The Quality of Work Life: an evolving definition - Part 2
Improve your position in the talent market with an integrated approach to quality of work life (QWL)
Our last article Quality of Work Life: an evolving definition - Part 1 highlighted the importance of reassessing organizations’ Quality of Work Life (QWL) strategy as a key component of the Employee Value Proposition (EVP). The latter enables organizations to better position themselves in the talent market in the context of the "Great Resignation" and the “Talent Revolution”. We explored how employees' expectations have changed, how working remotely has been normalised during the pandemic, and how these new expectations are impacting employees’ own definition of what a quality of life at work means to them.?
Are you ready to update your quality of work life strategy to meet the expectations of your current and future talent? To that end, you will need to anticipate and respond to the challenges that will arise, and to identify and promote the key success factors of an integrated QWL approach.
What are the challenges associated with the new expectations of talents??
As organizations attempt to meet employee expectations, several challenges emerge.
How to manage the QWL paradox between individuality and collectivity?? The definition of quality of work life given by employees is based on an individual perception and a unique experience, whereas organizations try to develop collective QWL practices.
How can we recognize, enrich and satisfy each talent while giving them the feeling of belonging? A QWL approach must juggle with these different levels, with the creation of a space to be oneself and a community.?
Part of the answer lies in implementing a participative approach, defining a flexible QWL policy and adopting new management practices.
How to remain equitable while adopting a personalised approach??
Requests for accommodations come thick and fast. When faced with them, adopt a new approach: think about why you would want to accept, not just why you would not. Ask yourself "Why not?", “What is stopping me from saying yes?”. This will help reframe your mindset to managing opportunities rather than enforcing constraints.? Pay attention not to hinder the majority because of the fear of a possible overreach of a minority. Consistency should be your primary concern in this regard.
How to anticipate mental health problems (which are even more prevalent in the current context) when remote working makes their prevention more difficult? The warning signs used to be seen in informal exchanges, work relationships, or through certain work habits; it goes without saying that the opportunities to detect them are rarer since work patterns have changed.?
There are many opportunities to address this challenge:?
How do we adapt on an ongoing basis? The pandemic context,? the on-going waltz of return to work plans, and the newly expressed expectations are bringing this question to the forefront. The right decisions made today may not be the best ones in tomorrow's reality. Agile change management, with its principles of co-construction, collaboration, experimentation and iteration, with an emphasis on individuals and their interactions, is an organizational ability to stay in sync with its workforce and to unleash value as part of the deployment of an integrated quality of work life approach.
What investments are required to maintain and revive a quality of work life? We can think of benefits, personal care days, as well as the additional offerings and resources required to implement an organizational focus on QWL.?
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Investments should be prioritized according to the issues that have the potential to generate the most positive impact. In addition, it is important to optimize the use of available resources, for example by promoting employee assistance programs (EAPs) or insurance coverage.? Finally, remember that not all solutions are costly: for example, it is possible to influence lifestyle habits by organising walking or staircase climbing challenges. QWL solutions can also include improving work relationships through a recognition and appreciation program and team building activities.
What are the key factors of an integrated QWL approach??
The implementation of an integrated quality of work life strategy is based on three key success factors.
As we saw in Part 1, QWL is a multifaceted and complex concept, with interdependent dimensions. ?It must be approached in a holistic manner in order to identify structural issues, i.e. those that have the greatest impact on the well-being factors you are trying to improve (work relations, role in the organization, career path, organizational culture, etc.).?
The "psychosocial risk" approach should be avoided, as it is based on a risk management posture and reactivity to internal crises. This approach is often used in the wake of an incident; it attempts to eradicate the symptom rather than the cause. In other words, it is good to have a plan to respond to a crisis but even better to proactively set measures to prevent the risks from happening in the first place.
Another key success factor is having an integrated vision of health and well-being at work and adopting a pragmatic, anticipatory and collective approach. Prevention is at the heart of it. It is fueled by proactive management methods, innovative initiatives and dynamic and continuous analysis.
The QWL approach must be supported by all stakeholders: senior management, the Human Resources Department (HRD), managers, teams, affinity groups and employees. The role of first-level managers is particularly important for its implementation. Although managers should rely on HRD experts, they must, above all, develop key management skills, such as planning, communication of objectives, recognition and appreciation, active supervision, coaching and employee engagement. These competencies contribute directly to QWL, but conversely, shortcomings in this area are detrimental to well-being at work.?
Managers will have to be supported in order to adopt and put into practice:?
Managers can only succeed with the commitment of their team. Setting up a QWL committee or building a network of champions will help sustain the approach :
Finally, don't overlook the importance of a QWL policy and governance structure to provide a solid framework for the evolution of your QWL practices.?
In conclusion, standing out in today's talent market is far from easy. Talents’ expectations have changed, creating challenges that must be addressed through a holistic and preventative approach, one that involves all the necessary stakeholders, from top management to teams and individuals and their family, to ensure sustainability and effectiveness.
Sia Partners can assist you in this process, regardless of your organization's level of maturity in terms of quality of life at work; the most difficult is to get started after all!?
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