Quality of Work Life using need satisfaction approach: A study of employees in Shanghai, Mainland China

This study examines Quality of Work Life (QWL) in China in terms of how their work lives satisfy eight basic needs of employees and how the satisfaction of each individual need in their work life affects employees' job satisfaction, affective commitment, turnover intention, life satisfaction and general well-being. A total of 319 questionnaires were collected from eight organizations in Shanghai, China. Based on the need satisfaction theory and spillover theory in the QWL literature, hypotheses are derived and tested. Results confirm hypotheses regarding the relationship between perceived QWL and all the dependent variables. Multiple regression analyses confirm using levels of satisfaction of six different individual needs as significant predictors of the five dependent variables. Esteem need satisfaction is found to be the most important for life satisfaction and turnover intention while four needs (esteem, actualization, economics and family, and health and safety) predict general well-being. Knowledge and health and safety need predict affective commitment. Three needs (economic and family, health and safety, and knowledge) are important for job satisfaction. Being recognized and appreciated for one' s work is found to be a strong predictor of how satisfied employees in Shanghai feel with regard to their lives. Limitations of the study and ideas of future research are discussed.