Health and happiness from meaningful work: research in quality of working life

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In: Health and Human Development Series

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS FROM MEANINGFUL WORK: RESEARCH IN QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE

No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained herein. This digital document is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, medical or any other professional services.

HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERIES Joav Merrick (editor) Adolescent Behavior Research: International Perspectives Joav Merrick and Hatim A. Omar 2007 ISBN 1-60021-649-8 Disability from a Humanistic Perspective: Towards a Better Quality of Life Shunit Reiter 2008 ISBN 978-1-60456-412-9 Complementary Medicine Systems: Comparison and Integration Karl W. Kratky 2008 ISBN 978-1-60456-475-4 Health and Happiness from Meaningful Work: Research in Quality of Working Life Søren Ventegodt and Joav Merrick 2009 ISBN 978-1-60692-820-2

In: Health and Human Development Series

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS FROM MEANINGFUL WORK: RESEARCH IN QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE

SØREN VENTEGODT AND

JOAV MERRICK EDITORS

Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York

Copyright © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic, tape, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the Publisher. For permission to use material from this book please contact us: Telephone 631-231-7269; Fax 631-231-8175 Web Site: http://www.novapublishers.com NOTICE TO THE READER The Publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this book, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained in this book. The Publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers’ use of, or reliance upon, this material. Any parts of this book based on government reports are so indicated and copyright is claimed for those parts to the extent applicable to compilations of such works. Independent verification should be sought for any data, advice or recommendations contained in this book. In addition, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any methods, products, instructions, ideas or otherwise contained in this publication. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Ventegodt, Søren. Health and happiness from meaningful work : research in quality of working life / Soren Ventegodt, Joav Merrick. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-61324-981-9 (eBook) 1. Quality of work life. 2. Work environment. I. Merrick, Joav, 1950- II. Title. HD6955.V45 2009 306.3'61--dc22 2008050567

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Ô New York

CONTENTS Preface

vii

Acknowledgements

ix

Introduction

1

Part I: Understanding Quality of Working Life – How to Be Happy at Work

3

Chapter 1

Working Life Søren Ventegodt and Joav Merrick

5

Chapter 2

Quality of Life, Happiness and Meaning of Life Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick

9

Chapter 3

Personal Quality of Life Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick

23

Chapter 4

Mastery in your Work Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick

33

Chapter 5

Working with Colleagues and Management Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick

43

Chapter 6

Creating Value Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick

51

Chapter 7

Up – or Down in your Life? Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick

59

Chapter 8

How to Improve Working-life Quality, Quality of Life and Health Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel, Lars Enevoldsen and Joav Merrick

77

vi

Contents

Part II: Research in Quality of Working Life: Improving Value by Making your People Happy at Work

109

Chapter 9

Working Life Quality and Value Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick

111

Chapter 10

Working Life Quality with the SEQWL Questionnaire Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen and Joav Merrick

125

Chapter 11

Antonovsky Salutogenesis Related to Work Søren Ventegodt, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick

155

Chapter 12

Mood Disorders and Suicide Jong-Min Woo and Teodor T. Postolache

161

Part III: Travelling and Inspiration for Development as Leader

183

Chapter 13

Travel and Shift Work Tatiana Menick and Teodor T. Postolache

185

Chapter 14

Reflections Lars Enevoldsen

197

Part IV: Acknowledgements Chapter 15

201

Publications on Quality of Life 1994-2008 from an International Group of Collaborators Søren Ventegodt and Joav Merrick

203

Chapter 16

About the Quality of Life Research Center in Copenhagen

217

Chapter 17

About the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Israel

221

About the Authors

225

About the Editors

227

Index

229

PREFACE Happiness at work…….your quality of life and sometimes your life depends on it. Work is an important part of the life of the modern man, as it always has been, but work has become more complicated that before. Today what we do is often done as a part of a large organization. The work is often abstract manipulation of matter or information, and the value created by the single member of the organization has become increasingly difficult to measure. Organizations have become increasingly responsible for not only the physical work environment, but also for the mental working environment, and factors like stress and sexual harassment are becoming more and more regulated by company rules and culture. The health of the employees has become a major financial interest of the company as only healthy employees and leaders can perform optimally. Often the companies have health insurance for their people. Today employees and leaders also expect work to provide their life with meaning and stimulating experiences and developing challenges. Scholarly knowledge is substituted with experiential learning in a developing and dynamic environment. Society is developing fast and only companies with modern, well-oriented and culturally integrated employees can win the competition by offering costumers, clients or patients the best products and services. A strong association between quality of life, development of personal character, selfrealization, development of talents and skills, physical and mental health, meaning of life, sense of coherence and similar core concepts of modern medical and psychosocial sciences have in many studies now been strongly associated with work satisfaction, joy on the job and similar concepts. The scientific challenge we have taken upon our shoulders is to put the whole messy and chaotic area in order, and create a formula according to which the actual integrated status of worker can be calculated. We have decided to call the integrated concept of all above mentioned dimensions for working life quality, similar to the well-known global quality of life concept in medicine and social sciences. We are proud to present, in the present book, a mathematical formula from which the created value of an employee or leader can be known, if only the working life quality is known. We also provide a questionnaire for measuring the quality of working life, based on a theory of quality of working life. We have in a study on a random sample of the Danish population found a strong statistical association between the measured quality of working life and health.

viii

Preface

We started the research in quality of working life in 1994, and the first version of the QWL-theory was ready in 1996. In 1997 it was empirically tested in a study involving 1,500 persons and 30 companies. After adjusting the questionnaire and analysis of the data we further improved our understanding to the level that we are happy to present in this book, based on a number of published scientific papers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The studies were supported by grants from the IMK Almene Fond in Denmark and the scientific papers published in the Int J Disabil Hum Dev 2008;7(2) and in the Int J Child Health Hum Dev 2008;1(2) and (3) issues. Staff from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Office of the Medical Director, Jerusalem in Israel was supported by the Israel Foundation for Human Development in New York. We also thank Frank Columbus of Nova Science and his staff in New York for his support and guidance.

In: Health and Happiness from Meaningful Work Editors: Søren Ventegodt and Joav Merrick

ISBN 978-1-60692-820-2 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

INTRODUCTION HEALTH AND HAPPINESS FROM MEANINGFUL WORK

Happiness at work… your quality of life and sometimes your life depends on it. Work is an important part of the life of the modern man, as it always has been, but work has become more complicated that before. Today what we do is often done as a part of a large organization. The work is often abstract manipulation of matter or information, and the value created by the single member of the organization has become increasingly difficult to measure. Organizations have become increasingly responsible for not only the physical work environment, but also for the mental working environment, and factors like stress and sexual harassment are becoming more and more regulated by company rules and culture. The health of the employees has become a major financial interest of the company as only healthy employees and leaders can perform optimally. Often the companies have health insurance for their people. Today employees and leaders also expect work to provide their life with meaning and stimulating experiences and developing challenges. Scholarly knowledge is substituted with experiential learning in a developing and dynamic environment. Society is developing fast and only companies with modern, well-oriented and culturally integrated employees can win the competition by offering costumers, clients or patients the best products and services. A strong association between quality of life, development of personal character, selfrealization, development of talents and skills, physical and mental health, meaning of life, sense of coherence and similar core concepts of modern medical and psychosocial sciences have in many studies now been strongly associated with work satisfaction, joy on the job and similar concepts. The scientific challenge we have taken upon our shoulders is to put the whole messy and chaotic area in order, and create a formula according to which the actual integrated status of worker can be calculated. We have decided to call the integrated concept of all above mentioned dimensions for working life quality, similar to the well-known global quality of life concept in medicine and social sciences. We are proud to present, in the present book, a mathematical formula from which the created value of an employee or leader can be known, if only the working life quality is known. We also provide a questionnaire for measuring the quality of working life, based on a theory of quality of working life. We have in a study on a random sample of the Danish

2

Søren Ventegodt and Joav Merrick

population found a strong statistical association between the measured quality of working life and health. We started the research in quality of working life in 1994, and the first version of the QWL-theory was ready in 1996. In 1997 it was empirically tested in a study involving 1,500 persons and 30 companies. After adjusting the questionnaire and analysis of the data we further improved our understanding to the level that we are happy to present in this book, based on a number of published scientific papers. It is our sincere hope that our development and research in quality of working life will inspire many companies, leaders and employees to improve the meaning of life, sense of coherence, mental and physical health and happiness in life that can result from a wise and conscious use of yourself in the every day working situation.

PART I: UNDERSTANDING QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE – HOW TO BE HAPPY AT WORK



Chapter 1

WORKING LIFE Søren Ventegodt and Joav Merrick Work can be one of the greatest pleasures in life. On the other hand, there is nothing worse than a job you are unhappy with. Work is such a vital part of life - such a constant companion - that if you do not feel at ease when leaving for work in the morning, your joy in life may be shattered. It is difficult to feel happy when you do not really feel committed to your work. If your work is not a place where you can thrive and be happy, but more like a prison with displeasing work, your life energy is drained. If you cannot see the point of what you are doing and you do not feel that you contribute anything valuable, your work wears you out. That kind of work may kill you slowly - bit by bit. Furthermore, if you do not consider your work valuable, the same will apply to your company, the customers and the environment in general. Without responsibility and commitment, quality and efficiency disappear into the blue. He was lying with his eyes half open. Aha, like this! In his dream he had solved the problem, and he was now wondering if the solution could be applied to real life. Yes, it wasn't that bad his solution. He wondered how his colleagues would react? Blinking against the clear morning sun, Knud could hear the love of his life potter about in the kitchen. It was a lovely day. For a moment he felt completely happy.

According to a Quality-of-Life survey of 10,000 Danes, carried out by the Quality-ofLife Research Centre in Copenhagen, only one in every three employees is happy in his or her job [1,2]. This is catastrophic for society. We are convinced that an uninspiring and detached working life is one of the main reasons why people on average retire at the age of 61 years. And it may also be the reason why people in Denmark rate such a short average life span, as proven by several surveys and reports. Few human beings can cope with leading a meaningless life - all spent working in jobs that they do not really enjoy. It takes its toll because our health and wellbeing are dependent on our ability to renew ourselves and develop new expressions of our personality in order to use life properly.

6

Søren Ventegodt and Joav Merrick

Human beings are created to be active, to use their talents in the best possible way to the benefit of themselves and others [3-5]. That is what is meant by life. The meaning of life is found in all aspects of life: within the family, with friends in our spare time as well as on the job. Research showed [1,2] that people who feel useful are the ones who are happy. It seems that we all have a dream of contributing something to this world - in our private as well as our professional lives. Work can be exciting, it can be thrilling and, at best, it is not experienced as mere work. Instead it becomes the challenge of our life, becomes what we dreamed of doing, in private as well as professionally. There is nothing more exhilarating than an exciting job because work is about being useful to the world, as well as influencing and creating a world in accordance with our private dreams. There seem to be four basic conditions that determine the quality of working life: • • • •

Personal quality of life Mastery of the working process Fellowship with colleagues and management Creating real value for both customers and environment.

Which is described in papers in this special issue and we would also like to take a closer look at personal development: How do you improve your life? What is it that makes it so difficult for us to develop? In order to develop and improve your life, it is essential to be aware of your attitudes and your way of doing things. This requires alertness and your best efforts. It may sound easy, but as a matter of fact it requires an immense amount of selfdiscipline, which very few possess at the outset. With your decision to make improvements, miracles may be waiting around the corner. At your company it should not be difficult to agree on commencing a project with the purpose of developing your working-life quality because an improvement in your work satisfaction will be in the interest of your company too. Employees and management who have gained more insight and a more profound sense of responsibility will be concerned to implement a production process that does not interfere with the delicate balance of the ecosystem.

REFERENCES [1] [2]

[3]

Ventegodt S. Livskvalitet I Danmark. Quality of life in Denmark. Results from a population survey. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1995. [Danish] Ventegodt S. The quality of life of 4,500 31-33 year-olds. Result from a study of the Prospective Pediatric Cohort of persons born at the University Hospital in Copenhagen. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. [Danish] Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life theory I. The IQOL theory: An integrative theory of the global quality of life concept. Scientific World Journal 2003;3:1030-40.

Working Life [4]

[5]

7

Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life theory II. Quality of life as the realization of life potential: A biological theory of human being. Scientific World Journal 2003;3:1041-9. Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life theory III. Maslow revisited. Scientific World Journal 2003;3:1050-7.



Chapter 2

QUALITY OF LIFE, HAPPINESS AND MEANING OF LIFE Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick Good work is an activity that creates a strong sense of personal meaningfulness, because it is directly connected to the project of our personal development, what we want from life. We all want to become complete. To this end, we need to grow and achieve fulfilment. Good work challenges us to go beyond our limits and confront new and exciting aspects of life. Work should be a direct manifestation of life. Life is a simple and clear expression of what you do. Our love of life is revealed in what we do. The fine art of working and the secret of working are to be found in the intimacy of the intersection between our lives and the world around us. The secret of the extraordianry working life is the blossoming of all our human talents. Most interestingly it seems that we all have great gifts to give to the world, but only after many years of dedicated practice will these gifts reveal themselves fully.

INTRODUCTION Philosophers have through all ages been occupied with the immense questions and seemingly unsolvable problems related to the quality of human life. As life for most people have consisted of a professional and a private life, both of these have been subject to consideration. For half a century grand thinkers have been reflecting on the meaning of life and how to improve it and quite surprisingly, a sign of our time is that these problems are starting to soften up on the thinkers [1-3]. It is only natural, that we take these general solutions and apply them in relation to our worklife, and for that purpose we have constructed the word working-life quality or the quality of working life (QWL). For more that a decade, the Quality of Life Research Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark and its scientific international coworkers have walked the path to try to understand quality of life (QOL) and QWL, publishing books [4-11] and scientific papers [12-29] on the good life and the good work. Exept for a few books [4,5] and papers [12,30-37] our works have often

10

Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick

been discussing philosphy related to the concept of quality of life (QOL) and quality of working life (QWL), but without adressing the philosophical questions directly. But as philosophy is the basis of science, this is not wise. We need an explicit discussion of the philosophy behind the major aims and developments in our medical science and the related sciences making it possible for us to deliver the service to our patients and clients that we want; especially when it comes to large health care units, with all their to wellknown problems related to QOL and QWL. We need a specific research line in QWL also. In this book on QWL philosophy we take our offset in the Danish Quality of Life Survey, where we asked 10,000 people about their quality of life with the validated SEQOL questionnaire [16,17] with more that 300 questions on their quality of life, and the subsequent work done on QWL and the related 100 questions QWL-questionnare, SEQWL. How did they feel ? How content were they with their lives ? How happy were they ? Did they feel their needs were fulfilled ? These were part of the many questions asked. We asked the questions we believed to be important for the QOL. The results [8-11,22-27] forced us to contemplate deeply on the following philosophical questions, like what is QOL and QWL, what is human talent and how is it supported, what is personal mastery, fellowship and true creation of value? To argue that these philosphical questions, both related to QOL and QWL, were actually related to medicine and the providing of high standard health sevices, we needed to look at the consequesces of patients and co-workers being taught this philosophy layed out here. Quite surprisingly it seems like just assimilating the QOL and QWL philosophy already makes things feel better and more meaningfull. When we work with patients, we call this QOL as medicine [28,29] and this improvement of the patient’s personal philosophy of life seems to be the essence of holistic medicine, helping the patient to assume responsibility for his or her own life [30]. When we work with leaders and coworkers, the principles are not very different, but the focus is on using all their talents and obtaining joy of work and proficiency, hearthful relationships at the working place, and the expierience of creating real value to the community. Our series of QWL pilosophy papers will adress these items one by one. The quality of our QWL reflexions are soft and general – pretty vague, if you are accustomed to the “hard” quality of natural science - as much philosophy is and even vague if you are accustomed to medical QOL science. Nevertheless we find such general perspectives of utmost importance, as all scientific and systemtical action is build on such general considerations of values, perspectives on reality, interpretations of life and production goals, and preferences of focus. So please bare with this vagueness and look for the abstract, QWLsupportive perspective, which materialise in our papers on QWL philosophy, as we believe that such a positive interpretation of life and reality can help many leaders and coworkers in the modern health service organisation.

