Quality of work life

The review of the literature indicates EFL teachers’ sense of efficacy has been influenced by cognitive and affective factors. Socio-economic factors may also influence EFL teachers’ sense of efficacy directly and their teaching effectiveness indirectly. One of the socioeconomic variables is the quality of work life (QWL). This study was an attempt to investigate the relationship between EFL teachers’ quality of work life and their teaching efficacy.  Ninety High school English teachers from Sistan and Baluchestan were selected. The data of the study were collected through two adapted instruments and analyzed through Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis. The results of the study showed that Iranian EFL teachers perceived themselves as having a good level of teaching efficacy. The results also showed that there was a significant correlation between all dimensions of QWL and teachers’ teaching efficacy except for “adequate and fair compensation” is significant at a P value of 0.05, but only one dimension of QWL could predict teachers’ teaching efficacy. Therefore, it could be strongly argued that teachers’ QWL is not the only influential factor in teaching efficacy.

کیفیت زندگی کاری (QWL) معلمان یک چترواژه است که به میزان رضایت معلم از شغل خود و شرایط کلی کار اشاره دارد که تحت تأثیر سه عامل حمایت سازمانی از جمله مشارکت در تصمیم گیری، انصاف درپاداش و فرصت رشد می باشد (ویلگاس-ریمرز، 2003). مطالعه حاضر رابطه بین حمایت سازمانی درک شده (POS) و QWLرا در بین معلمان دوره متوسطه زبان انگلیسی به عنوان زبان خارجی بررسی کرده است. برای این منظور از روش همبستگی توصیفی استفاده شده است که در آن تعداد 173 معلم شرکت کردند که به روش نمونه گیری خوشه ای چند مرحله ای از بین جمعیتی متشکل از معلمان زبان انگلیسی به عنوان زبان خارجی در مدارس متوسطه ی تهران (N=1826) انتخاب شدند. ابزار گردآوری داده ها شامل پرسشنامه نگرش مبتنی بر مدل POS آلن، آرمسترانگ، رید، و ریمنشنایدر(2008) و همچنین پرسشنامه QWLوالتون (1973) بوده است. برای تجزیه و تحلیل داده ها از روش های همبستگی پیرسون و رگرسیون خطی چندگانه استفاده گردید. رابطه بین POSو QWL0.71 یافت شد. به عبارت دیگر، سه بعد POSمی تواند QWL را 71 درصد تحت تأثیر قرار دهد. به طور خاص، سه بعد مشارکت در تصمیم گیری با 21.4، انصاف درپاداش با 24.7، و فرصت رشد با 64.1 درصد می تواند برای پیش بینی QWL استفاده شود. این یافته ها از آن جهت حائز اهمیت است که نشان می دهد POSبه طور قابل توجهی با QWLمعلمان زبان انگلیسی به عنوان زبان خارجی ارتباط دارد که آن نیز به نوبه خود می تواند بر عملکرد این معلمان در مدارس تأثیر بگذارد.

INTRODUCTION: Various studies have demonstrated that rescuers enjoy higher levels of self-efficacy and quality of life, as compared to ordinary people. Moreover, the constant and sometimes prolonged presence of Red Crescent Society rescuers at the scene of disasters makes them more prone to the emotional impact of crises, in comparison with ordinary rescuers. METHODS: The present study was conducted based on a causal-comparative (ex-post facto) design. The statistical population included 200 cases, and the sample size was equal to 120 (60 rescuers and 60 non-rescuers who were selected via the random sampling method). Scherrer self-efficacy questionnaire (1983), quality of work life questionnaire (1973), and Coopersmith self-confidence questionnaire (1967) were used to collect data, and data analysis was performed by analysis of variance. FINDINGS: As evidenced by the obtained results, the highest and lowest percentages of rescuers were in the age group of 20-30 (51.92%) and under 20 years (5.77%), respectively. In terms of education, the highest and lowest percentages of rescuers had a bachelor’s degree (61.7%) and high school education (1.7%). Furthermore, the highest and lowest percentages of non-rescuers were permanent (63.73%) and contract employees (1.7%), respectively. CONCLUSION: The results pointed out that rescuers enjoyed higher levels of self-confidence, quality of work life, and self-efficacy, as compared to non-rescuers.

INTRODUCTION: Today, the importance of paying attention to human resources for the growth and development of relief organizations, such as the Red Crescent, emergency services, and fire stations, has been considered a key priority at the decisions and activities of the managers of these organizations. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of participation in relay sports on the quality of work life and job performance of relief forces with the mediating role of professional ethics in Mazandaran Province, Iran. METHODS: The present applied study was conducted based on a descriptive-survey approach. The statistical population of the study consisted of all relief forces, including firefighters, Red Crescent rescuers, and emergency service staff, (with unknown sample size) who participated in the Hogam relay sport. The research sample included 168 members of the above-mentioned forces who participated in an event related to the Hogam sport in Mazandaran Province, 2018. The samples were selected using the non-random convenience sampling method; regarding this, all participants in the mentioned event were entered into the research. The required data were collected using questionnaires, namely the Walton Quality of Work Life Questionnaire, Paterson Job Performance Questionnaire, Sports Questionnaire (developed by Taji et al., 2010), and Standard Professional Ethics Questionnaire (designed by Kadozir, 2002). FINDINGS: The results showed that participation in Hogam sport had a significant effect on job performance and quality of work life of relief workers with the mediating role of professional ethics. Therefore, it can be said that addressing this sport, which has its specific nature compared to other sports, can have a significant impact on the quality of work life and job performance of employees, which will be doubled by the observance of professional ethics. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the managers of these organizations can take steps to implicitly and explicitly institutionalize professional ethics by addressing ethical complaints of employees and implementing programs of strengthening ethics in employees to improve the quality of employees' work life.