Module 8: Communicating Workplace Wellness

Quality of Work Life (QWL)

A multifaceted construct of the degree to which someone is able to satisfy personal needs at work.

Dimensions of Quality of Work Life (QWL)

• Health and Safety 

• Employment security 

• Job satisfaction 

• Occupational stress 

• Work environment 

• Work-life balance 

• Human relations 

Health and Safety (QWL Dimension)

Ensuring a work setting that protects employees from physical hazards and promotes bodily well-being.

Employment security (QWL Dimension)

Providing stability, reliable hours, and confidence that one’s job will continue.

Job satisfaction (QWL Dimension)

The overall positive emotional state and fulfillment an individual experiences regarding their work duties and roles.

Occupational stress (QWL Dimension)

Managing and mitigating excessive pressures, burnout, and unmanageable workloads.

Work environment (QWL Dimension)

The physical, cultural, and psychological surroundings where day-to-day duties take place.

Work-life balance (QWL Dimension)

The ability to balance professional responsibilities with personal, family, and social life outside of work.

Human relations (QWL Dimension)

he quality of interactions, collaboration, and mutual respect among coworkers, managers, and leadership.

Flourishing at work

Living within an optimal range of human functioning, one that connotes goodness, generativity, growth, and resilience.

Personal Application to a job

(ex.) student campus job: Flourishing in this role means having clear open communication channels with supervisors, feeling valued for proactive contributions rather than just completing tasks, and maintaining a healthy balance so work energizes you rather than draining your academic or personal life. 

Psychological health

Refers to the absence of distress or disability that would otherwise be caused by a behavioral or biological dysfunction in an individual.

Absenteeism

An employee’s time away from work typically consisting of illness-related scattered absences, short- and long-term disability, and workers’ compensation.

Presenteeism

Being physically at work while experiencing reduced productivity due to distress or health constraints.

Workplace Bullying

Verbal or nonverbal acts that are persistent over time, intense, and include a power disparity between the workers involved.

Why is psychological health important to consider in the workplace?

• Reduces the loss of productivity (absenteeism & presenteeism) 

• Prevents toxic workplace dynamics (workplace bullying) 

• Fosters holistic well-being

Sexual Harassment

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.

Health-Related Quality of Life Measure (HRQOL)

Multidimensional measure of patient-reported outcome that measures the extent to which a patient’s physical, emotional, and social well-being and function are impacted by a condition, disease, or treatment.

Physical wellness

Employees’ biological and bodily health and fitness, which can be assessed through an employee assistance program (EAP).

Psychological wellness

Refers to the absence of distress or disability, otherwise caused by a behavioral or biological disfunction in an individual.

Social wellness

The quality of an individual’s network of professional and personal relationships.

Spirtual wellness

Reflects an ongoing process of growth and nourishment.

Ecowellness

Reflects a way of life orientated towards health and wellness regarding the mind, body, and spirit, which enables the individual to be more connected to their community.

Employee assistance program (EAP)

A workplace initiative that focuses on evaluating employees’ workplace wellness, designing initiatives to promote healthy behaviors, offering bonuses for healthy behavior.