TO WORK IS TO THRIVE AND PROSPER – OR TO DIE SLOWLY The worst thing he knew was to wake up in the morning and go to work. He felt that his eyelids fought him on days like this and refused to open. He forced himself out of bed and got dressed. The day had started and he was already busy, trying not to be late for work.

Quality of Life, Happiness and Meaning of Life

11

Do you look forward to going to work in the morning? Or is it a necessary evil? Does your work draw you or must you force yourself to leave home? Would you continue working if you had enough money? Or would you do something quite different - change professions, for instance, travel around the world, study, become an artist or make yourself comfortable and take it easy all day long? Many people daydream about not having to work. But, one day, they realise that maybe a lot of freedom and time off is not sufficient - maybe there was something special about working after all. Something that goes deeper than money, status and personal identity, which cannot hide the fact that human beings need to work. It is the meaning of life that we use ourselves for a purpose. It takes a lot of pain to experience life as a gift, if we consider ourselves useless creatures. And that is the secret of work: work is where our efforts can make a difference - and where our contribution can help to make this a better world to live in. The core of work is very close to our soul. We have to work simply because we cannot help it. It is in our nature as human beings to be active and creative. This, of course, does not mean that all work is good. Only work close to our soul is good, since it fulfils our need to develop ourselves to be useful and valuable. Consequently, using ourselves in constructive and useful ways gives us great experiences. Other ways will make us suffer from the wrongs we do. Work can build up something in life or tear it down. It can make us happy and healthy or it can corrode our souls and jeopardise everything. Most people feel fine on the job even though it is rarely superb. But this may be the essence of the problem: if you do not make further demands of your work, you will end up with a merely 'bearable' job and never obtain really rewarding work. According to statistics (Danish WorkingLife Quality project), only one in three people feels very much at ease with his or her job. Thus there are great possibilities for progress. What can we do to find a better job or improve our job? First of all, stop being so content, because we are content with far too little. We are too tolerant. A job that we do not really want is just not good enough. We really must make demands to feel fully alive at work. Life is too short for boring work. Get your fantasies going. What would you like to do? What do you feel like? What are your interests? What possibilities are offered by your present employer to get you where you want to be? Imagine that your physician has just passed you your death sentence: about three years left to live. Would you keep the job you are in? What would you do differently? To what would you say no? If you would not keep your job in this situation, maybe you should quit tomorrow. There is no guarantee that we will grow very old. We may die tomorrow. Life is far too short for meaningless work. It is important to understand that our body cannot endure the strain of doing things we consider meaningless. We must be alive on the job; we must be eager and keen and go full speed ahead! You will not become more alive from doing work that you consider routine, boring, monotonous and exhausting. This is not to say that all physical work - washing, cleaning up or sewing - is bad work. If you like it and you have good colleagues and if you consider it useful, then it might be the right job for you. But work that you do not consider good for you is not worth having. Do not take it for the sake of money. The world has grown too rich for that. To those people who insist on arguing that many people still have to work for their daily bread, we can only say that their attitude may be wrong. Of course, it is necessary to work to maintain a good standard of living - but is that standard necessary? Happiness does not depend on a car or a mobile telephone and electric toothbrush - nor the good claret and sirloin. Basically, happiness

12


comes from your own wellbeing, your surroundings and from doing what you really like to do. If you can achieve such a state of wellbeing, there is no reason to be unhappy about a life without material goods. In that case, you are far better off than the average person is. Indeed - and this comes as something of a surprise - according to the previously mentioned study on quality of life - people with jobs they do not really like generally feel worse about life than those who are unemployed. The same research also showed that it is not unusual to be happy without a job. According to the survey, 55% of the jobless persons stated that they were happy or very happy compared to 66% of the persons in jobs, although those on social benefits were on average less happy. It is your own responsibility to get on with your life, if you are in a job that you do not like. Nobody will do the work for you. Your working life is your responsibility. You are the only person, who really knows what is good for you - and you are the only one who can change things. Our greatest enemy is resignation, indolence and laziness. Apathy flowing sluggishly through the veins and listlessness causing heavy eyelids all day long result in an almost dead person, who seemingly will not take the initiative in his or her own life. A person without dreams of life is a person who is only half-alive. To find out what to do with our working life is the great opportunity to do something about it. To what extent is our health endangered, when we are bored on the job? We do not know all the consequences yet. But we can assume that there is a severe health risk. As living creatures we are made for a whole range of lively activities. When we are wrapped up in old habits and comfortable wealth we lose our need to be alert and do our best. We so easily lose our clarity, our freshness and connection to life. We are able to renew our lives by demanding everything. Or we can let go and give up and gradually grow tired, sad, weak, old and desolate. Today we know for a fact that human beings, who have lost their joy in life are, in fact, people suffering from a wide range of weaknesses and health defects. It is as if we cannot live without feeling alive. Our body needs a commitment that is alive. It needs to feel excitement, fear, happiness and hope. If you feel that you are moving downhill, so to speak, and this is accompanied by a symptomatic and increasing number of days lost through sickness, forgetfulness as well as rather poor performance in your job, you need to give thought to what is wrong. Is it possible that your way of living is causing your deterioration? If we do not thrive and our body keeps telling us that we are unbalanced, then it is obvious that we suspect our working life of being too uninspiring, exhausting and destructive simply because work takes up such a big part of our life. Of course, your problematic relationship with your partner is worth a thought, and if you have no close friends that will not help you either, if you are to renew yourself. But everything in life fits together. If there is no commitment on your part towards your work, there will not be any enthusiasm either for your spouse, your children, your friends or your hobbies. Maybe there is no fire in you at all? If you can make a change by quitting a boring and monotonous job in favour of what you see as the challenge of your life, you have made an excellent bargain. And no matter whether you get half your former salary, your spouse gets infuriated or the whole world laughs at you - do not take any notice. Life is short and the chances are few - so take a chance while it is there. Today you may be young and vital; tomorrow you may be trying to recover from a cerebral haemorrhage. Life is shorter than you think. You have no time for fiddling about. A good job is


13

one chance in a lifetime. Take the chance and go for it, be good to yourself. Create a job for yourself - get a job that you really care about. Good work is an activity that creates a strong sense of personal meaningfulness because it is directly connected to our personal development project, i.e. what we want from life. We all want to become complete. To this end, we need to grow and achieve fulfilment. Good work challenges us to go beyond our limits and confront new and exciting aspects of life. Work should be a direct manifestation of life. Life is a simple and clear expression of what you do. Our love of life shows in what we do. The fine art of working and the secret of working are to be found in the intimacy in the intersection between our lives and the world around us.

WHAT IS GOOD WORK – AND HOW DO YOU ATTAIN IT?

The Bad Blacksmith The work in the forge is hard. The hammers are heavy, the forge is hot and the noise from his constantly hammering the anvil is at times insufferable and always fatiguing. The work is grubby and the air inhaled is far from pure. At the end of the day, which anyway is much too long, the blacksmith always sighs a little. I should have done otherwise. But you have to stay alive and becoming a blacksmith was no problem.

The Mediocre Blacksmith He shows a certain pride when delivering the finished product. It is quite well done, and the customer is usually content with what he gets. The work is good and the pay is not bad. Of course, the forge is very hot and dirty but he was lucky to get two apprentices to do the heavy work. One has to be flexible, he thinks. He always sees to it that they measure up to the professional standards. It is important to avoid too many errors even though things move fast at times. He is quite content with being a blacksmith, even though he takes no pleasure in handling the hammer.

The Good Blacksmith The hammer hits the red-hot iron. The blacksmith is one with his hammer. The perfect mastery of the tool, the complete understanding of the qualities and properties of the iron, the right material, the perfect temperature, a total confidence in the red-hot iron, its workability as well as the slowness and precise movements of his body in full harmony with the purpose of his work. He has constant visions of the finished product, masters the creative process and is fully present in the situation. Of course, customers come from all over to ask for this blacksmith when they want the best, because this blacksmith's work is superb. Work was less complicated in the old days, before the computer. But imagine a modern open-plan office. Will you not find someone here mastering the forge hammer (the keyboard) with perfection and discipline, while others just fumble with the tool of their trade? Is it not common experience that under exactly the same conditions some thrive and prosper, whereas

14


others whither and fall into decay? Why is it that human beings reach such different degrees of mastering their work and why do human beings display such different talents? Work can be a fantastic experience and a potential peak in a person's life. Such a state may be reached, when work is considered as a great personal fulfilment. You do it because it fits you perfectly; it is vital for you and just the thing to do. And you do the work not for the sake of others but for your own sake. You do it for the sake of the work itself, not as a means of obtaining something else, for instance money, prestige and identity. You do it because you cannot help doing it. Good work attracts you - not as a relaxing experience, but rather an intense one. And even if it is experienced as really good, it will not be regarded as comfortable. Good work entails much joy and happiness but also many challenges, problems and struggles. It may be a painful and difficult experience because it will take you right to your limits where you must make all your best efforts to handle the challenges. But still, it is not stressful, fatiguing or unpleasant. Stress in your life is when you cannot cope with external demands. It is the feeling of being burdened in a very unpleasant way. However, to be burdened in this way is being a mule on which others load their burdens. In good work your own inner demands direct you - not external demands. Even though your work is fine, there may still be lots of trouble. It takes time. Often you are quite tired when you get to the end of a job. But if you think that this specific piece of work just must be done and that you are the one to finish it, then it does not matter that you get tired. Think of your work. Does it really suit you? Do you feel like doing it? Are you given the freedom to carry out the work the way you want to? Are you good at your work? Is your working performance improving? If you can answer yes to these questions, then maybe you are one of those in a good job. That is what counts, even though other people perceive your job at the machine or the computer as mere routine. Please remember that what is important is your personal experience of doing your job. If you do not like your job, it does not help you to feel better about it, even though your social environment deems it a good job. A strange and interesting feature about work in general is that it develops. The piece of work that is felt as good and meaningful one day may very well be outworn and obsolete the next. For instance, how long will it be before sweeping, cleaning and floor washing will be carried out by crawling electronic night-time tortoises? Such robots may still have difficulties in observing the dirt as well as manoeuvring past doorsteps- but some day they will not. It will not be long either before a small scanner registers what is in your shopping basket in order to draw money from your bank right away, thus replacing the cashier in the supermarket. When the day comes, when electronic and mechanical devices can do the job just as well as human beings, work will lose its meaning. That is why there is no point in occupying the unemployed and receivers of social benefits by making them dig holes or produce pegs and pins. What if you are not the right person in the right place? Well, in that case you must get on with your life. It may be wise to change things right where you are or start looking for a new job. To be stuck in a place where you are not meant to be is quite dreadful. It is not to your advantage. Yet many people remain stuck where they are and do not look for alternatives. They do not make any demands. They do not start changing things and they do not complain about anything. They do nothing. They are fatalists and gradually they become almost


15

unnoticeable; they are going downhill. Year by year it goes from bad to worse - human relations, self-esteem, love life and health. How can you endure spending seven to eight working hours every single working day without feeling alive? How can you accept that what you are doing in your life does not make your happy? Do you seriously believe that you can return to your home after a long day of doing meaningless work and still be happy, enthusiastic and inspiring to your spouse, your children or your friends?

THE GOOD WORK – HOW TO GET THERE? In order to feel at ease at your work it is necessary to understand which components in working life may contribute to improving your situation and which will not. Surprisingly enough, according to surveys carried out, pay is less important than job satisfaction. Similarly, it looks as if the social status derived from work is of less importance, as long as one's pay covers one's basic needs and the social status is not of a debasing nature. One likely explanation is that the salary and status may comfort you in your personal life, but while on the job - working - your pay does not really matter since you do not use your money there. In most of the western world there are few people who worry about whether they can afford a pair of shoes for their children, unless their mortgage is far too high. Nor is anyone likely to be attacked because his father is a garbage collector or a receptionist. The quality of life survey showed us that managers do not feel better than the man in the street and that professionals do not feel better than lower wage earners. It seems as if the common denominators of good work such as education, status, money etc. do not apply when it comes to the actual experience of the work as well as life as a whole. In this respect your relationship to your own self and your environment is far more important, which means that material comforts are given the lowest priority as compared to a good life and a good job. If we consider working life, there are four relevant conditions to be prioritised. These are your relationship to your own self, your relationship to what you are doing (the job/work), your relationship to the people with whom you work (your company) and your relationship to those you service (customers, clients, society, your environment). Your relationship to your own ego has to do with quality of life. Quality of life means that you like being the person you are and that, in general, you are a positive, constructive and well-balanced human being. In most everyday matters we operate only on the surface of life - and we operate in depth when we are in contact with our potential and talents while trying to fulfil our dreams. Our relationship to the job is all about mastery - which means that you are doing your job excellently and show true commitment as well as being the right person in the right place, improving and developing with the relevant challenges. Real life-mastery may be quite problematic as most of us are tempted to keep doing what we are good at. The development of mastery demands from us that we continue our process of learning by jumping into deep water. Our relationship to those we work with is about joint efforts. You may be part of a very creative team, be it as an expert or group manager. It is crucial that you understand your part and function and that you are where you want to be.

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Your relationship to customers, clients and so forth, to whom you give attention, is about genuine added value. It goes beyond just making money for your company. A certain amount of profit is a prerequisite for your company's survival, like the oxygen and blood sugar needed by your body. But - earning money is just as little the true meaning of work as metabolism is the true meaning of your life. A brain-dead person can also earn money. Life is about being valuable to yourself and one another and enterprises are created in order to make products or render services as a joint effort complying with the real needs of the environment. This requires employees who are genuinely valuable to their surroundings.

JOB SATISFACTION – RELEVANT AND IRRELEVANT FACTORS Work could be something we love to do together with people we are fond of in a situation where we use our joint efforts to create something that is highly valuable. It is not that difficult to imagine good work. It is difficult to get there, but not impossible. To get there requires confrontation with the issues that we normally associate with work. How would you for instance answer the following twelve questions in connection with a new job? Is it important for you that: • • • • • • • • • • • •

Your salary is good? (Yes/No) Your occupational status is attractive? (Yes/No) You have short working hours? (Yes/No) The job description matches your qualifications? (Yes/No) The job implies status at work and in society? (Yes/No) There are good possibilities of continuing education? (Yes/No) The prospects of promotion are good? (Yes/No) You have job security? (Yes/No) You are content with your work? (Yes/No) You have freedom to make your own job schedule? (Yes/No) There is no stress in the job? (Yes/No) You are not confronted with tasks that you cannot handle(Yes/No)

Did you mark all twelve with a “yes” response? At first sight, most people might think that if the above-mentioned issues are in order, the job must be a good one. The interesting thing is that these twelve issues are likely to have very little influence on working life quality. With regard to titles, salary and excellent opportunities for further training, it seems obvious that there is a poor correlation with job satisfaction (see figure 1, showing an inconsistency between annual income and job satisfaction).

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Quality of Life, Happiness and Meaning of Life Working-Life Quality (on a scale 0-100) 80

QWL-s cale 0-100

75

70

65

60

55

50 6,67

13,33

26,67

40

53,33

133,33

Income in thousand Euro (intervalse: 6,67 means 0-6,67)

Figure 1. Coherence between working-life quality and annual income. In a quality of life survey 2,500 Danes were asked to state their annual income as well as their level of job satisfaction. The height of each column corresponds to the average measured well-being at work (90% ='very good'), 70% ='good', 50%= 'neither good nor bad', 30% = 'bad' and 10% ='Very bad'). The diagram illustrates that well-being at work is unrelated to annual income, as all income groups feel equally well at work except for the highest income group, which shows an insignificantly higher degree of well-being than the other income groups.

Working-Life Quality (On a scale 0-100) 75 70 65 60 55 50 Not interesting at all

Of little interest

Somew hat interesting

Interesting

Very interesting

How interesting is your work?

Figure 2. The correlation between working-life quality (well being at the job) and interesting work. In a pilot study of six medium-sized companies 60 employees filled in a questionnaire on their working-life quality ('How do you feel at work?') Answers: 90%:'Very good' to 10%:'Very bad', and how interesting they found their work (from 'very interesting' to 'very uninteresting'). Each column shows varying degrees of interesting or uninteresting work. The study included only three people who found their work uninteresting or very uninteresting, so we have not shown their two averages. The height of the columns shows the average working-life quality. It shows that working-life quality is closely correlated with how interesting the work is, as persons with interesting jobs show significantly greater workinglife quality than those not indicating an interesting job.

