Research Article - (2012) Volume 2, Issue 5
1Department of Education Administration, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
2Young Researchers Club, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
The present study is a research paper base on Walton’s QWL model in order to associate between the employee’s QWL and their effectiveness in west Azerbaijan banking in Iran. To test the hypotheses, questionnaire including 32 questions was designed. Fallowing the measurement of reliability and validity, the questionnaires were given to the sample. The number of the sample consisted of 120 subject who were selected based on Cochrane model. To analyze the data, spearman correlation coefficient testing was applied. The obtain results reveal that there is a significant relationship between the variables of salary and benefits, job security healthy and secure work environment, autonomy at work, providing the basis for skills education, and determining the job development direction with the employees effectiveness.
Quality of Work Life, Effectiveness, Walton’s QWL Model.
To achieve the quality of work life, regular effort are required by the organizations which offer the employees more opportunities for their job effectiveness and collaboration on the overall effectiveness. Therefore, every organization with optional and influential effectiveness is looking for the ways to cause the employees to reach to a degree of ability that apply their own ability and intelligence which can be accomplished through appropriate QWL. QWL movement represents a sort of organization culture or management approach which employees feel ownership. Autonomy, responsibility and self- steam. QWL includes all the measurements which are taken for the preservation of employee’s body and soul, and brings about their satisfaction and gratitude. QWL is a complex issue, and is a combination of job environment and personally overall assessment process of job variable [10,5]. Eduard and et al interpret QWL as a set of real-life conditions in organization and believe that QWL particularly represents the employee’s attitudes and feelings of their job. The QWL mission is considerate to be the creation of job satisfaction for employees and assistance to organization in the selection. Preservation of employees demand that they have more monitoring and interference in their job as well they consider as the owner of their job [7]. QWL is an approach which justifies the adoption and procedures according to the improvement of general conditions of work environment. These policies cause the job to be designed in a way that reduces its monotony [19]. QWL is a philosophy, a set of principles, which holds that people are the most important resource in the organization as they are trustworthy, responsible and capable of making valuable contribution and they should be treated with dignity and respect [6]. QWL consists of opportunities for active involvement in group working arrangements or problem solving that are of mutual benefit to employees or employers, based on labor management cooperation. People also conceive of QWL as a set of methods, such as autonomous work groups, job enrichment and high-involvement aimed at boosting the satisfaction and productivity of workers [17]. Both employers and employees now better appreciate the importance of the Quality of work life in an organization. Quality of work life is important to organizational performance. Quality of work life is an important factor that affects motivation at work. Quality of work life programs has two objectives: to enhance the productivity and the satisfaction of employees. Quality of work life is the quality of the content of relationship between employees and their total working environment with human dimensions added to the usual technical and economic ones. Glassier thinks that quality of work life implies job security, good working conditions, adequate and fair compensation, more even than equal employment opportunity all together. The relationship between effectiveness and QWL is a mutual one, namely that improving QWL and emphasizing tangible factors such as salary, accommodations, job security and the like provide peace of mind and comfort of imagination for the employees of any organization to a higher extent, this results in the enhancement of workforce effectiveness [14]. On the other hand, effectiveness in enhancement creates a feeling of achievement, usefulness, and effectiveness in work environment (which is itself one of the human needs) in the individual which leads to enhancement of QWL. Therefore, it can be said that the relationship between effectiveness and QWL is a mutual, interactive and progressive relationship [20].
According to Walton and Davis believes the term QWL was introduced in the late 1960s as a way of focusing on the effects of employment on health and general well-being and ways to enhance the quality of a person’s on the job experience [4,15]. QWL is much broader and more diverse than organizational development, in ensuring adequate and fair compensation, safe and healthy working conditions, opportunities for personal growth and development, satisfaction of social needs at work, protection of employee rights, compatibility between work and non-work responsibilities and the social relevance of work-life [2]. Quality of Work Life (QWL) has been defined as “The quality of relationship between the employees and the total working environment”. QWL is concerned with the overall climate of work and the impact on work and people as well as on organization effectiveness [1]. In an organization, a high level of quality of work life (QWL) is necessary to continue to attract and retain employees. Some researchers propose that the key constructs of QWL are higher payment, job security, better reward systems, growth opportunity and participative groups among others [6,3,16]. Lau, Wong, Chan and Law explained QWL as the suitable working environment that supports and promotes satisfaction by providing employees with rewards, job security and career growth opportunities. Serey defined QWL: is quite conclusive and best meet the contemporary work environment. The definition is related to meaningful and satisfying work. It includes (i) an opportunity to exercise one’s talents and capacities, to face challenges and situations that require independent initiative and selfdirection; (ii) an activity thought to be worthwhile by the individuals involved; (iii) an activity in which one understands the role the individual plays in the achievement of some overall goals; and (iv) a sense of taking pride in what one is doing and in doing it well [11]. Rethinam and Ismail reviewed different researches about meanings and constructs of QWL and designated that quality of work life is a multi-dimensional construct and is made of a number of inter-related factors. Figure 1 indicates constructs of QWL presented by Rethinam and Ismail.
