AUTHOR=Salès-Wuillemin Edith , Minondo-Kaghad Brigitte , Chappé Julien , Gélin Morgan , Dolard Adrien 

TITLE=The quality of working life: gap between perception and idealization impact of gender and status

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1112737

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1112737

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Many studies show the existence of gender inequalities at work. For example, in France, only 37% of women have a managerial role, which is far from parity. Among these gender inequalities, the present study considers the Quality of Working Life (QWL) for women and managers.</p></sec><sec><title>Method</title><p>This study measures the Quality of Working Life (QWL) perceived by individuals according to their gender (Women vs. Men) and their status (Managers vs. Co-workers). A questionnaire was distributed to 1,321 employees. It comprised two scales: the WRQoL scale and the QUALTRA-Scale. The QUALTRA-Scale permits the calculation of an index <italic>δ</italic> that measures the gap between the <italic>ideal</italic> QWL and the <italic>perceived</italic> QWL.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The ANOVA (2×2) revealed an impact of status on the perceived QWL on both scales. There was no gender effect. However, there was an effect of both gender and status on the index <italic>δ</italic> of the QUALTRA-Scale. In particular, for the Women group, <italic>δ</italic> was higher for the Social Relationships at Work whereas for the Co-workers, it was higher for the Work Environment.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>These results are discussed, highlighting the value of measuring the <italic>ideal</italic> QWL as a reference point for assessing the QWL.</p></sec>