QWL in business in 10 questions and answers

In the form of questions and answers, Anact publishes an 18-page document on the quality of life at work, QualiSocial summarizes it for you.

1) What is QVT?

La Quality of Life at Work depends on the conditions under which employees carry out their work, the content of their work and their ability to express themselves and act on this content. For a good QWL, the content of the work must interest the employee and allow him to have responsibilities, autonomy and recognition.

2) QWL in business: to do what?

A QWL approach is used to:

• Recognize and support the quality of employee engagement to take a more positive look at work
• Uniting energies and bringing coherence to actions relating to subjects such as stress, working time, mobility, etc.
• Manage performance differently by reconciling the needs of the market, those of the company and those of the individuals who make it up.

3) What is the approach to implementing QWL in your company?

A QWL approach consists of 4 steps:

• Designing the approach
• Put it down QVT diagnosis
• Experiment
• Perpetuate

4) What do you start with?

The QWL approach in business must be carried out at three levels of consultation in the organization: the central level, the transversal level and the local level.

• Work on QWL must be started at central level, i.e. with management and employee representatives to reach an agreement and pilot the process.
• It is then a question of continuing the process at transversal level, managers (managers, administrators, staff representatives, etc.) will be responsible for providing technical expertise and evaluating the scope of the QWL approach.
• Finally, it remains to experiment and adapt the QWL approach at the local level with the assistance of employees.

5) How to carry out the preliminary diagnosis?

To make a good Diagnosis, it is necessary to “identify the issues specific to the company”:

• By linking corporate QWL to overall performance to establish QWL priorities based on the performances to be improved primarily in the company
• By focusing on the content of the work rather than its external characteristics (salary, career plan, work-life balance...)
• By relying on technical criteria to prioritize goals in a coherent way.

6) When and how to experiment?

Experimentation can take several forms, expansion of premises or modernization of a production line for example, but in all cases it is necessary to establish the scope of the QWL experience, measure its results and analyze them.

7) Is workplace QWL sustainable?

A QWL approach is ideally concluded by the signing of an integrated agreement that ensures its sustainability for at least 3 years.

8) How to assess QWL?

It is possible to rely both on indicators that already exist in the company, such as the measurement of the absenteeism rate, and on new indicators of perception, functioning and health at work.Example of indicators: workloads, autonomy in execution, autonomy in execution, remuneration, sense of belonging, work environment...

9) Is professional equality an element of QWL?

Professional equality between men and women is an integral part of the QWL approach in companies, whether it concerns the diversity of jobs, career management, working conditions and the organization of time.

10) Has QWL already been implemented?

Many companies in various sectors have already begun initiatives to improve QWL. Among these companies, private companies as well as public companies of various sizes are taking initiatives. With the support of the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS), the hospital sector, for example, has included QWL approaches in its certification challenges.

The Qualisocial team hopes that this summary was useful for you for a first approach to the quality of life at work, and if you need clarification, the Qualisocial experts are at your disposal, do not hesitate to contact us!