Figure 1. A Paradigm Showing the Constructs of QWL
In an overall definition, it can be said that “QWL is the organizational employees’ imagination, comprehension or interpretation of physical and mental optima in work environment. To evaluate the QWL, the models more frequently found in the literature are Hackman and Oldham; Westley; Wether and Davis; Walton; Lawler; Thomas; Werther, Morton, Harold Conts, Mintzberg, Robbins and Fernandes. In Iran, the Walton’s QWL model is one of the most accepted and used by the researchers QWL. Walton proposed eight major conceptual categories relating to QWL as
1) adequate and fair compensation,
2) safe and healthy working conditions,
3) immediate opportunity to use and develop human capacities,
4) opportunity for continued growth and security,
5) social integration in the work organization,
6) constitutionalism in the work organization,
7) work and total life space and [14], social relevance of work life. Several published work shave [4]. Lawler proposed there are three distinctive elements of QWL related interventions:
1) A concern about the effect of work on people as well as organizational effectiveness,
2) The idea of worker participation in organizational problem solving and decision making
3) The creation of reward structures in the workplace which consider innovative ways of rewarding employee input into the work process such as gain sharing [8].
Hood and Smith argue that managers’ close attention to QWL variables can facilitate more human work environment which includes not only personnel basic needs but also higher levels of needs, continues development and developed performance [13].
Based on Loscocco and Roschelle the ways that people respond to their jobs have consequences for their personal happiness and the effectiveness of their work organizations [13]. Table 1 has shown the correlate variables to quality of work life from research studies by researchers of 2000 to 2011.
Table 1. The correlate variables to quality of work life from research studies (2000-2011)
This research is correlative in terms of descriptive methods and is applied in terms of purpose. The present study populations are bank teller’s staff. To select the sample, stratified random sampling approach has been used. Following share calculation of each class in size, the sample (n=120) has been selected through simple random sampling method with in each class of specified number. Data collection instrument in this questionnaire for measurement are effectiveness and five options likert scale. To determine the validity, the content validity has been used to collect the data. The reliability of questionnaire through Cronbach Alpha is 0.92. To measure the QWL, Walton’s questionnaire has been used.
Given that all of the independent variables of the study have been measured in ordinal scale, and given that the aim of investigation and testing is the linear relationship between independent and dependent variable of the study; therefore, the most appropriate statistical testing for testing the hypothesis of the study is Spearman correlation testing. The results of testing hypotheses indicate that the significant level of correlation testing for hypothesis one is (p=0.013). In other words, an increase in salary leads to an increase in the rat of employees’ effectiveness. The results of the tests for hypothesis two state that the significant level is (p=0.04), and the observed correlation coefficient between the two variable of job security and employees’ effectiveness (p=0.188) is directly significant with a reliability of over 95%. Based on the results of hypothesis there (p=0.026) the linear relationship between the two variability of healthy environment and work safety with the employees’ effectiveness is directly significant. The result of hypothesis four reveals that the significant of Spearman correlation between the two variable of autonomy at work and effectiveness is (p=0.001). The correlation between the two variables is significant with a probability of over 99%. The significance level of testing number five is (p=0.001); thus, it can be said that probably there is can relationship is a significant relationship between the two variables of providing skills development and education with employees’ effectiveness over 99 percent. The results of testing hypothesis number six states that the significant level of Spearman Correlation between the two variable of determination of job development direction and the rat of employees’ effectiveness in banking is (p=0.001) with a probability of more than 99 percent.
The research results corresponding with research hypotheses are as follows:
- There is a relationship between employee’ income important and their effectiveness in banking.
- There is a relationship between employees’ job security and the rat of their in banking.
- There is relationship between employees’ job services, accommodation, and cure with their rat of effectiveness in banking.
- There is a relationship between the related factors of job quality and building design and employees’ rat of effectiveness in banking.
- There is a relationship between manager’s motivation creation and employees’ rat of effectiveness in banking.
- There is relationship between organization condition and atmosphere and the rat of employees’ effectiveness.
