Quality of working life

Japanese: 労働の質 - ろうどうのしつ（英語表記）quality of working life

It is also translated as "quality of working life" and abbreviated as QWL. In contrast to the traditional view of labor issues, which places the ultimate concern on the amount of wage income earned by workers, this view of labor issues places emphasis on the qualitative aspects of workers' workplace life, such as job satisfaction and the structure of a work organization that is easy to work in, or the policies based on this. In Europe, the term "humanization of work" is mainly used. The mass production system that characterized the industrial society of the 20th century was the driving force behind the realization of an "affluent society" due to its efficiency, but on the other hand, it tended to make labor monotonous and meaningless, and to strengthen authoritarianism and oppression in production organizations, leading to criticism that it created so-called labor alienation.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

〈労働生活の質〉とも訳され，QWLと略称される。労働者の稼得する賃金所得の多寡を究極的関心事とする伝統的労働問題観に対して，おもに仕事のやりがいや働きやすい作業組織のあり方など労働者の職場生活の質的側面を重視する労働問題観，あるいはそれに基づく施策をいう。ヨーロッパでは〈労働の人間化humanization of work〉という用語が主に使われる。　20世紀の産業社会を特徴づける大量生産体制は，その効率性により〈豊かな社会〉実現の原動力となったが，他方では労働の単調化･無意味化，生産組織における権威主義と抑圧性を強める傾向をもち，いわゆる労働疎外を生み出すとの批判をも招いた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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