QWL Week: interview with Camy Puech, Founder and CEO of QualiSocial

On the occasion of the Quality of Life at Work Week, Camy Puech, Founder and CEO of QualiSocial explains to us what the term covers, what implications QVT policies have on the company in general and on employees in particular and how, in concrete terms, how to improve the Quality of Life at Work in a company.

Before starting, a very simple question: QWL, well-being at work, the terms are getting more and more confused... Concretely, what is QWL?

In fact, QWL includes all of these subjects and even goes beyond. In reality, there are many topics such as gender equality, non-discrimination in companies, but also career development, meaning at work, relationships with colleagues, etc. that concern QVT without being named as such. These subjects are treated independently of each other, sometimes from a legal angle, sometimes from a managerial angle or even from an CSR angle. With the ANI of 2013 and the Rebsamen law, the State and the representatives of employers' and trade union organizations seek to rationalize all of these subjects around the same theme: QVT.This term is supposed to interest all stakeholders in the company, namely:

• The employees, who are directly concerned
• The managers, who will have more efficient and more agile employees
• The social partners, whose function is ultimately to improve the QWL of employees
• The customers, who benefit from better company service when provided by committed employees
• Shareholders, who have a more profitable business
• The State, which reduces its health expenses and increases its income on taxes generated by economic activity

The subject of Quality of Life at Work is becoming more and more visible today, what impact does this have on businesses?

Precisely, the company must find an interest in it, otherwise there is no QVT possible. As a reminder, in QVT, there is the T for Work. The interest for the company is to find a new way of engaging its employees through practices, which go beyond remuneration and the factors of “comfort” offered to employees, such as the suitability for the position, the personal and professional development path, the meaning of work, the possibility of sharing a team spirit. Recent studies on employee engagement have amply demonstrated the impact that QWL practices can have on it. And as a reminder, concerning commitment, it is well established, a company with committed employees is on average 2 times more efficient than a company that does not have one.

We talk a lot about the role of Chief Happiness Officers (CHO) today. Are they the new QWL managers?

Yes and no, QWL is a collective subject. The mistake of corporate policies was to entrust them to one person. The CHO is not there to imagine, implement and integrate a QWL policy, it is there to gather forces and make them work together. He is a bit of a Project Manager who brings expertise and coordination between all stakeholders.

Finally, is QVT more about preventing RPS or installing foosballs and fruit baskets in the premises?

It's both, and more. Already if the company anticipates situations that have an impact on the health of the employee and has planned solutions to solve them, this is a good practice. Then, if it creates a working environment adapted to its employees (foosball tables do not meet everyone's needs), it's even better. And finally, QWL is not limited to this and must be considered as taking into account the employee as a whole and not only in relation to a position.