the consequences of action is a minimum requirement for the establishment and maintenance of personal control and for the development and utilization of skills; task feedback for learning promptly about outcomes; information about the future and information about required behaviour, also referred to as role ambiguity. Low clarity about future career developments was found to be significantly associated with high levels of job dissatisfaction, job-related depression and job related anxiety. Payne (1987) considers the degree to which job content is specified and the degree to which the incumbent is given discretion about what, when and how he or she does the job. Roles can be very clearly defined with detailed written instructions, or they can be left unspecified and ambiguous. There is a correlation between role clarity, role ambiguity and role conflict. Clear jobs create less ambiguity and lead to less conflict among the role-holders of associated jobs. A meta-analysis of results relating these role variables to measures of job satisfaction shows that both role conflict and role ambiguity relate to lower satisfaction and more signs of psychological and physical illness. 2.2.4.3 Social Factors Since work and career are typically pursued within a framework of socialorganisations, the nature of personal relationships becomes an importantdimension of the quality of working life. Social Support

. Membership in work groups marked by patternsof reciprocal help, socio-emotional support and affirmation of theuniqueness of each individual, could have an effect on individualssatisfaction. So too will a sense of community and the waymembers of the work organisation relate to one another about theirideas and feelings have a positive effect (Walton, 1975). Thesocial climate can modify the effects of negative job conditions. Atthe individual level, the social relationships surrounding a person(climate) have been shown to have important consequences formental health and even physical well-being. Social support occursin the form of comfort and emotional security, direct help withthings like money or practical assistance and information, whichcan help people to solve their problems and reach decisions abouttheir situation (Payne, 1987). Meir, Tziner and Glazner (1997) studied the importance of groupmembership to job satisfaction. They found that the importance ofgroups emerged more significantly as an independent predictor ofjob satisfaction over time. Because social support has its sourcein the work group, this may explain why groups may be aconsiderable factor in determining job satisfaction. Placingimportance on the work group results from the perception that itcan provide social identity and opportunities for social interactionand help in surmounting psychological and functional obstacles inorganisational life. In their study, Ducharme and Martin (2000) suggested that socialsupport arises from affective support and instrumental support.Affective support provides the recipient with feelings of beingaccepted and cared for by co-workers, while instrumental supportinvolves functional and material assistance in response to specificneeds in the execution of work. They expected to find thatworkplace relationships may be a source of satisfaction and maycontribute directly to overall job satisfaction regardless of stressesand rewards encountered at work. In fact, when comparing theestimates for the two social support variables, both forms of co-worker support have significantly positive effects on jobsatisfaction, but instrumental support appeared to have made arelatively stronger contribution. In their study, it was the thirdstrongest predictor of satisfaction with work. Friendship Opportunities . Reported friendship opportunities atwork are significantly positively correlated with job-related mentalhealth. Support received from ones co-workers and boss is found to contribute significantly to a range of context-free variables, such as low anxiety, depressed and somatic symptoms and high self esteem and subjective competence (Warr, 1987).