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Job satisfaction cannot be salvaged by course programs or prospects of promotion. Job security may be fatal if it blunts the professional nerve necessary to ensure your best efforts in order to make your own future. Besides, you might easily be in a fine job that is well paid and seemingly satisfactory but which bores you in the depths of your being. The freedom to do meaningless, senseless things when you choose to do them is not likely to make for much pleasure. Who wants a job that does not demand quality or deadlines, which cause stress if we cannot cope adequately with their demands? Another questionnaire can be compiled based on questions focusing more on the actual experience of work and including a number of factors related to feeling alive on the job. Please try to answer the following twelve questions in relation to a new job? Is it important for you to: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Feel commitment to what you are doing? (Yes/No) To experience your job as the challenge of your life? (Yes/No) To feel that you create true value in the work? (Yes/No) To feel that you are applying yourself wholeheartedly with all your talents when on the job? (Yes/No) That your work is quite interesting to you, after all? (Yes/No) That you relate well to your surroundings through your work? (Yes/No) That you feel part of an entity - the joint efforts of your company?(Yes/No) Have a good working environment - physically and mentally? (Yes/No) To be so good at your job that you master it as well as being able to express yourself fully and creatively in the working process? (Yes/No) To forget yourself while working? (Yes/No) Be able to become deeply absorbed and concentrate so much that the distance between yourself and your work almost disappears? (Yes/No) Experience the degree of intensity, presence and attendance at work that you consider vital to feel really alive? (Yes/No)

How did you answer these twelve questions? These questions are related to our existence and devotion to our work. Various studies revealed that questions of this kind are far more important to working-life quality than the pay, for example (see figure 2) These questions concern the correlation between what we do at present and what we really want from our deep inner selves. When we are truly fit and adjusted to our inner life at work, we have the possibility of experiencing a genuine and thorough commitment. Good work is a natural extension of our true wants. This profound harmony is the only way of ensuring that our efforts will provide us with good and meaningful experience.

DISCUSSION The major critiques our philosophy of working-existentialism could invite is the argument that by focusing on jobs and work, we are strapping the human being to the production form of the industrial society. The informational society presumably coming in a few years will need people who are not working in the classical sense of this word, but continuously


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engaging themselves in all kinds of activities that will help them to develop and bring them joy. Another big problem with the presented view is that unemployed people are doomed not to develop or blossom; this means that when we have this kind of idealising idea about work in society we will keep a certain fraction of the citizens in the dark – forcing them to risk behaviors in order to survive. How we collectively conceive work is to a very high degree giving birth to our collective values and understanding of the whole world – actually our whole consciousness as already noticed by Karl Marx in his book “Das Kapital”. How we today organise the creation of value (money) in our society is determining which kind of behaviour will be rewarded and which type of personality will be seen as heroic. Today most people in the western world see work as the primary route of personal liberation, but that might lead to an unbalanced focus on action and materialistic wealth, and a lack of focus on being and spiritual wealth, which might give serous backfiring on the citizens of society – and perhaps this will even lead to serious damage of the global ecosystem. To preserve the planet it might be that we collectively should abstain from work, moneymaking and all activities that transform the surface of planet earth and destroy nature. So maybe the whole focus on work also presented in this paper is leading mankind to Armageddon. These questions should be thoroughly explored as they might be of extreme importance. But this is not our mission here; our intention was to show that work can be great fun and of huge value, if developed consciously. Very few people know what they want from their working lives. Most people focus on the surface and miss the whole point of their working life. It is curious that human beings rarely have the courage to dream life differently from that defined by our materialistic and superficial culture. It is startling how many end up having an awfully meaningless, grey and boring working life. The questions above link up with the four conditions that are decisive for the quality of our working life. In the following papers we shall take a closer look at these four topics: the quality of life, mastery, joint efforts and creating true incremental value.

REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Antonovsky A. Unravelling the mystery of health. How people manage stress and stay well. San Franscisco: Jossey-Bass, 1987. Maslow A. Toward a psychology of being. Princeston, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1962. Frankl V. Man´s search for meaning. New York: Simon Schuster, 1997. Ventegodt S. The quality of life. Seizing the meaning of life and becoming well again. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1995. [Danish] Ventegodt S. The philosophy of life that heals. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1999. Ventegodt S. Working-life quality. To become valuable to yourself and your surroundings. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. [Danish] Ventegodt S. Measuring the quality of life: From theory to practice. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. Ventegodt S. Quality of life in Denmark. Results from a population survey. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1995. [Danish]

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick Ventegodt S. The quality of life of 4,500 31-33 year-olds. Result from a study of the Prospective Pediatric Cohort of persons born at the University Hospital in Copenhagen. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. [Danish] Ventegodt S. The quality of life and factors in pregnancy, birth and infancy. Results from a follow-up study of the Prospective Pediatric Cohort of persons born at the University Hospital in Copenhagen 1959-61. Correlation between quality of life of 4,500 31-33-year-olds and data about their parents, birth and infancy. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1995 [Danish]. Ventegodt S. The quality of life and major events in life. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 2000. [Danish] Ventegodt S. The life mission theory: A theory for a consciousness-based medicine. Int J Adolesc Med Health 2003;15(1):89-91. Ventegodt S, Poulsen DL, Hilden J, Frimodt V, Lohmann-Devantier E, Pruzan P. New tools to measure quality of life. Agrippa 1994;14(3-4), 210-5. [Danish] Ventegodt S, Hilden J, Merrick J. Measurement of quality of life I: A methodological framework. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:950-61. Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Measurement of quality of life II: From the philosophy of life to science. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:962-71. Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Measurement of quality of life III: From the IQOL theory to the global, generic SEQOL questioinnaire. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:972-91. Ventegodt S, Henneberg EW, Merrick J, Lindholt JS. Validation of two global and generic quality of life questionnaires for population screening: SCREENQOL and SEQOL. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:412-21. Lindholt JS, Ventegodt S, Henneberg EW. Development and validation of QOL5 for clinical databases. A short, global and generic questionnaire based on an integrated theory of the quality of life. Eur J Surg 2002;168:103-7. Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life theory I. The IQOL theory: An integrative theory of the global quality of life concept. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1030-40. Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life theory II. Quality of life as the realization of life potential: A biological theory of human being. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1041-9. Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life theory III. Maslow revisited. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1050-7. Ventegodt S. Sex and the Quality of Life in Denmark. Arch Sex Behav 1998;27(3):295-307. Ventegodt S. A prospective study on quality of life and traumatic events in early life – 30 year follow-up. Child Care Health Dev 1998;25(3):213-21. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Long-term effects of maternal smoking on quality of life. Results from the Copenhagen Perinatal Birth Cohort 1959-61. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:714-20. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Long-Term Effects of Maternal Medication on Global Quality of Life Measured with SEQOL. Results from the Copenhagen Perinatal Birth Cohort 1959-61. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:707-13.


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[26] Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Psychoactive drugs and quality of life. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:694-706. [27] Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Lifestyle, quality of life and health. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:811-25. [28] Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life as medicine. A pilot study of patients with chronic illness and pain. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:320-32. [29] Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life as medicine II. A pilot study of alcoholics. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:320-32. [30] Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Holistic medicine III: The holistic process theory of healing. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1138-46. [31] Editorial. Quality of life. Lancet 1991;338:350-1. [32] Diener E, Oishi C. Money and happiness: Income and subjective well-being across nations. In: Diener E, Suh EM, eds. Culture and subjective well-being. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2000. [33] Shek DTL. Meaning in life and psychological well being: An empirical study using the Chinese version of the Purpose in Life Questionnaire. J Genetic Psychol 1992;153(2):185-200. [34] Aaronson NK, Ahmedzai S, Bergman B, Bullinger M, Cull A, Duez NJ et al. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30: A qualityoflife instrument for use in international clinical trials in oncology. J Nat Cancer Inst 1993;85:365-76. [35] Testa MA, Anderson RB, Nackley JF, Hollenberg NK. The Quality-of-Life Hypertension Study Group. Quality of life and antihypertensive therapy in men. N Engl J Med 1993;328:907-13. [36] van Knippenberg FCE, de Haes JCJM. Measuring the quality of life of cancer patients: psychometric properties of instruments. J Clin Epidemiol 1988;41:1043-53. [37] McDowell I, Newell C. Measuring health: A guide to rating scales and questionnaires, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford Univ Press, 1996.



Chapter 3

PERSONAL QUALITY OF LIFE Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick Our viability and vigour in general is derived from our state of well being and life as a whole. Some people are harmonious. They thrive and prosper and have the energy to solve all the problems they encounter. These people are ready and willing to communicate and they are alert and attentive to life. They represent resources to be drawn upon. Often they are very valuable to themselves - they love life - and they are shown respect and appreciation. Human beings who communicate great joy in life and a reserve of strength, are those who easily rise to the occasion and quickly adapt to getting on with other people. Quality of life is something inside you and it accompanies you wherever you go. Many people think that it is a matter of chance whether or not there is quality of life and surplus energy. Some people are born under a lucky star, they say, while others had a bad start. By chance some humans have better genes and by nature they are the chosen few, the beautiful, the talented and the marvellous, while the rest of us must accept the twists of nature and accept being plain, a bit boring not possessed of the most brilliant minds. But no. Human beings are to a much greater extent the masters of their good or bad lives. Quality of life implies that you know and accept yourself. This is not as simple as it may sound. But you can shape the good life yourself. INTRODUCTION Peter feels best when he is on his own. It is as if other people are too much for him. He does not have the energy for them. When he is with people he feels something jarring, though he cannot figure out what might be wrong. It is as if they hurt him, as if their existence makes him uncomfortable. At work he easily flies into a temper and he is not capable of withstanding demands made upon him. It cannot be said that he is doing a poor job, but he is not really good at it and he keeps blaming himself for repeating the same mistakes. It is difficult for him to make a decision and keep his promises. He does not seem to have the potential to realise his goals. One cannot make him out really, because he has talent and in many ways he is a handsome man - tall and strong. However, there is something tormented

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about him, which makes other people prefer doing their job without him, leaving him out of the joint efforts. It is as if Peter's life will not allow him to succeed.

FEELING REASONABLY AT EASE Henrik is content with his work. He feels fine about his wife and children. In general, he is a happy man. He works well and he is reasonably good at his job. He functions well on all fronts. But Henrik tends to become bored. He is 45 years old and has the feeling that life has slowed down a bit too much. His love life has become a routine; it is not bad, but the excitement has gone. The work is good and that is it. The children are almost grown up - too grown up in fact, as if they are growing away from him. Of course, they are about to live their own lives, but still he often feels a stranger even though they are only 13 and 15. How will it be when they grow older? Anyway, Henrik is happy about life. He wakes up in the morning and looks forward to his newspaper and the smell of fresh coffee. But in idle moments he wonders what is missing. His life has lost its nerve, its spirit and passion. It is as if life has more in store for him but he cannot grasp that ‘more’.

FEELING GREAT ABOUT ONESELF Kristian cannot help being in high spirits. His humour without any vulgarity follows him everywhere. To put it plainly, he is always in a good mood. He always has a twinkle in his eye and he makes people smile. They cannot help it. Kristian feels fine. He does not feel superior or in any way put on airs. On the contrary, he is humble and has a modest bearing. He is well liked and supported by his fellow beings. Kristian understands how to live as well as getting the best out of almost any situation. He is like a breath of fresh air wherever he goes, with a scent of the forest, the pines, the resin and the magic secrets. He understands, he has the energy to lend others an ear. And his words are useful to others. Not that he is very talkative. But what he says makes sense. Kristian knows how to share his words in whatever situation he finds himself.

QUALITY OF LIFE Our viability and vigour in general is derived from our state of well being and life as a whole [1-22]. Some people are harmonious. They thrive and prosper and have the energy to solve all the problems they encounter. These people are ready and willing to communicate and they are alert and attentive to life. They represent resources to be drawn upon. Often they are very valuable to themselves - they love life - and they are shown respect and appreciation. Human beings who communicate great joy in life and a reserve of strength, are those who easily rise to the occasion and quickly adapt to getting on with other people. Quality of life is something inside you and it accompanies you wherever you go. If you want to check on your quality of life, the following questions are relevant: • Are you where you should be in your life?

Personal Quality of Life • • • • • • •

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Are you happy with the conditions of your life, including your work, your friends and your family life? Are your needs satisfied, including what you understand as a meaningful occupation? Do you feel happy and strong and free in your life as a whole and when at work? Do you feel fine - when it comes to the essentials? Is your life as such OK? Are you OK with your lover? Your friends? Your children? Yourself? Your surroundings? Do good experiences occur to you weekly that make you recover and renew yourself, at work and away from work? Do you know what to do with your life and are you willing to fight to realise your dreams?

Many people think that it is a matter of chance whether or not there is quality of life and surplus energy. Some people are born under a lucky star, they say, while others had a bad start. By chance some humans have better genes and by nature they are the chosen few, the beautiful, the talented and the marvellous, while the rest of us must accept the twists of nature and accept being plain, a bit boring not possessed of the most brilliant minds. But no. Human beings are to a much greater extent the masters of their own good or bad lives – maybe best exemplified by the possibility of the human being to influence on his own good or bad health [23-43]. There are a number of reasons why some people have good quality of life while others squander it and we can go a long way in the influence we exert on these causes. • • • • • • • •

You can shape the good life by: Respecting life Having good values Knowing what you want Listening to your inner wants and dreams Not wasting your energy Knowing that time is short and go for a life Taking responsibility

RESPECTING LIFE Quality of life implies that you know and accept yourself. This is not as simple as it may sound. Who are we and what are we really? If you ask people what and who they are, it is difficult to wrest from them anything but something like: Peter Jorgensen, Principal, 48 years old, married, two children and principal shareholder in Good Cucumbers Ltd. But we are not Peter Jorgensen or whatever our parents have chosen to call us. It is just a name, a label, so to speak. We are infinitely more than that. First and foremost, we are alive. We are living creatures with billions of years behind us, ancient beings from of old because life has been here almost endlessly and because the wisdom of life is passed on from one generation to the next. In common with all other beings, life is inherent in us, e.g. the happiness of living. We are in possession of intuitive knowledge

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of everything from sex and love via friendship and community to language and the intelligent use of tools. By nature we are magnificent creatures. Life has its own enchanting magic. If every single one of us does not feel alive and brilliant, it is because the magic has vanished and our life has become weak and fragile. We have stopped listening to it. We have stopped asking ourselves what to do with life and what it is about. Existentially, we have fallen into a deep dreamless sleep and we have failed to look for the meaning of it all. To respect life means to know as a human being that you are first and foremost alive and that life has its own deep regularities with which we must identify and to which we must conform. We have to give life space. If we do not, it will be strangled in common sense and formalities, vouchers, bad habits and every day routines. Discover the feeling of being alive. That is the first and crucial condition in order to be valuable to yourself and others.

HAVING GOOD VALUES Each of us has a set of values that consciously or unconsciously guides our actions and choices. The values are what we like, what we are looking for, what we consider serious, valuable and attractive. The values are the small number of central concepts that are our guiding principles. In our culture the important values are often extremely material, be it in the public or the political sphere. In short, we go for money, a residence, clothes, food, consumer goods, a ’good’ education and security. A minority group adds to this picture some confidence in a long life on earth because of a healthy life style. What made us choose these values? Could we not prioritise in favour of love and friendship, joint efforts, nature or the experience of feeling really alive while we are on this earth? We could have chosen otherwise but we did not. Typically we ask for materialism, which is not positively related to quality of life, annual income, educational level, housing, exercise, diet and so forth. However, we spend amazingly little time and energy on what could relate most fully to quality of life, namely the quality of our relationship to ourselves, our lover, friends, children, colleagues, the community, nature, etc. The values that we rate so highly today, as individuals and jointly, have little to do with quality of life. On the contrary, they are about money and things. With these kinds of values we set up for ourselves a life without joie de vivre, happiness and purpose. We fail to take account of our inner lives, and, in the long run, risk devastating effects on our health. This ought to shock us but it does not, because we know that it is so. Too often we are just too lazy to do something about it. We make a point of being tolerant with regard to others' values. 'All values are equal and everyone is free to choose', is our democratic line. Yet we know deep down inside of us that this is not true. Life has its own deep values that provide the key to the good life. We have an obligation to love life and live accordingly. We have an obligation to seek those values that accompany life: friendship, love, togetherness and to shun those values that are detrimental to life, for instance superfluous materialism, vanity and power without any purpose.

