Profile of Desired Situations (Goals)
What is the link between QWL and the levels of the goals set by the respondents?
The desired situation is what the employee is aiming for in each working life domain. It is interesting for an employer and managers to see the level of the goals set by the employees: these will make the QWL higher or lower. Since QWL is measured by the gap between current situation and the desired situation, quality of life is heavily influenced by the goal level.
With relatively high goals, two situations are possible. If the QWL is good, the company’s situation is positive. However, if the QWL is low, it could mean that goal-setting strategies need to be explored by the employees and the organization.
For relatively low goals, however, two situations are also possible. If the QWL is good, it may be that, to avoid frustration, the employees are lowering their aspirations: this may be not a very positive situation for the organization and the employees. In any case, a low QWL indicates that the situation would require major changes.
In the example, the results for the department and the company as a whole are very similar. The desired situations are both rated “High” or “Somewhat high”, which is frequently the case. The fact that the QWL in some domains may be problematic (red dots) can therefore not be explained by employees setting objectives that are too high. In other words, the employees’ current situation in these domains does not match the goals they set for themselves although goals seem reasonable.
Are the respondents setting their goals appropriately?
This table shows the percentage of domains for which goals of differing levels have been identified. This information is given for the department, for the company, and for all the individuals who previously completed the questionnaire (population). Any major difference between the results of the groups of concern and those of the population should be looked at closely.
A high percentage of “Very high” goals suggests that employees may have difficulty achieving their objectives, which usually generates stress, anxiety and frustration and can lead to discouragement. On the other hand, a high percentage of “Low” or “Very low” goals is likely to be a sign of resignation or demotivation.
The bottom graph is interpreted the same way as the graph discussed above for degrees of importance. It shows the frequency for each goal level, as a percentile. Here again, special attention should be paid to results that extend above the red line.
In the example, the distribution of the different goal levels in the table is not much different for the department, the company and the population. Furthermore, the graph does not show any indication that the employees are setting too many “Very high”, “Low” or “Very low” goals. If this were the case, the bars would extend above the red line.