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Defining Quality of Nursing Work Life
Defining Quality of Nursing Work Life
Brooks
Mary Ann Anderson
that ignores the technical subsys- include procedures, skills, knowl- include the employer and society
tem (Adler & Docherty, 1998; edge, technology, and equipment. at large, as recommended by
Pasmore, 1988; Van der Zwaan, According to Cronbach and Seashore (1975). Levine et al.
1994). In a meta-analysis of 17 Meehl (1955), whenever no uni- (1984) defined and measured
socio-technical studies, the im- verse of content is accepted as QWL in an insurance company
pact of socio-technical interven- entirely adequate to define a con- from the perspective of white-col-
tions, although positive, varied struct, the empirical referents lar employees. Seven significant
greatly across studies (Beekun, need to be explicitly delineated predictors of QWL were found: (a)
1989). Productivity was moderated and the nomological net sur- the degree to which superiors
by variations in the use of rounding the construct must be treat employees with respect and
autonomous work groups, changes identified. This review of STS have confidence in their abilities,
in the technological system, provides the theoretical under- (b) variety in daily work routine,
changes in the pay system, and pinnings for the construct QNWL (c) challenge of work, (d) present
the scope of the change. and begins to establish the nomo- work leads to future opportuni-
The concept, quality of work logical net. Further theoretical ties, (e) self-esteem, (f) extent to
life, arose from the theoretical markers for the construct of which life outside of work affects
underpinning of the socio-techni- QNWL may be found in the liter- life at work, and (g) the extent to
cal systems theory. The quality of ature of the more general, yet which work contributes to soci-
work life is improved by allowing closely related concept, quality of ety.
employees to assume more work life. Inferences can be drawn about
responsibility for their efforts Quality of work life. Com- QWL from the fit between the pat-
while providing opportunities to prehensive delineation of the terns of data in Table 1. Thus, fair
fulfill important psychological QWL concept is found in three compensation, safe and healthy
needs, two assumptions underly- major works: Walton (1975), working conditions, use and
ing STS theory. Taylor (1978), and Levine, Taylor, development of human capabili-
Such premises may be extrap- and Davis (1984) (see Table 1). ties, security, social integration,
olated to the health care setting in Not all empirical referents are constitutionalism, favorable work
which nurses are employed. The uniformly salient for all employee life interaction with home life,
concept then becomes the quality groups, and different sets of and social relevance of work are
of nursing work life (QNWL), and empirical referents for different contained in the nomological net,
includes both social and technical groups of workers are required. or the pattern of relationships that
aspects of health care work envi- Although speculative and a pri- permit naming the QWL construct
ronments. Aspects that address ori, Walton (1975) was the first to (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955).
social issues of concern to nurses propose eight dimensions and Other researchers have attempt-
who work in hospitals may include empirical referents based on stud- ed to measure QWL in a variety of
supervisory-subordinate relation- ies of workers and their experi- settings using combinations of vari-
ships, nurse-physician relation- ences at work. Taylor (1978) con- ous questionnaires. Job satisfac-
ships, skill levels of employees, ducted the first empirical exami- tion (Baba & Jamal, 1991; Efraty &
and workers’ attitudes and expec- nation using factor analysis to Sirgy, 1990; Igbaria, Parasuraman,
tations of the work environment. investigate the underlying struc- & Badawy, 1994; Studt, 1998),
Technical aspects of work may ture of QWL. Items were added to organizational commitment (Baba
A Quality of Nursing Work Life work organization while achiev- sion reflects the role of mother
Framework ing the organization’s goals (child care), daughter (elderly par-
Further synthesis and recon- (Brooks, 2001). The four dimen- ent care), and spouse (family
ceptualization resulted in the pro- sions are further defined by a syn- needs, available energy). The work
posed framework for QNWL (see thesis of referents from prior work design dimension is the composi-
Table 3) (Brooks, 2001). Quality of in STS, the QWL, and QNWL. tion of nursing work, or the actual
nursing work life is the degree to The first is termed the work work nurses do. Here are items
which registered nurses are able to life-home life dimension or the that define nurses’ immediate
satisfy important personal needs interface between the nurses’ work environment such as work-
through their experiences in their work and home life. Since nurses load, staffing, and autonomy. The
are primarily female, this dimen- practice settings in which nurses