Personal Quality of Life

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KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT We create our lives by making our dreams come true. Not knowing what we want makes us lose our lives. Most people walk around in a daze, not knowing what their lives are about. Not until death is near, do people wake up. By then it is often too late. Life is an arrow that points towards the future as well as towards death. We can do what we want if we are smart, ingenious and strategic - as well as efficient - for life is short. We have to be goal-oriented, energetic and persevering. We are offered such a wide range of possibilities to succeed but this necessitates us to be conscious of 'what' it is about. When you dream your life dream, it may be difficult to imagine it coming true. But if you show perseverance and patience, the right opportunity will present itself some day. The opening will present itself; you will see the way forward. The problem is not that the world does not offer any possibilities - there are many possibilities. The problem is rather that we do not know what we want. We make no demands. We are content with almost nothing. Right from the beginning we reject possibilities that seem, at first glance, to be out of our reach. We prefer to live with the smouldering pain of suppressed yearning, rather than the clear and obvious pain from dissatisfaction with the present state of things - which is, in fact, a prerequisite for change. It is not that difficult to find out what to do with your life. What is difficult is to live up to that knowledge because what is ahead of you is the difficulty of cultivating and refining your spirit; the pain of living with a feeling of yearning and loss; the strictness of waiting with patience; the harshness of living strategically, practising control and discipline. The knowledge of the meaning of life demands from you that you dust your morale and start fighting yourself for your life - against your apathy, ignorance, laziness and indolence in order gradually to re-conquer your life.

PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR INNER WANTS AND DREAMS How do you find out what you really want? Listen to your longings and dreams. Trust yourself and listen to your heart. We all have frustrated dreams from the beginning of our adult lives. Dreams about friendship, about the love of your life, about the great job that will absorb us for years to come. About achieving something extraordinary in life. The colour of adult life is not a flashy one, but that is no excuse for throwing away all the dreams of your life and just resigning yourself and adapting to whatever comes your way. A typical feature of our greatest dreams is the happiness when the dream comes true. In your working life you may experience a strange kind of happiness after a real effort. You may gain the experience that life at this point is a success. You may experience that you are where you want to be and where you belong, that is to say that the higher meaning of your life is to do exactly what you are doing. Great professional accomplishments may be achieved. It is within your reach to achieve mastery. You may experience that the distance between what you do and what you are vanishes. You may reach the most intense and joyful state of mind - when you accept the greatest challenges and resolve the most trying problems. It starts with your life's dream. In the midst of a fantastic working-life - you do not find yourself, just like that. First you must find your vision and your imaginative concept of good

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work. Then, in the following thereof you materialise it by working laboriously through changes and adjustments taught by reality. Life is shaped by your self-expression. It is all there inside of us in the form of opportunities and potentials to be realised. When that happens we see our life blossoming. The potential reaches us in a strange and magic way, like a vision, an unexpected and surprising idea. But, without our true/proper inner spirit being involved, things will not work for us. The right spirit is the ability to sense the deeper meaning of life's way of being with us - to sense life's deepest purpose with us.

AVOIDING WASTING ENERGY Shaping your own life needs energy [1-22]. Where does this energy come from? From inside of us. Life is full of energy because life itself is the source of its inner meaning. The energy is drawn from life experienced as significance, by love, by importance. Those who really know what they want are willing to fight like lions to make their dreams come true. The world appears soft and malleable when we are in control of our selves and our personal energies. Right through the middle of our heart runs a 10,000-volt cable with unlimited energy on which to draw ad libitum. From here we can get all the energy needed. As long as we act in accordance with our love of life, there will be plenty of energy - until we have accomplished the measure of our days and death takes us away. However, it is possible to waste the immense energy of life in various ways. For instance by getting involved with matters that take more than they give. By quarrelling in vain. By frittering away our tasks and results due to lack of alertness to shortcomings. By expending our conserved energy on worthless entertainment. Lotteries like the State Lottery, the Pools etc. are good examples of wasting time and money. First you spend your money and energy on a ticket with artificially induced excitement and unrealistic hopes of winning a prize. Basic rules of profitability make it obvious that the lottery ticket is worth far less than the money paid for it. Many people apply this kind of lottery strategy as a common feature of their lives. ’With a bit of luck it works,’ and so forth. But there is no such luck in life - and we hear all too often: 'No luck this time'. People who try to justify their unhappiness with a fatalistic attitude are typically irresponsible people. By using our vital energy properly it is possible to conserve energy and consequently always have surplus energy. Quality of life will then be derived from our own efforts and wisdom, and we will not spend our time daydreaming about the quarter of a million prizes.

KNOWING THAT TIME IS SHORT AND LIVE ACCORDINGLY Life is shorter than we expect. One reason for this is that we finish our professional careers long before we shuffle off this mortal coil. The few years of work we have left may prove to be our most significant chance of achieving something of lasting value in life. This is our chance to leave our mark on the world in more ways than just providing the requisite couple of children that nature stipulates (which can be managed before you are 18 without too much trouble).

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Life is surprisingly short and time flies. The days come to an end too soon - one day ending the other. It is as if we are on a train. On board, all the more or less slow routines work according to the clock, signalling nothing unusual. But seen from the outside, it is obvious that the speed of the train is 160/kph and the trip is soon over. In order to grasp how short time and our working life is, it is necessary to take a look from the outside. Try to look through the windows of the train and watch the sluggish and torpid passengers inside, cut off from the real beauty of life and quite complacent while slurping up coffee and eating pastry while they are entertained by movies on the television. Do not waste your life like that! Time is far too short, and when you hear the voice of the engine driver telling you that your trip is coming to an end within a few minutes, it is too late to do anything about it.

ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY Accepting responsibility means that you see to it that things become the way you want them to be, no less [9-15]. We have far more freedom to shape our lives than is generally believed. When we start the fight for change the very first time, we often realise that the obstacles are not in the world out there but have their roots within us. This is not to say that there will not be grumbles and complaints from your environment when you fail to live up to others' expectations and start making demands and being troublesome. But other people rarely constitute a real obstacle. If you understand how to communicate and explain your motives clearly, it is often possible to induce change. To take responsibility for yourself means that you begin perceiving yourself as the acting cause of your life. It means that you realise how your words and actions have an impact on what your life is. Obviously, taking on responsibility is not tempting; it is like taking the first step into a cold shower. You are compelled to search out your personal attitudes to life in order to review your problematic situation. In general, it is far more appealing to pay attention to others’ faults. Accepting responsibility means changing your lifestyle and transforming yourself into a fighter. As a victim, you take things as you find them, as a fighter, you embark on a constant battle, fought with perseverance until you get what you want. What if your boss is a hopeless case? Will he become less awful and idiotic as a result of your taking responsibility and treating him in a strategic manner? Not really. But your problem with your superior is not that he is an idiot. He can be that, as long as you do not suffer from it. If you think it your responsibility to educate all the idiots of this world, you will have your job cut out. No, the moment you are in control of your attitude to the man as well as the way you treat him, he will start treating you far better in the future. Maybe he will even give you the freedom you so desperately want as a consequence of his sympathy for you as well as his confidence in you. In such a process where you take on a responsibility and clean up your own house, so to speak, most people discover unpleasant truths. Actually it was not just my dislike of my superior - it was about superiors in general. And maybe there are good superiors around who will wish us the best and provide us with maximum support and working conditions, so that we may carry out our jobs in the best way possible?

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Life appears to be like that all the way through. There are lots of excuses for leading a poor life but, at the end of the day, we may have to admit our own faults and prejudices. To take responsibility means trying to solve the problems.

DISCUSSION Sense of coherence and health seems to be dependent on contributing and creating value in life. This could be the most relevant scientific argument for a strong relation between working life quality and health. But sense of coherence is dependent on the person developing his purpose of life and character, including sex-character. Many kinds of work are severely limiting the individual’s possibility to stem into character and using him- or herself. Much to often a job is about collecting money, not about thriving and personal development. It is a major challenge for every organization of our time to organise work in a way that it offers room for personal development and self-exploration that in the end leads to optimal job satisfaction and lasting health. Our viability and vigour in general is derived from our state of well being and life as a whole. Some people are harmonious. They thrive and prosper and have the energy to solve all the problems they encounter. These people are ready and willing to communicate and they are alert and attentive to life. They represent resources to be drawn upon. Often they are very valuable to themselves - they love life - and they are shown respect and appreciation. Human beings who communicate great joy in life and a reserve of strength, are those who easily rise to the occasion and quickly adapt to getting on with other people. Quality of life is something inside you and it accompanies you wherever you go. Many people think that it is a matter of chance whether or not there is quality of life and surplus energy. Some people are born under a lucky star, they say, while others had a bad start. By chance some humans have better genes and by nature they are the chosen few, the beautiful, the talented and the marvellous, while the rest of us must accept the twists of nature and accept being plain, a bit boring not possessed of the most brilliant minds. But no. Human beings are to a much greater extent the masters of their good or bad lives. Quality of life implies that you know and accept yourself [1-29].

REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Jones E. The life and works of Sigmund Freud. Trilling L, Marcus S, eds. New York: Basic Books, 1961. Jung CG. Man and his symbols. New York: Anchor Press, 1964. Adler A. The individual psychology of Alfred Adler. Ansbacher HL, Ansbacher RR, eds. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1956. Lowen, A. Honoring the body. Alachua, FL: Bioenergetics Press, 2004. Reich W. Die Function des Orgasmus. Köln: Kiepenheuer Witsch, 1969. [German] Horney K. Our inner conflicts: A constructive theory of neurosis., London: WW Norton, London, 1948. Rosen M, Brenner S. Rosen method bodywork. Accessing the unconscious through touch. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2003.

Personal Quality of Life [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

[16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]

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Grof S. LSD psychotherapy: Exploring the frontiers of the hidden mind. Alameda, CA: Hunter House, 1980. Ventegodt S. The life mission theory: A theory for a consciousness-based medicine. Int J Adolesc Med Health 2003;15(1):89-91. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory II: The structure of the life purpose and the ego. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1277-85. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory III: Theory of talent. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1286-93. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. The life mission theory IV. A theory of child development. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1294-1301. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory V. A theory of the antiself and explaining the evil side of man. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1302-13. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory VI: A theory for the human character. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:859-80. Ventegodt S, Flensborg-Madsen T, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Life Mission Theory VII: Theory of existential (Antonovsky) coherence: a theory of quality of life, health and ability for use in holistic medicine. ScientificWorld Journal 2005;5:377-89. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Quality of life philosophy: when life sparkles or can we make wisdom a science? ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1160-3. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy I: Quality of life, happiness, and meaning of life. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1164-75. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Kromann M, Merrick J. QOL philosophy II: What is a human being? ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1176-85. Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. QOL philosophy III: Towards a new biology. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1186-98. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy IV: The brain and consciousness. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1199-1209. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy V: Seizing the meaning of life and getting well again. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1210-29. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy VI: The concepts. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1230-40. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Applied consciousness-based medicine. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:96-9. Ventegodt S, Morad M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Classic art of healing or the therapeutic touch. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:134-47. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Holistic Medicine III: The holistic process theory of healing. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1138-46. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Holistic Medicine IV: Principles of the holistic process of healing in a group setting. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1294-1301. Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Merrick J. Principles of holistic medicine. Philosophy behind quality of life. Victoria, BC: Trafford, 2005. Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Merrick J. Principles of holistic medicine. Quality of life and health. New York: Hippocrates Sci Publ, 2005. Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Merrick J. Principles of holistic medicine. Global quality of life.Theory, research and methodology. New York: Hippocrates Sci Publ, 2005.

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[30] Ventegodt S, Morad M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Induction of Spontaneous Remission of Cancer by Recovery of the Human Character and the Purpose of Life (the Life Mission). ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:362-77. [31] Ventegodt S, Solheim E, Saunte ME, Morad M, Kandel I, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Metastatic cancer. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:913-35. [32] Ventegodt S, Morad M, Hyam E, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Holistic sexology and treatment of vulvodynia through existential therapy and acceptance through touch. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:571-80. [33] Ventegodt S, Morad M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Problems in sex and living together. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4: 562-70. [34] Ventegodt S, Morad M, Kandel I, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Treatment of physical health problems without a known cause, exemplified by hypertension and tinnitus. ScientificWorld Journal.2004;4:716-24. [35] Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Chronic infections and autoimmune diseases. ScientificWorld Journal 2005;5:155-64. [36] Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Neikrug S, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Holistic treatment of rape and incest traumas. ScientificWorld Journal 2005;5:288-97. [37] Ventegodt S, Morad M, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine Tools for a medical science based on consciousness. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:347-61. [38] Ventegodt S, Thegler S, Andreasen T, Struve F, Enevoldsen L, Bassaine L, Torp M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Psychodynamic short-time therapy complemented with bodywork. A clinical follow-up study of 109 patients. TSWHolistic Health Med 2006;1:256-74. [39] Ventegodt S, Thegler S, Andreasen T, Struve F, Enevoldsen L, Bassaine L, Torp M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine (mindful, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy complemented with bodywork) in the treatment of experienced impaired sexual functioning. ScientificWorld Journal 2007;7:324-9. [40] Ventegodt S, Thegler S, Andreasen T, Struve F, Enevoldsen L, Bassaine L, Torp M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine (mindful, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy complemented with bodywork) improves quality of life, health, and ability by induction of Antonovsky-salutogenesis. ScientificWorld Journal 2007;7:31723. [41] Ventegodt S, Thegler S, Andreasen T, Struve F, Enevoldsen L, Bassaine L, Torp M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine (mindful, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy complemented with bodywork) in the treatment of experienced physical illness and chronic pain. ScientificWorld Journal 2007;7:310-6. [42] Ventegodt S, Thegler S, Andreasen T, Struve F, Enevoldsen L, Bassaine L, Torp M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine (mindful, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy complemented with bodywork) in the treatment of experienced mental illness. ScientificWorld Journal 2007;7:306-9. [43] Ventegodt S, Thegler S, Andreasen T, Struve F, Enevoldsen L, Bassaine L, Torp M, Merrick J. Self-reported low self-esteem. Intervention and follow-up in a clinical setting. ScientificWorld Journal 2007;7:299-305.



Chapter 4

MASTERY IN YOUR WORK Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick Mastery in the process of work is one of the four dimentions developing the quality of work life. Mastery is about developing our potential, and our potential is all we might be and do in life. It consists of all potentially achievable skills, including personal qualities. To master something means to do it brilliantly and to be among the best in what you do. But a master is not preoccupied with comparing himself with others. He prefers comparisons with his personal visions and life dreams about the best way of improving. People who seek mastery live with a dream of ultimate professionalism and then go for it. Slowly and systematically it is done. They will gradually master a profession to perfection. A master loves his work intensely. He finds the greatest challenges at work and confronts them. The master develops professionally and mentally at the same time. In mastery life is unfolded more freely, more perfectly. Every human being can develop towards mastery. It is a fact that most people are prepared to make an effort in their working life. This is not just about the salary, but also about providing the world with a valuable and personal contribution which gives a strong sense of personal meaningfulness. Developing mastery is one of the four conditions besides quality of life, joint efforts and creating true incremental value, that are decisive for the quality of our working life. Today almost all human beings have both the potential and the opportunities to develope their mastery. In this paper we shall take a closer look at what mastery really is about and how it is developed.

INTRODUCTION Every human being can develop towards mastery [1-7], and it is a fact that most people are prepared to make an effort in their working life. Almost all human beings have an unlimited potential of what we might be and do in life. Our potential is all we might be and do in life. It consists of all potentially achievable skills, including personal qualities [6,7]. At first glance it might not seem as if humankind is well equipped with possibilities and potentialities. But we

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are indeed. It is quite easy to live one's life without ever realising it. That is, in fact, what happens to most of us. The brain is to be used according to your preferences and you may increase or decrease your demands on its functioning. If you really find the challenge of your life and make the most of your cerebral capacity, it may be possible to make the brain answer even the most complicated questions. We all have this possibility. But only a few of us seize this opportunity. We hold back, thinking 'I am no genius, not even in my field of activity'. However, people who have not developed mastery are still needed, those who are on the way towards mastery. But those who achieve a great mastery will prove valuable according to a different scale. In this article we will examine the four aspects of developing mastery: • • • •

Finding the potential for your mastery: Your gifts and talents Realising that potential in the form of skills, which requires: A deeply felt commitment that will not show until the day: When you find and grasp the challenge of your life.

