RESEARCH INTO QUALITY OF WORK LIFE IN ORGANISATIONAL STUDIES: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

Society and Economy. 2017. Vol. 39. No. 4. P. 597–616.

Gogoleva A., Sorokin P., Efendiev A.

This paper outlines major theoretical and methodological problems in Quality of Work Life (QWL) research within organisational studies and discusses possible solutions, based on extensive literature analysis. An electronic search in the Scopus database found 1244 publications utilising the QWL concept. From this sample we selected 387 papers dealing directly with QWL and compiled a final set of publications for detailed review. Literature analysis revealed the absence of a clear and concrete understanding of QWL, various (and often incomplete) approaches to QWL content and indicators and interference between QWL and other concepts such as ‘job satisfaction’, which all resulted in general confusion about the notion in academic discussions. As a possible solution, we suggested distinguishing clearly and including in the single integrative research instrument: 1) an aggregate subjective QWL measurement tool and 2) an aggregate objective QWL measurement tool. Finally, we present arguments for a new understanding of QWL, combining subjective and objective measures in the context of general integration between ‘working conditions’ and ‘needs satisfaction’ approaches.

Keywords: методология, organizational studies, methodology, качество трудовой жизни, организационные исследования, quality of work life, managerial studies, менеджериальные исследования

Publication based on the results of: ­­­The social organization of economic life in contemporary Russian society (2015)