We all have an invitation and a possiblity to develop our mastery in the process of work when we grasp the sense and content in ourselves, our life dreams and what we really want to do with our life.

MASTERY IN THE PROCESS OF WORK

The Bad Secretary Tove has been on the way out for a long time. Each month she costs her company a fortune due to mismanaged sales appointments, letters not mailed, deadlines not met - not to mention her depressed voice on the phone, business letters filled with little faults such as double spacing and punctuation errors. She can barely make the word processor run a spell check. She thinks that she is too old to learn such skills. Curiously enough she and everyone else seems to live with 'that is how Tove is'. Even when she makes serious mistakes, no one really bothers about correcting her. 'It is unfortunate that we were so busy that we had to let her take care of it' and -'She is growing old; you have to bear with her'. Old? Tove is only 51 years old!

The Good Secretary Ellen, however, is more energetic. She is a lively and cheerful presence in the office. Her voice on the phone is brisk and she keeps her promises and deadlines. She is good at dictation and drafts. She is efficient and competent and makes only the occasional error. She is a good and thoroughly reliable secretary who keeps up with new word-processing packages. Often she makes jokes and becomes difficult only when under too much pressure because handling stress is not her strong point.

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The Brilliant Secretary Then there is Jill, mysterious Jill. She is a genius. She knows all that is going on in the company. She can lay her hands on all letters, order books, files, customers' lists etc. Even though the files contain thousands of documents, it will take her less than one minute to find any of them. She writes letters based on minimal drafts because she knows the ins and outs of procedures. She is on good terms with secretaries in dozens of client companies and they do each other favours. She comes up with suggestions to promote efficiency and quality assurance in sections that she only knows from the correspondence. Jill ought to be covered in three layers of gold. She is 54 years old and has hardly had a day off sick in her nine years with the company. Nobody remembers having seen her stressed or confused. She is the only one who can manage three phones simultaneously. She has rescued the firm many times, because she is alert and attentive to errors committed in the company. How does she manage?

MASTERING YOUR WORK To master something means to do it brilliantly and to be among the best. But a master is not preoccupied with comparing himself with others. He prefers comparisons with personal visions and life dreams about the best way of improving. People who seek mastery live with a dream of ultimate professionalism and then go for it. Slowly and systematically it is done. They will gradually master a profession to perfection. A master loves his work intensely. He finds the greatest challenges at work and confronts them. The master develops professionally and mentally at the same time because work has become fully integrated with his personality. As mastery develops so the distance between the person and the mastery diminishes until the two have fully merged. The distance disappears. The master is completely absorbed: 'Oh, what time is it? It is dark already.' In mastery life is unfolded more freely, more perfectly. Try considering how things stand with regard to your own mastery. Please try to answer the following questions: • • • • • • • • • • •

How competent are you at your job? How good are you compared to the best in your field? How good are you compared to the full realisation of your potential? How well developed is your sense of quality, and how ambitious are you in respect of your work and its quality? How fast and efficient are you compared to how efficient you could be? Do you develop the skills necessary for your profession? Do you experience work as a challenge? Are you doing your best to succeed? Are you preoccupied with matters that really interest you? Do you fully understand the purpose of your work and do you agree with this? Do you feel that work builds you up, or is it breaking you down?

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick •

Do you realise your full potential at work?

Developing mastery has to do with four aspects: • • • •

Finding the potential for your mastery: Your gifts and talents Realising that potential in the form of skills, which requires: A deeply felt commitment that will not show until the day: When you find and grasp the challenge of your life.

Let us take a look at each of the four consecutive points.

YOUR UNLIMITED POTENTIAL Our potential is all we might be and do in life [8-14]. It consists of all potentially achievable skills, including personal qualities. At first glance it might not seem as if humankind is well equipped with possibilities and potentialities. But we are indeed. It is quite easy to live one's life without ever realising it. That is, in fact, what happens to most of us. Life is not easy for all of us. We are just human beings and it is hard to believe that we possess special features and talents, until we have used these talents and become really good. We are not in the habit of believing that we are likely to become brilliant. But when, for some reason or another, we are forced to do our best, our vast potential suddenly comes to the fore. It is almost unlimited. We can do what we want to do, provided that we train persistently in spite of the difficulties encountered in the protracted learning process involved in mastering a new field of activity. It would not be true to say that we are sufficiently gifted to learn anything. We are predisposed to a certain degree but we can all grow better in relation to how nature has shaped us. If we do not possess the necessary physical strength, agility and speed, hard physical work will not be tempting. Playing a game of tennis requires a well-trained body. Try to think of your potential as flower seeds to be sowed in good soil to germinate and grow. The good soil is a prerequisite of mastery. It is not that easy to become brilliant. In order to develop, the plant must set its root properly into the ground - and touch the soul where the happiness and joy are to be found. The leaves must reach the light. Somewhere out there is a need for our development.

SKILLS Why are we not normally geniuses within our field of activity, but just reasonably competent at what we do? Why do we so rarely reach the zenith in our working life? It hardly comes as a surprise to anyone that mastering one's working life is difficult if one cannot master life in general. That was why quality of life is an important issue. Those who cannot yet understand the necessity of involving life as part of the discussion, we would like to convince in the following way. How can we use proper professional language in our working life if we have a poor command of our language in ordinary situations? If we cannot express our ideas precisely and


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concisely? Reading and writing is more than reading a tabloid and leaving notes for one's spouse. Expressing yourself is an art. And life is an art in itself. There is so much to learn and to master. To achieve something great is tied up with our physical and mental well being. Fortunately, it is a fact that when you decide to become very good at what you are doing, your well-being increases. One might say that the reason for your troubles during this process is that you are carrying your basic existence with you, and this is hard work. But there is no alternative really. Each profession requires an extensive knowledge. If you work with materials, you may derive your knowledge from the science of engineering and building materials. There is so much to learn about iron and glass, for instance, that you could go on forever. No matter what your occupation, you will have to acquire professional know-how. A person who is deeply committed to his or her profession may acquire an incredible amount of professional knowledge. Nothing is boring when it fits into an overall objective. We have to do our best and train systematically to improve. Not until we master a lot of tiny technical details can it all merge into a functional entity. That is to say that mastery makes you very happy - happiness derived from your ability to express yourself fully. Everything in life fits into a whole. Can you achieve a professional mastery if you are not in control of your private and social life? No, it is not possible to be a master behind your desk or in production if you have severe problems with the one you love. Likewise, mastery involves your ability to laugh and become absorbed in playing with your children. Mastery encompasses life. The choice to focus on the development of working-life quality is based on the fact that most people are prepared to make an effort in their working life. It is not just about the salary but also about providing the world with a valuable and personal contribution.

A DEEPLY FELT COMMITMENT A true commitment is something that makes you direct all your attention and energy to the matter in hand. It is as if what really interests you - and exerts pull and push on you - is the need to become deeply immersed in order to experience yourself as a fully alive person. Thus matters that really interest you will wake you up and make you happy too - and in the end you will be renewed, happy and lively. Maybe you remember how you were once caught up in a good book or a movie - or maybe what someone told you about his life fascinated you. When life is right, a situation of glowing intensity may arise with its eternal magic so difficult to put into words. Think of your first experience of falling in love and the desperate need you felt to be with the other person. It is the same quality, a wild and profound commitment. Is it possible to experience this kind of interest at work? Yes it is. Very few humans feel this way about work, but there are no obstacles if you want to change the circumstances as the possibilities are just beneath the surface. Can you fall in love with your wife once more? Is it possible to discover new, fantastic traits in your friends? Can you take up new hobbies at an advanced age? Can one keep finding hidden sides of one's personality to exploit and develop? Of course one can, but they do not appear just like that. In contrast to our first falling in love - which we get for free - our adult life requires quite a lot from us if we want specific experiences to be part of our everyday life. Commitment cannot be expected to be a common feature of your day - your employer does not offer you a job with commitment on a

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plate. As adults we are responsible for adding energy, significance and meaning to life. This means that our contribution is like sawing knotty wood: we have an invitation to find the challenge of our life.

FINDING THE CHALLENGE OF YOUR LIFE Can work become a challenge? The same piece of work may, as you know, be considered either as a challenge or as a nuisance, depending on who you are. My definition is as follows: A challenge is something that you feel you have to seize but offhand do not know how to handle. In fact, you cannot handle it until you have done it, because a challenge is a challenge precisely because it requires you to make moves and learn more in order to accomplish your task. A challenge is a necessary task to be accomplished because a challenge is something very personal; something that is very important to you and which for personal reasons you must take on. Challenge is strictly personal because it is about one's personal development towards mastery. It is one's development towards accomplishing one's essential task. This destination is defined by one's nature, by one's personality and by one's situation in a community. It is experienced as a vocation. Something calls us. One might say that any small challenge derives energy from the great challenge that we basically see in our lives. A human being who is incapable of experiencing his or her life as fundamentally a challenge will not consider his/her work and private sphere as a challenge either. Such a person will find it very hard to develop towards true mastery. If you fail to perceive work as an exciting and fascinating challenge that demands great efforts, you will lose your way. Challenge is the basic prerequisite for becoming good at something since it is challenge that propels us beyond our own limits. Many people wrongly think that challenges appear from the outside and that the employer will provide them with challenges. So too it is believed that some work provides challenges while other does not. Nothing could be further from the truth. Challenges are something we find for ourselves - amidst a tangled world of opportunities. If it is in our nature to interpret the world as a place full of challenges, we will find challenges everywhere. There is always a tiny chance of heading in the right direction. People who see challenges everywhere are pursued by good luck; those who fail to see challenges are pursued by back luck. Of course, all people experience both good and bad luck. But those who do not see a challenge when it is there may miss their chance. Challenges are found in one's private as well as one's professional life. In general, one's love life is quite a challenge. What you can learn here is generally related to your experiences with regard to professional challenges. You are forced to develop your personality, self-discipline and patience - not to mention decisiveness, shrewdness and clarity. But many fail to see their complete relationship as a challenge and try to make peace with their partner. If peace at home is attempted and finally achieved, the final and completely senseless phase of a private relationship has begun. Normally, this stage lasts for the rest of your life. A partner or spouse is a worthy opponent and an immense challenge, which you will have to cope with until the situation changes due to death, a new partner etc. You cannot take drama and wildness away from love without killing it.


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In the same way, you may enter into a passionate relationship with your work. The day you start making peace with it, you stop fighting and start being contented. To be content with something is to accept things as they appear to be, renouncing your expectations of changes, as well as letting go of your will and your responsibility for creating change. This is the way to lead your personal development into a deadlock. Apparently, few people consider work a challenge. Short working hours and high pay is the norm. So one finds oneself a well-paid job from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but what kind of life is that? Where is the spark? Where is the commitment? Where is the excitement? Many people would be able to improve their lives considerably if they accepted a lowering of their salary in favour of devoting their time to work that makes their commitment prosper. But this requires you to consider work as a situation in which to be challenged. Also, you must dream your personal life dream of becoming a master. When you find your challenge and accept it, it will probably bring about supreme skills.

EVERY HUMAN BEING CAN DEVELOP TOWARDS MASTERY The word genius is applied to very few human beings. We often think of geniuses as fellowbeings with innate special talents. However, these geniuses were not born brilliant. Albert Einstein did not do well in primary school, for instance. His first job as an adult was an ordinary one at a Patent Bureau. But he kept developing and today he is considered a genius of our time. The brain of Einstein was thoroughly examined after his death. It was widely believed that his brain would be different, but it was not. No particular features were found. The brain, yours for example, is to be used according to your preferences and you may increase or decrease your demands on its functioning. It is a way of 'beating' your brain. If you really find the challenge of your life and make the most of your cerebral capacity, it may be possible to make the brain answer even the most complicated questions. We all have this possibility. Only few of us seize this opportunity. We hold back, thinking 'I am no genius, not even in my field of activity'. Why must we always be so small and modest? Ask for more! Trust yourself. Make heavy demands on yourself and at work. Take the best from your working life. Ask for the necessary freedom to make your own working schedule as well as solving problems your way. Ask for influence on the stated goals and targets, standards of quality, working procedures - all of it. It is naive to believe that your company will immediately grant you the privileges you want in order to develop your mastery. Speak out for yourself! Make you superior understand where you are heading and make him or her understand the potential of your future value and commitment to your company. Go for it - and accept the risk. Show your will power. Seize the opportunity and become brilliant. It may be that you will be considered peculiar, but that is not your problem. It is possible that your ambitions are considered as slave work. You will also have to accept that your communication with your superiors may cause some gossip about your ‘buttering up'. But you are the only one who knows your reasons, which is why it will be wise to ignore what others think about you and your development project. The person in the company who succeeds in achieving mastery will change his or her status notably. He or she will become one of a kind and make a significant difference. This brilliant person will make a considerable contribution to making a company locally, nationally and

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internationally. The masters are the truly valuable employees. There is no denying it. A secretary, an engineer or a welder can do things nobody else can. He or she will leave a unique stamp on the environment. A master is practically irreplaceable. He or she calls down to earth the spirit and makes significant moves forward. It is the master who makes our world develop through the realisation of his or her life dreams and through fighting the biggest challenges. However, people who have not developed mastery are still needed, those who are on the way towards mastery. But those who achieve a great mastery will prove valuable according to a different scale.

DISCUSSION People who seek mastery live with a dream of ultimate professionalism and then go for it. Slowly and systematically it is done. They will gradually master a profession to perfection. The master finds the greatest challenges at work and confronts them. He develops professionally and mentally at the same time, because work has become fully integrated with his personality. Is a life without challenges and commitment less worthy? In fact, the answer is affirmative, because if you do not have any challenges or feel deep commitment, you are about to loose yourself. To feel that you are developing your self towards mastery you have to meet your challenges and that requires your commitment. A challenge is a necessary task to be accomplished, because a challenge is something very personal; something that is very important to you and which for personal reasons you must take on. Those people who achieve a great mastery will prove valuable according to a different scale. And that is a personal thing, call it a personal gift which follows each one of us. When you stop fighting and start being content, watch out! To be content is to accept things as they appear to be, renouncing your expectations of changes, as well as letting go of your will and your responsibility for creating change. This is the way to lead your personal development into a deadlock. Many people wrongly think that challenges appear from the outside and that the employer will provide them with challenges. So too it is believed that some work provides challenges, while other does not. Nothing could be further from the truth. Challenges are something we find for ourselves - amidst a tangled world of opportunities. If it is in our nature to interpret the world as a place full of challenges, we will find challenges everywhere. Challenges are found in one's private as well as one's professional life, where you are forced to develop your personality, selfdiscipline and patience - not to mention decisiveness, shrewdness and clarity. Many people would be able to improve their lives considerably if they accepted a lowering of their salary in favour of devoting their time to work that makes their commitment prosper. But this requires you to consider work as a situation in which to be challenged. Also, you must dream your personal life dream of becoming a master. We all have an invitation to find the challenge of our life and to develop mastery in the process of work. When you find your challenge and accept it, it will probably bring about supreme skills when you do your best and train systematically to improve. Not until we master a lot of tiny technical details can it all merge into a functional entity. That is to say that mastery makes you very happy - happiness derived from your ability to express yourself fully.


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Life is not easy for all of us. We are just human beings and it is hard to believe that we possess special features and talents, until we have used these talents and become really good. We are not in the habit of believing that we are likely to become brilliant. But when, for some reason or another, we are forced to do our best, our vast potential suddenly comes to the fore. It is almost unlimited. We can do what we want to do, provided that we train persistently in spite of the difficulties encountered in the protracted learning process involved in mastering a new field of activity.

REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Ventegodt S. The life mission theory: A theory for a consciousness-based medicine. Int J Adolesc Med Health 2003;15(1):89-91. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory II: The structure of the life purpose and the ego. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1277-85. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory III: Theory of talent. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1286-93. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. The life mission theory IV. A theory of child development. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1294-1301. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory V. A theory of the antiself and explaining the evil side of man. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1302-13. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory VI: A theory for the human character. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:859-80. Ventegodt S, Flensborg-Madsen T, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Life Mission Theory VII: Theory of existential (Antonovsky) coherence: a theory of quality of life, health and ability for use in holistic medicine. ScientificWorld Journal 2005;5:377-89. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Quality of life philosophy: when life sparkles or can we make wisdom a science? ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1160-3. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy I: Quality of life, happiness, and meaning of life. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1164-75. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Kromann M, Merrick J. QOL philosophy II: What is a human being? ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1176-85. Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. QOL philosophy III: Towards a new biology. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1186-98. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy IV: The brain and consciousness. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1199-1209. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy V: Seizing the meaning of life and getting well again. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1210-29. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy VI: The concepts. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1230-40.



Chapter 5

WORKING WITH COLLEAGUES AND MANAGEMENT Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick The job has become the modern man's bridge to the world. It is first and foremost our joining an organization (company) that provides man with actions that confront us with the outer world. There is enormous potential in the development of the joint energy of an organization and of groups. The groups that manage to handle all conflicts and conflicting interests turn into regular small combat units that perform miracles none would ever think of. Fellowship is something in life that contains immense potential, and fellowship is the third aspect of working life quality besides quality of life, mastery and creating real value. If you open up and let things happen, a group may turn into an incredibly intense and creative unit. Cooperation and management gradually disappear in favour of group members' increasing ability to act intuitively and directly. Much time is wasted and valuable energy lost in internal disputes. Instead of fighting our personal limitations and ourselves, many of us fight others. A section of a company may end up being unproductive and without profit if the classical pattern of complaints, envy, cliques and arguments prevails. Through this article we shall have a look at what creates and builds fellowship, the role of the leader and the workers.

INTRODUCTION The brilliant leader does not acquire his or her dominance and power by obstructing the employees. Rather, the brilliance of leadership originates from the leader's ability to inspire the group. A group has a natural leader, who may be characterised as the person who most clearly is able to understand the common objective as well as to express the collective intention and will of the group. His or her task is to secure the group's common interests. This includes being authorised by the group to organise the work so that everybody contributes his best efforts to solve the group's common task. You not only have a right to, you have an obligation to enter into dialogue with your superior, if you disagree with him or her.

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In this chapterarticle we shall have a further look at co-operation, management and public relations (public or private) as an entity. Ideally, these three aspects converge into an overarching entity uniting employees and managers in a sense of fellowship within the organisation - in order to carry out its goals.

CO-OPERATION WITH COLLEAGUES AND MANAGEMENT

Bad Co-operation Anders does not thrive at work. He often feels exploited when asked to carry out extra work. He rarely benefits from doing this. He is not particularly proud of working for this company. The manager and the chief executives decide and define which tasks are to be carried out. Whether the company sells its products and survives, Anders sees merely as a management problem. 'It can never be my problem if the company is doing badly', he thinks, 'I am not the one who makes more money when the company has a high turnover.' When they speak about him, his colleagues sometimes adopt quite an acrimonious and sarcastic tone. For his part, Anders considers them idiots in varying degrees. Anders does not think highly of the head of the section, since Anders is not 'understood'. Actually, Anders tries to work as little as possible, to get as much money as possible and to avoid his superiors and colleagues to the greatest possible extent.

Normal Co-operation Thomas feels all right at work. He gets on well with his colleagues at lunchtime, but when he works he minds his own business and rarely notices the presence of his colleagues. He is in good standing with his superior and they communicate politely. The head of section knows best and Thomas is confident in leaving his superior with all the administrative and planning matters. Thomas has no real reasons to complain although he is not very content and Thomas does not feel any true commitment to his company. He might as well be employed by a competitor. He considers it a coincidence that he is working for this firm and not another.

Good Co-operation Bjarne has a good feeling each morning on arriving at the company's main entrance. He feels good here. He is always happy to meet his colleagues and he is highly regarded by his superior. He feels embraced by his section. Even when he is a bit tired and worn out after a period of long working hours and lack of sleep, he likes to join his team for ten minutes in the morning to make plans for the day. Bjarne considers the company his own even though he is not a partner. The management does its best to back him up as well as to support his development. He experiences his company as a good opportunity to make a valuable contribution to his surroundings. He does not distinguish strictly between work and spare time, since he considers his work meaningful and more than his money's worth. The work is also done for the sake of his pleasure and personal

Working with Colleagues and Management

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development. If he were to become redundant, which is most unlikely, he would continue with something similar. Bjarne is a very loyal and conscíentious employee. He works late if needed and gives of his best all round including in his relationship with colleagues, managers and customers. Management appreciates his efforts and considers him a future key person in the company.

FELLOWSHIP The advantage of co-operation is that work may be divided up in a way that is tailor-made to suit each member of the group. Consequently co-operation is a great advantage that makes for great achievement. Thus things are done, which would have proved impossible the individual way. A group needs a leader to promote unity and to co-ordinate individual contributions into a powerful whole. Think once more of your present perception of fellowship and your own cooperation by answering the following questions: • • • • • • • • • •

Do you experience yourself as a perfect part of your group? How good is the co-operation? How good is management? Do you like your superior, your colleagues and your subordinates, or are your personal relations cool and formal? Have you chosen the right organisation to work for? Are you comfortable with the organisation's mission statement? Does your organisation show proper values? Is the organisation alive or is it 'half dead'? Is your heart and soul in it when you enter the company premises? Do you take any responsibility for the internal and external affairs of the organisation?

Fellowship is something in life that contains immense potential. If you open up and let things happen, a group may turn into an incredibly intense and creative unit. Co-operation and management gradually disappear in favour of group members' increasing ability to act intuitively and directly. There is enormous potential in the development of the joint energy of a group, and the groups that manage to handle all conflicts and conflicting interests turn into regular small combat units that perform miracles none would ever think of. Humans who join together in well functioning communities may experience a closeness and intensity that is hard to put into words for outsiders. Unfortunately, joint energies are immensely vulnerable and experience shows that even the best groups do not survive for long. It may be that it is part of the essence of life that joint efforts for a collective purpose, a joint project or a united statement of objectives will survive only for as long as there is a reason to keep the group intact. Only a united challenge keeps the group together. Although, for example, Danes see themselves essentially as friendly people, they often experience problems with regard to co-operation and a sense of community in their

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companies. Often there will be considerable distance among the workers themselves and between management and the workers. Various professional groups may develop into factions or cliques and manifest considerable difficulty in adjusting to an overall sense of community in the company. Some people may be on friendly terms with a few colleagues, albeit very few, and it is a fact that people rarely establish friendships with their superiors. This is not really an astonishing feature in cultures where, (according to Quality-of-Life survey results), only one in two people has a close friend in whom they can confide and with whom they can discuss anything. The fact that people are not as sociable at work as they could or should be might be considered a private matter. However, it is clear that organisations, departments and companies will suffer in the long run as a result of imperfect communication. Much time is wasted and valuable energy lost in internal disputes. Instead of fighting our personal limitations and ourselves, many of us fight others. A section of a company may end up being unproductive and without profit if the classical pattern of complaints, envy, cliques and arguments prevails.

THE GOOD ORGANIZATION The job has become the modern man's bridge to the world. It is first and foremost our joining an organisation (company) that provides man with actions that confront us with the outer world. It is difficult to define an organisation but basically it is about a group of people who join together for a common purpose. In the good organisation all employees solve their tasks efficiently and well. Management's objective is co-ordination of the work in order to maximise the value of the overall efficiency. In a good organisation, the leader is part of the group. Even though he or she is authorised with the power to define tasks, to lay off some members and welcome others, the good leader does not serve his personal interest in doing this. Rather, he or she serves the overall objective of the organisation. In the good organisation the leader is considered a valuable and appreciated person who deserves to be held in high esteem. People live, thrive and prosper in the organisation. It operates efficiently and develops quality. It is, so to speak, an extension of life and does not function in opposition to life; it does not go against our nature as human beings. Unfortunately, the good organisation is rare, but in principle it is not out of reach. There is no need for conflict between employee and manager or between people and their organisations. The good organisation provides us with opportunities to perform tasks that we are fit for. The organisation sees to it that we develop within our professions, placing mastery within our reach. The good organisation enables people to co-operate and make joint efforts to solve tasks that might otherwise be difficult to deal with alone. It is a natural thing for people to join this kind of community. This development dates back to when man started walking the earth. The organisation is, at its best, a modern version of humankind's natural community. The deeper meaning of organisations, i.e. the reason for their existence, may be found in the diversity of humankind. Even though we are all provided with the same basic features and preferences with regard to food and drink, clothes and a place to live, love, friendship, community and togetherness with the world, nature and society, there are in our personalities a few quite distinctive diversities that shape our preferences.


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Some people show a strong preference for acting and doing things; others prefer leadership and organizing. Some prefer knowledge and wisdom. Others take up the classical attitude of assisting and helping. Again, some people have preferences for science and technology whereas others cannot possibly take an interest in the periodic system or complicated software diagrams but instead concentrate on linguistic, communicative and humanistic matters. Some people take an interest in selling and doing business. Others prefer to minimise the role of commercialism in their lives. The above-mentioned diversities of preference are useful when we try to match them to our personalities in real life. An important symmetry of this kind is the relationship between the leader and the group members. Some people consider it a vocation to manage and spend all their energy on superior levels while others prefer to become absorbed in detail. These people appreciate a co-ordinated and overall direction of goals in order to make the details fit into the total context. Some people prefer a tangible reality whereas power and the broad overview attract others. My point is that the brilliant leader has not acquired his or her dominance and power by obstructing the employees. Rather, the brilliance of leadership originates from the leader's ability really to inspire the group. The company may suffer from lack of confidence in managers and immediate superiors in cases where the executives have been employed without paying adequate attention to the employees, their conditions and wishes. Instead of becoming the group's representative, the leader may end up being a stranger who never gets close to the group. This situation leads to a range of communication problems and conflicts between managers and employees that could have been avoided. A manager who has no confidence in his associates easily creates a barrier to the individual initiative, freedom and independence at work instead of supporting his associate in these respects. Similarly, the associate who has no confidence in the leader will not accept his or her help and support. In many large companies there are several hierarchies of heads of sections and this may serve to slow down the work process as well as preventing greater efficiency. To avoid these effects, many large modern companies dismiss part of their managerial staff and develop a flatter organizational hierarchy. Interdepartmental projects that cut across traditional structures (e.g. affiliated sections) may strengthen the independence of the employees as well as more or less spontaneous group formations. Often the project group may choose its leader from the group. However, it is still not clear whether this type of solution has a great future but the idea is good in theory.

THE GOOD LEADER A group has a natural leader, who may be characterised as the person who most clearly is able to understand the common objective as well as to express the collective intention and will of the group. His or her task is to secure the group's common interests. This includes being authorised by the group to organise the work so that everybody contributes his best efforts to solve the group's common task.

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In this way the leader takes a position vis-à-vis the individuals of the group. In other respects the leader subordinates himself to the group. The good leader abandons his or her personal interests, so to speak, in favour of servicing the unit and the community. The leader supports each individual member of the group and finds out the best way of combining the given tasks with preferences and needs within the group. This joint task must be accomplished along with the personal and professional development of the members of the group. To be a good leader requires a highly developed understanding of what is needed 'out there' - which means quite a cultivated sense of human potential as well as knowledge about the way it operates in life, including personal development. Apart from insight into human or personal development, leadership requires knowledge about our complex society. The leader must be courageous and visionary. He or she must be able to articulate the group's project in comprehensible terms that can be agreed upon. A leader who gets no support for defined projects does not have a chance. If he or she is unable to communicate the basic ideas to the employees and make them share the vision of the good values in future projects to be carried out by the group, the prospects are none too good. The leader's duty is to collect all ideas, impressions and opinions for a clear and precisely expressed vision of the relevant project, be it the creation of a new product or a new way of servicing customers. The leader's vision and creative mind must guide the employees into collectively creating value. Not until the leader understands himself or herself as ultimately the primary and most important supporter of the employees will the organisation flourish.

GOOD CO-OPERATION When carrying out different tasks necessary for the organisation to create its products or provide services, we are engaged in joint efforts with colleagues and management. Properly speaking, we co-operate. The idea of co-operation is to supplement one another. In order to co-operate we need communication, including an open-minded and friendly way of speaking. It is important to take on the responsibility and to carry it through in the face of difficulties. You must also be able to cope with honest criticism of yourself and put up with your colleagues' strengths and weaknesses. Experience shows that we all have our flaws and imperfections and these cause us to jar against each other and to collide with each other. The precondition of co-operation is that we manage to ignore each other's imperfect personalities and instead try to develop a more profound and basic confidence in and sympathy for other people. A prerequisite for cooperation is that we like each other. If we do not like each other, we cannot find a reasonable way of communicating. Criticism will be understood as unfriendly and manifestly hostile intentions rather than as assistance to improvement and development. When joining in close teamwork people get to know each other intimately. It is always easier to find fault with your neighbour, which is why co-operative endeavours can lead to unpleasantness when a person's behaviour is commented on. There are two ways to cope with criticism: One is to defend oneself and put a distance between oneself and one's critic, to take offence and put on a sour look. The other way, which is a far better one, is a more humble and open-minded attitude where criticism is not taken as an offence but rather as a mirroring of


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yourself. This way the critics show which points should be relevant for further personal development. The art of co-operation is particularly difficult when it is a matter of co-operating with your superior. If, for instance, you know that your colleague rarely meets an appointment on time, writing to the colleague instead of waiting for him in vain can solve the problem. If you know that your colleague is very good at accounting whereas you dislike this job, switching tasks might solve problems. To be able to say 'yes' and 'no' is essential for good teamwork. Unfortunately, in such situations most of us have trouble with emotions because they remind us of events in our personal life when we may have experienced the pain of rejection. In the old days the authoritarian executive style held sway. Nowadays, modern IT-companies cannot function without dialogue. Employees of the late 20th century must be well informed and conscious of what is going on. Thus modern employees tend to hold views that are fully valid vis-à-vis their superiors. You not only have a right to, you have an obligation to enter into dialogue with your superior if you disagree with him or her. Only on very rare occasions will a competent modern chief executive force through his own point of view, as today it is of the utmost importance that we engage with each other properly and that all points of view are respected. The employee may often be right and great value may be achieved, if the manager can overcome his or her pride and recognise this. In case of long-term problems in regard to teamwork it is still not an acceptable solution to suppress a colleague's point of view. Here we are up against fundamental differences in points of view that ought to be sorted out. The disagreements might very well focus on views on the stated objectives and values of the organisation, and this is the very situation where any modern leader should be particularly observant and attentive.

DISCUSSION The largest challenge in creating a well-functioning organisation is the development of the physical, mental and existential health of its employees. Most unfortunately many people in the world today is in a state of chronic stress; it can be described as a state of severe psychoform and somatoform dissociation. The person is not really there; neither through mind or body can he or she be contacted. The behaviour is often quite mechanical, and reflections are not deep, quality of life is often low, and ability of functioning in all areas from sexuality to social life are often low. Such people are in severe need of existential healing. But healing must happens in a sound environment with full support and acceptance for the individual. A company culture with love, respect and understanding is encouraging sub-environmental initiatives for creating groups and departments able to support its members and letting people heal and grow. We human beings are social beings. We are all gifted with different talents [1-7] and only together can we do great and complicated things like sending men to the moon or developing science and technology. We need to see and acknowledge the talent in every person, and only when we can do that, and support each one and facilitate the need for personal development of talents and self-insight, can we create the company and the society, that provides us all with our needs and longings.

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A company is in many ways like a living organism, where every employee and leader corresponds to a living cell. Only when all the cells are happy, healthy, oriented and fully informed about what is going on everywhere in the organization can do an optimal job. Only when everybody is connected to the world and giving their gift to the world though the work, can we have an optimal performance in an optimal organization. The key to all this is fellowship, for only through fellowship can man be nourished and supported enough to grow and heal existentially. The team must support personal and professional growth. Only in the soil fertilised with human respect and unconditional love can geniuses and masters grow.

REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Ventegodt S. The life mission theory: A theory for a consciousness-based medicine. Int J Adolesc Med Health 2003;15(1):89-91. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory II: The structure of the life purpose and the ego. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1277-85. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory III: Theory of talent. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1286-93. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. The life mission theory IV. A theory of child development. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1294-1301. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory V. A theory of the antiself and explaining the evil side of man. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1302-13. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory VI: A theory for the human character. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:859-80. Ventegodt S, Flensborg-Madsen T, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Life Mission Theory VII: Theory of existential (Antonovsky) coherence: a theory of quality of life, health and ability for use in holistic medicine. ScientificWorld Journal 2005;5:377-89.



Chapter 6

CREATING VALUE Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick Creating real value is one of the four dimensions of developing the quality of work life besides the quality of life, mastery and fellowship. The organisations is our chance to become valuable to a much wider circle than the one closest to us. By being part of a valuable organisation we create genuine value, not just market value. This article is about how we can create real value and how organisations become valuable to customers, clients, patients and the environment. In order to create real value, it is necessary to adhere to good and viable values which allows us to create clear preconditions for quality of life instead of wasting these preconditions. The transition towards creating proper values requires a profound rethinking of our attitudes. To this end, customer satisfaction will be subordinate to a more global perspective on production. It may well be better to remain in your job and change a bad company than fleeing to another job. This must be considered an emergency solution. The world needs competent people exactly where change is needed. We can all grow and develop, thus becoming more valuable. Every one of us can be useful by contributing our individual skills to the environment. Consider this a personal obligation. Put in another way, if we do not put our uniqueness and best talents to proper use, we betray ourselves as well as others.

INTRODUCTION You can question wether a company really creates value with its product or services or not. It earns money, of course, but does it create genuine value? How beneficial are the product and the activities? Do they contribute to making this world a better place to live in? In order to create real value, it is necessary to adhere to good and viable values. These values are about satisfying people's real needs, maybe also those of animals and plants, without destroying the world we inherited and which our children will inherit from us in the future. If we live up to values that respect these conditions, we build up instead of breaking

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down. We support other people in their self-expression instead of wasting global resources on superfluous consumption. We create clear preconditions for quality of life instead of wasting these preconditions. A person may be more or less valuable. Some people are not of great value to themselves or in their personal relationships. Others know how to gain from life as well as being pleasant company for others. We can all grow and develop, thus becoming more valuable. Every one of us can be useful by contributing our individual skills to the environment. • • • • • •

How valuable are you in relation to your potential value? Could you grow to be twice as valuable to your spouse? Your children? Your friends? Could you become twice as valuable to your organisation? Your customers?

It feels good to be useful. Quality-of-life surveys have shown that people who feel useful, also as a group, are happy, whereas those who do not feel useful are unhappy. You can contribute to a shift in attitudes and practice. In this way you will make a significant change not only for yourself but also for your place of work and your environment.

CREATING REAL VALUE FOR CUSTOMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT In this article we shall have a look at how organisations become valuable to customers/clients/patients/users and the environment. Let us start this difficult subject with an example from the world of health care in order to illustrate how much value can be created.

A hospital Department with Poor Ability to Create Value This department has specialised in treating breast cancer. The physicians do all they can to fight the cancer with all means available: chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. A considerable amount of money is spent on research and the physicians often participate in conferences abroad to present their results. They are proud that over the past thirty years science globally has succeeded in doubling the lifetime of cancer patients (even though critics argue that it is because the diagnosis is made at an earlier stage, which makes women aware of their cancer for a relatively longer period). However, a new type of 'troublesome and critical' patient has appeared on the scene. She asks questions about the customary treatment or refuses to accept it. Some nurses are becoming aware that patients must be involved much more in the decisions made about their treatment. But since patients lack professional knowledge, physicians consider this proposal a problematic one. Patients who undergo the prescribed treatment often feel very bad physically during the course of the treatment (often for the rest of their lives). The physicians hope for a breakthrough with new products and focuses on molecular research rather than involving

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psychological and social events in the treatment. Women do not think that they obtain much help from the cancer department.

A Hospital Department Creating Great Value The department has specialised in treating breast cancer. It has become evident over the past ten years that, according to statistics, traditional treatment of advanced breast cancer with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery prolongs the patient's life by only a few months. Furthermore, the treatment often ruins the patients' quality of life. In this department experiments are initiated - where ordinary treatment is being offered to all patients (but not always accepted) and supplemented with a clearly articulated request to the patients to take very good care of themselves. The department runs different projects to enhance the women's self-esteem and self-confidence to make them act more constructively in life. The physicians were surprised at preliminary results showing that patients can do far more for themselves than could have been hoped for. Some of the otherwise doomed women join groups of twenty persons. They exchange views on their joys and sorrows, values and goals in life for about one and a half hour per week. Quite often they succeed in gaining deeper insight as well as improving their quality of life. They not only get better but also live twice as long as patients who do not join an existential group. The experiment leading to this surprising result was carried out by David Spiegel and associates at Stanford University, USA and reported on in the Lancet in 1989 [1]. Many of the women consider the cancer department a most valuable experience.

The Good Car Factory – Bad in the Old Days – the 1990’s Not many years ago this car factory let its product burn off a considerable amount of leaded petrol and diesel oil which polluted the environment. In those days cars transformed a large quantity of valuable raw materials into gigantic quantities of worthless waste. For a while it looked as if the factory would continue contributing to global environmental deterioration, but then a niche appeared on the market, created by the political consumer. Far-sighted leaders seized the opportunity and arranged for the production to become viable. Today the factory creates real significant value. Customers are more content with the cars now, since their conscience is clear. Technological advances that led to this improvement were, first and foremost, good rechargeable and re-usable batteries. After that came the durable and efficient electrometer. The very best thing to happen was the new effective generation of solar cells that keep the car recharged all day. The car proved fully viable when re-usable panels and spare parts became available. Nonpolluting chemicals are now used to produce water-based paints. Not to mention the car's various built-in computers now made of fibre-optic materials that do not waste energy. Thus neither nature nor we will be contaminated in the future. These materials are fully degradable in ordinary sea sand. Will this car be for sale? Give it twenty to thirty years - and a bit of help. Fortunately it is on its way. Ecology and advanced technology supplement each other wonderfully.

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CREATE REAL VALUE?

Companies create value when they produce products or services for sale. At the same time they consume energy, water and raw materials and produce direct and indirect pollution, contributing to the transformation of natural resources into waste deposits. It is debatable whether the consumers are better off after all. They will not become healthier or happier. Maybe they merely waste their time, energy and money on the product. It is questionable whether a company really creates value with its product or services. It earns money, of course, but does it create genuine value? How beneficial are its product and its activities? Does it contribute to making this world a better place to live in? In order to create real value, it is necessary to adhere to good and viable values. These values are about satisfying people's real needs, maybe also those of animals and plants, without destroying the world we inherited and which our children will inherit from us in the future. If we live up to values that respect these conditions, we build up instead of breaking down. We support other people in their self-expression instead of wasting global resources on superfluous consumption. We create clear preconditions for quality of life instead of wasting these preconditions. The organisation is our chance to become valuable to a much wider circle than the one closest to us. By being part of a valuable organisation we create genuine value, not just market value. Often the demand for goods is not grounded in genuine and profound needs. It may derive from more or less artificial needs such as cultural trends, fashion whims, commercials and materialism have imposed upon us. We eventually realise that these are status symbols or masks that we could really do without. There are many perceptions of quality. Today several companies are content with a standard of quality expressed by customer satisfaction: if the customers get what they expect, the supplier has measured up to expectations. A well-known example is the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM). The problem is, however, that the standard of quality does not call for a further investigation into the quality of the demand, that is to say, which part of the demand for goods may be detrimental to the environment, the local area and its quality of life, etc. In order to create real value, more is needed than just customer satisfaction. A company would have to evaluate whether it is actually creating value (other than employment) by means of its products and services. The good organisation usually creates far more value than customers do, simply by demanding more. In this respect, managers and employees use comprehensive internal standards of quality which help customers increase their knowledge about products, materials, services and so on. The transition towards creating proper values requires a profound re-thinking of our attitudes. To this end, customer satisfaction will be subordinate to a more global perspective on production. Our culture is said to be materialistic, short-sighted and therefore often quite stupid. It may be a fact that we take less interest in existential values, such as love of life and the environment, than in power, money, status, consumer goods, and comfort - which are superficial and culturally determined values. If you think about it, there are private and public organisations which, for various reasons, clearly do not exist in order to create genuine value. Perhaps you work for such an organisation. If you do, it is time to take responsibility and start improving your organisation.

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It may be your opening to find the challenge of your life and to make a contribution to a better world. It may well be better to remain in your job and change a bad company than fleeing to another job. This must be considered an emergency solution. The world needs competent people exactly where change is needed. Try reconsidering how value is created in your organisation. Please try to answer the following questions: • • • • • • •

How good is the quality of the products/services? How resource-conscious and viable is the production process? How successful is the organisation measured in terms of its stated objectives for the future? How efficient is the organisation? How well prepared is your company to take a lead and to pioneer new paths? How beneficial is the organisation to the employees? How useful is the organisation to the local environment?

Becoming a Valuable Human Being A person may be more or less valuable. Some people are not of great value to themselves or in their personal relationships. Others know how to gain from life as well as being pleasant company for others. Things fit together. If you do not like yourself and your life, it is difficult for you to contribute to the world. We can all grow and develop, thus becoming more valuable. Every one of us can be useful by contributing our individual skills to the environment. Consider this a personal obligation. Put in another way, if we do not put our uniqueness and best talents to proper use, we betray ourselves as well as others. How valuable are you in relation to your potential value? Could you grow to be twice as valuable to your spouse? Your children? Your friends? Could you become twice as valuable to your organisation? Your customers? 'Well, maybe I could' you think, 'but why should I'? The answer to this question is very simple: Because you are no more valuable to yourself than you are to others, and vice versa. It feels good to be useful. Quality-of-life surveys have shown that people who feel useful, also as a group, are happy, whereas those who do not feel useful are unhappy. We are more closely tied to the world than we think. Our freedom not to be useful is limited. We are obliged to be useful and resourceful beings. This is dictated by our basic nature as human beings. A valuable person is one who leads a life in accordance with good and stable values. A valuable organisation also manifests good and enduring values. But why is it that people often adhere to two sets of values, one for private life (with love a dominant feature), another set of values for professional life, primarily concerned with power and money? How does it impact on a person's life when the two sets of values do not harmonise? Is it likely that such a person can become really valuable to himself/herself and to others?

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Make your Organisation Valuable When you have found out who you are personally and professionally, and when you have grown professionally, the time has come for you to make a difference to the whole. If you understand what is going on in your organisation, you will quickly gain understanding as to how to increase your influence. If the organisation wants to create more genuine value for customers, a change to better values is needed. What are the good values? Let us make a distinction between our personal values at work and the shared values formulated in an organisation's mission statement. Good personal working values refer, for the most part, to commitment, mastery and management. They are about the experience of creating value. In principle these values might also carry the organisation, but it is not as simple as that. An organisation has its own values. They focus on survival and growth, making a profit for the owners and satisfying the employees, economically and otherwise. These values are about achieving a goal, for instance a new product or a service that is unique. A healthy organisation takes an overall and global view: We want to participate in creating the future the way we like it. We must all accept our share in that responsibility. It is urgent that we make suitable investments in research that will secure the company's profitability in the long run. We must not make do with short-sighted solutions. However, it is not an easy task to determine the company's values. Often, one thing is proposed and something entirely different is carried out. It takes great individual efforts to determine what the values of the organisation really are in respect of its overall philosophy, its view of people as well as of itself, its conventional wisdom, its position and responsibility. Often the values have not been formulated. They may very well be conflicting. Companies often practise double standards. The working environment, for instance, is considered important until that environment requires expenditure. Nature must be preserved and protected, until the day production is interfered with. Today, there are many good things to be done if you want to make sure that good values are implemented. Environmental concern, life-cycle analysis and projects add to the development of zest. Furthermore, there are innovative workshops for management combined with dialogue with the industrial council. If you have a clear perception of where you are heading, action is possible. Lots of good tools are marketed at a reasonable prize, enhancing the possibility of sustaining a process of development directed to employees and managers becoming more alert and more oriented to value. If you believe in fighting to make the difference, the door will be open for deriving knowledge and strength from the great hidden reserve of human potential. Awareness of the company's values puts you in a powerful position. It would be very hard for anyone within the company to reject criticism of values which are basically hostile to people or nature. You can develop values within the company if you really believe that you are able to make a difference by seeing what is wrong and acting to put it right. This is an enormous challenge that requires all of us to raise our level of awareness. Our central conviction with regard to humanity is that you can make the difference, if you want to. You can contribute to a shift in attitudes and practice. In this way you will make a significant change not only for yourself but also for your place of work and your environment. People who fight for their personal values to be implemented in the company

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contribute to making a difference. It is people like this who make the world a better place. Why should you not become one of them?

Technology and Value Today a good machine can easily do the work of 100 employees. In a modern IT-company work is not so much about your personal initiative but rather about letting technology do the work. All processes must be carefully and precisely managed with a view to the complex realities within each section, the company and the environment. Work is no longer oil stains and sweat but an alert handling of energy and information. Our present society has turned into an awfully efficient but also very complex world and we have seen just the beginning of the IT revolution. The immense power gained from technology means that contemporary employees and managers must be highly conscious and alert. Fortunately, consciousness and alertness are original features of the human character. This is all we long for, deep inside. Our feelings of being present, fully alive and in line with reality will not manifest themselves fully until we grow fully conscious and alert. Most people are aware of the potential of science and technology. The most efficient machines available these days may cause world-wide pollution. We can waste global raw materials in no time and before knowing it we may have ruined nature and thus the basis of our existence. We simply have to get technological development under control. Our last chance is to change the values and attitudes within organisations to assure that what we produce contributes to creating appropriate values.

DISCUSSION Real value might be more strongly connected to our common survival on the planet than most people realise. We are in the middle of a technical revolution and explosive population growth; we are completely transforming the surface of the planet. We suggest that real value very soon will be about contributing to the global eco-system, more than anything. This demands a highly developed consciousness and maybe the development of human consciousness itself is the next area we need to focus on for man to create value and the human race to survive. Most interestingly, the development of consciousness and self-insight is closely connected to development of sexual ability and the ability to love others and function socially. Medicine might very well be about developing the human consciousness as well, as health and happiness is highly dependent on this [2-16]. Our central conviction with regard to humanity is that you can make the difference, if you want to. You can contribute to a shift in attitudes and practice. In this way you will make a significant change not only for yourself, but also for your place of work and your environment. People who fight for their personal values to be implemented in the company contribute to making a difference. It is people like this who make the world a better place. Why should you not become one of them?

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick REFERENCES

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

[10] [11]

[12] [13]

[14] [15] [16]

Spiegel D, Bloom JR, Kraemer HC, Gottheil E. Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer. Lancet 1989;2(8668):888-91. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Applied consciousness-based medicine. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:96-9. Ventegodt S, Morad M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Classic art of healing or the therapeutic touch. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:134-47. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Holistic Medicine III: The holistic process theory of healing. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1138-46. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Holistic Medicine IV: Principles of the holistic process of healing in a group setting. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1294-1301. Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Merrick J. Principles of holistic medicine. Philosophy behind quality of life. Victoria, BC: Trafford, 2005. Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Merrick J. Principles of holistic medicine. Quality of life and health. New York: Hippocrates Sci Publ, 2005. Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Merrick J. Principles of holistic medicine. Global quality of life.Theory, research and methodology. New York: Hippocrates Sci Publ, 2005. Ventegodt S, Morad M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Induction of Spontaneous Remission of Cancer by Recovery of the Human Character and the Purpose of Life (the Life Mission). ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:362-77. Ventegodt S, Solheim E, Saunte ME, Morad M, Kandel I, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Metastatic cancer. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:913-35. Ventegodt S, Morad M, Hyam E, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Holistic sexology and treatment of vulvodynia through existential therapy and acceptance through touch. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:571-80. Ventegodt S, Morad M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Problems in sex and living together. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4: 562-70. Ventegodt S, Morad M, Kandel I, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Treatment of physical health problems without a known cause, exemplified by hypertension and tinnitus. ScientificWorld Journal.2004;4:716-24. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Chronic infections and autoimmune diseases. ScientificWorld Journal 2005;5:155-64. Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Neikrug S, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Holistic treatment of rape and incest traumas. ScientificWorld Journal 2005;5:288-97. Ventegodt S, Morad M, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine Tools for a medical science based on consciousness. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:347-61.



Chapter 7

UP – OR DOWN IN YOUR LIFE? Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick It is amazingly rare for people to succeed in creating really good lives through their work and making the big dream come true. Surveys carried out by The Quality-of-Life Research Centre showed that only one Dane in three is really happy in his work. Few people burn for their work, they just burn themselves out. We all have the option of revising what we think of ourselves, life and the world around us. Likewise we can make adjustments to our habits and our way of life in general. We can all do a lot to feel better, in private and on the job. For some reason we do not do anything about it until we are forced to. But we could easily do something if we decided to do so. There is nothing more delightful than discovering that nature actually created us wonderful, intelligent, attractive, talented and humorous etc. We must stop preventing ourselves from being so. The four issues necessary for a company to really succeed and create real value in the world are; quality of life and job satisfaction, mastery within each individual field of activity, a sense of community with respect to cooperation and management, and finally creating real value. This is an ongoing process that affects revising of values, working procedures and goals. The company or organisation with these qualities will be successful both from the perspective of employees and customers. Such an organisation will go one step further and also prove to be valuable to the environment: nature and society. It is this type of development, which will carry companies forward into the 21st century.

INTRODUCTION Most of us do not grow old gracefully, we become sad and decrepit. What is it that makes some people develop and systematically improve their lives year by year? What are the characteristics of people who understand how to develop? The basic principles of personal development can be studied thoroughly in a rather special situation, which is when a life-threatening condition becomes terminal. In this

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situation most of us suddenly experience an immense love of life as well as a very strong motivation to improve life radically while we still can. The fantastic thing about this is that it seems to be possible. It does not even take long to improve life significantly when we are terminally ill - maybe a few weeks or months. We all have great hidden resources. Nothing is as sensitive to attitudes and conduct as our dealings with others. We are able to create for ourselves most favourable circumstances provided that we know how to bring to the surface the best in people, if we consider them delightful, talented, constructive etc. Often we can inspire to personal development by observing fine traits in people who have not yet themselves discovered their good points. This is one of the best ways to interact with your friends and colleagues. Now and then we meet a very happy person - and they do exist. A feature of very happy people is that they do precisely the work they want to. Look closer and you will find that these people consider themselves hunters or warriors. They fight to make their dreams come true. They are very different from the majority since their efforts are not motivated by duty and mere necessity but by love of life. This love provides an indomitable will to make life come true. In a flash of profound insight, a lucky moment in which we sense very intensely what life has in store for us, we suddenly decide to change our lives. When made wholeheartedly, the decision to change our lives is an extremely effective one. Unfortunately, our existence is often so unconnected that the decision is not made in our existential centre, in our inner integrity, but in a far corner of the brain. Such a decision has no great and pervasive effect. It can be compared with a decision to stop smoking where you start again after a fortnight. On the other hand, this is what we have to make do with. The missing discipline must be developed gradually through perseverance. As long as we do our best and a little more, we cannot blame ourselves. What does it matter if we fall back into less fortunate patterns? If we eventually realise what is wrong, we can escape once more. This is exactly the struggle we are involved in, all of us. Such are the tough conditions of life. Very few people ever develop enough discipline to experience the full strength of a decision made by the whole person. This kind of decision simply changes life from one moment to the next. But again, people who are that disciplined rarely have anything to improve. They have achieved mastery. They have put their life in complete order. It is often an advantage when a coach can keep you at it and prevent you from taking the easy way out. A coach can observe you from the outside and he or she has excellent opportunities of keeping an eye on you and finding out how you prevent yourself from creating true progress in your life. The ideal coach is a person who is not necessarily a close friend but he or she is somebody you trust and like.

ARE YOU ON YOUR WAY UP IN LIFE – OUR DOWN?

When you Cannot Find any Challenge in Work: Stress and Lack of Development Tanya works in the marketing department. She thinks that her work is strenuous and stressful. Her superior keeps making demands of her and she has difficulty keeping up with these demands. She feels inadequate. Often she doubts whether she has found her niche though she

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cannot think of something else to do. She wonders why she is always so busy and she can tell from her superior's looks that he thinks she works too slowly and does not do her job properly. Sometimes she believes she is going to wear herself out.

Taking up the Fight of Life: Developing Gertrud is developing well in her job and her life. She thrives and grows and has changed completely. It appears that she gets better year by year. She is in full bloom, laughing and joking. She is alive. Gertrud has made a strange leap. Her posture has changed from a stooped to an erect carriage. Mentally she has changed her attitude towards life to a positive and constructive belief in survival. She is coping. Each day she practises living. And she makes astonishingly good progress.

Developing Personal Challenges: Developing a Great Deal Tea is part of an interesting team in the marketing department. She experiences life as a great personal challenge. Her work is also her hobby. She knows that she does what she is best at and that it corresponds exactly with what she wants to do. Often her work absorbs her for days. Each day brings her something new. She is not worried about working at full speed all day as well as working overtime. She lives for using her life and she loves her work. If she is made redundant, she will continue to fill her life with meaning. Her colleagues look at her with a wry expression. They say she works like a horse. But Tea does not work for compliments. She works because she is convinced that this work is her purpose in life. People think they develop because life's panorama changes and because they gradually rearrange their values in accordance with current trends. But the crucial point is that the experience of life as such does not change for the better in most people's lives. If it changes, it usually goes gradually downhill. On the other hand, people rarely become radically happier with living as they grow older. Nor do they radically improve their experience of their working life - although it does happen.

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT There is much evidence to indicate that it is possible to become happier [1]. Most of us know of some people who have done it, have improved their lives, and acquired a new and more fulfilled working life, leisure life, etc. Rather few people achieve a better working life without improving their life in general. It happens that people find a new job and say without hesitation: I feel so much better at work now. Now the problems, the conflicts and the bad experiences vanish for a while. But they will resurface if one suffers from such tendencies. It is amazingly rare for people to succeed in creating really good lives through their work and making the big dream come true. It is very important to keep in mind that change itself is not human development. A great deal of change is often superficial whereas the tough reality at the depth of life offers only

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stagnation and adaptation. Development takes more than that. It demands a goal-oriented and disciplined effort. It requires us to really want to change. We must want a better life before we start improving our life at work. In order to succeed we must be truly motivated. When we embark on growth and development as human beings, whether in our private lives or at work, we come against strong, conservative forces. We have developed into egos through a long personal history which has confirmed our perception of reality as taught by parents, teachers and all other adults explaining what reality looks like. We were given a set of attitudes, a set of habits and behaviour patterns drummed into us. Now these more or less permanent attitudes form the backbone of our lives. Such a backbone has to be quite stable, rather rigid, so to speak; otherwise we are too impressionable and dependent - soft as molluscs. Unfortunately this rigidity makes it difficult for us to develop because development requires certain softness and flexibility, as well as a basic openness to the views of others.

Developing as a Human Being - Improving the Experience of Life To push it to its logical conclusion, one could say that what really needs to be developed in us is our somewhat half-finished, coarse and less refined perception of ourselves, of life and of the world around us: This is what gives us unpleasant personalities. Human development is largely focused on being able to accept oneself as a human being with flaws and weaknesses that we would like to correct. This is followed by years of hard work trying to correct these flaws and weaknesses. When we do not develop, it is because we much prefer to justify ourselves instead of acknowledging our shortcomings and trying to correct them. Our experience of living, that is to say our joy in life, needs to be developed further since quality of life is a function of this joy. Life experience manifested by good or bad quality of life covers two issues: our perception of reality and the things we do in life. Our perception of reality embraces our attitudes to life and what it brings us. What we do in life is our practice of life, all we do and say, our habits, decisions etc. Our practice of life mirrors our attitudes and ends up confirming them, be they conscious or unconscious. If we dislike somebody, for instance, we behave accordingly, showing distance and reservation. Such a behaviour pattern provokes repulsion. It makes us believe that there are numerous reasons for not liking the person, despite our own initial bad behaviour. Or maybe we were trained in inept behaviour during our childhood by not being taught actively to search for knowledge, etc. and are now in trouble in our adult life because we have come to regard ourselves as untalented. Or we feel that we are not good-looking, intelligent, admirable, courageous or whatever. We have learned to picture ourselves in terms of the number of words available to us in our language. To each quality or feature is attached a detailed behaviour. We contain a huge amount of behaviour patterns, taught by vocation and thousands of repetitions. Our concept of the state of things is confirmed by experience during a lifetime, even though we were the underlying reason for what happened. We create our own experiences through our attitudes and life practice, often without knowing it! We suffer from a dreadful tendency to be unaware of what is happening in our lives.


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But logically, the solution is within reach. When we become attentive, we overcome many of the barriers that keep us fixed at a certain level through life. An increasing awareness of our personal likes and dislikes makes us reconsider our motives. Not until we realise that we do have an opinion on life, may we discover the wide range of alternative attitudes. Furthermore, we discover that our behaviour is an expressed attitude, which leads to different ways of doing things, some of which may be better than others. In fact, comprehensive development is not compatible with a wish to achieve development within a few areas, privately or professionally. It is our whole attitude to life and our corresponding behaviour that creates our lives. All the way through life we must be attentive and do our best. We must take up life's challenges and train ourselves, be totally attentive and do our best. To be attentive and make an effort corresponds to a solution where you act according to your true convictions. Bear in mind that being attentive is not something you do; it is something you are. In a way you have to change something deep inside your existence in order to start developing. This is a barrier that deserves respect and must be overcome through persevering, active and goal-oriented effort. Most people find it hard to believe that inside of us we possess all the wisdom needed to lead a good life. To most people it sounds preposterous that we just need to surrender to life and trust it. To modern western Europeans it seems naive and romantic to listen to the soul hidden beneath the busy and confused surface. To improve your life is quite complicated when you try. When taking up the challenge, try testing the simple idea that life is full of wisdom which can be located and expressed in many ways, provided that you have faith in yourself while you listen to your inner self. It requires courage to recognise and live out your innermost dreams and longings. But we will not become harmonious and happy beings until the day we start asking for and doing what we really want to do [2-6].

Ability to Function and Age There is a sinister curve regarding the state people find themselves in. It is the curve showing the correlation between people’s age and their ability to function. This ability to function comprises issues such as ability to manage one's job and one's social obligations and is directly related to health. Research results show that people reach their peak activity between 20 and 40 years. After this they decline, at first very slowly, then faster later on. Around 60 years of age most people have deteriorated to such an extent that they are of very little value on the job. At present, the average retirement age is 61 years. At this age most people have acquired their first chronic disease. Normally it is not a harmful disease, just a slight attack of arthritis or dementia. But the decay accelerates and around the age of 75 most have reached the end of the road. Results of research done in Denmark (Quality-of-Life Survey, 1995) has revealed interesting but worrying facts and patterns that seem to relate strongly to our ability to function in relation to age. The results revealed that most Danes do not really feel very good or very bad during their lives - they live in a ’lukewarm middle-group' revealing the following characteristics:

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick • • • • • • • • • •

Almost every other Dane does not have a close friend. Every fourth Dane does not have a girlfriend or boyfriend. Of those with a partner, one in three women and one in four men have sex problems. Only one Dane in three feels very good at work. 94% of the population suffer from a health defect. Half of the population suffers from chronic conditions. One in twenty contemplates suicide from time to time. There is no correlation between happiness and annual income. Happiness is clearly and closely connected with the quality of personal relationships. Those who feel bad on the job feel worse in life than unemployed people do.

The surveys have also shown that the Danes are one of the most contented populations in Europe. At the same time they have the second highest suicide rate in Europe as well as one of the lowest life expectancies. The most interesting feature about this curve is that a small proportion of the population does not seem to follow the curve. A few percent get better year by year and become rounded, soft, warm, valuable and highly appreciated human beings. They are the ones who end up as wise, old people who are highly esteemed and vital until their last day. They often die within 24 hours at a very advanced age. These exceptions do exist. Could this picture of the Danish culture be true of other western cultures too? However, most of us do not grow old gracefully, we become sad and decrepit. What is it that makes some people develop and systematically improve their lives year by year? What are the characteristics of people who understand how to develop? The basic principles of personal development can be studied thoroughly in a rather special situation, which is when a life-threatening condition becomes terminal. In this situation most of us suddenly experience an immense love of life as well as a very strong motivation to improve life radically while we still can. The fantastic thing about this is that it seems to be possible. It does not even take long to improve life significantly when we are terminally ill - maybe a few weeks or months. We all have great hidden resources.

Apprehension and Life Practice For a long time Lisa felt she was ailing. It seemed as if her life would not work out properly. She thought of life as hard, painful and weak. As if it contained no value - and it was useless to start fighting. In a way, she felt life a bit unreal. Nor was she content with the world around her. It did not seem to offer her the proper opportunities, it was hard and unyielding; you could not even scratch it with a nail. She could not help feeling that she did not comply with life's demands. She did not feel bright and attractive; at times she felt ugly and unloved. She thought, all in all, that she was rather useless and tired of life. Her life had gradually turned into a routine. She had come to terms with quite a few symptoms from stomach-aches to insomnia. She had come to accept that things would not work out for her at work, where she felt excluded when colleagues chatted among themselves


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and left her out of it, even maybe behind her back. She refrained from confronting executives and colleagues, her friends and her boyfriend with her opinion of the situation. Instead she chose, not really wanting to, the role of the victim. Understandably, no one really liked her. She was not an easy person to care for. Try to plot Lisa in the attitudinal questionnaires below: We know from research that statistically quality of life correlates strongly with answers in the left-hand column. How do you perceive life, yourself and your environment? Put a circle around a number in each line - between the two statements. The numbers mean: 1: You agree 100% with the statement to the left 2: You agree more with the statement to the left 3: You agree or disagree with both statements 4: You disagree more with the statement to the right 5: You agree 100% with the statement to the right

Perception of Life Life is full of joy Life is full of meaning Life is enhanced through fighting

12345 12345 12345

Life is full of pain Life is meaningless It is useless to fight

Self-Perception I am … Loved … Extroverted… Headstrong… Competent… Courageous…

12345 12345 12345 12345 12345

Unloved Introverted Weak-willed Incompetent Cowardly

Perception of Environment The world is soft and malleable… 1 2 3 4 5…The world is hard and unyielding The world contains all I need… 1 2 3 4 5… The world cannot satisfy my needs My personal achievements matter to the world 1 2 3 4 5… My personal achievements are unimportant to the world Then Lisa gets breast cancer, like innumerable other women. The prognosis is bad. Feeling the pressure of the short time left to her, she discovers a new love of life that changes her attitude and mental outlook. Now she finds that life is valuable and good and full of meaning and fighting spirit. She gives the matter a great deal of thought and reaches the conclusion that everything important in life is caused by something and that nothing happens

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by chance. She is forced to improve her marriage and her working life as well as the way she is using her friends. She discovers, finally, a great freedom to shape her life and her reality the way she wants. The opportunities are far more extensive than she ever imagined. Lisa finally experiences a new love for herself. She accepts herself as she is, weak and vulnerable. In the midst of this openness she discovers life itself to be strong and that she has far more strength than she thought. She experiences an intense blossoming accompanied by many declarations of love. She opens up to life and people around her in a touching whirl of events that change her life completely. At one point she can say honestly and in the middle of disease and misery: 'I never felt so good in all my life'.

Perception, Behaviour, Experience Our experience of life is defined by two basic parameters in life: our perceptions or attitudes and what we do and say to express these perceptions. A complicating feature in human beings is that we find confirmation of our initial attitudes and opinions in the reactions that come to us from life and our surroundings. Figure 1 depicts the situation.

Perception Experience Behaviour

Figure 1. Our behaviour (Life practice) is defined by our conception (Sense of reality), which is again confirmed through the response from life and the surroundings caused by our conduct. We end up being caught in a self-affirmative bubble, the truth and value of which we are quite sure of, even though it may be in deep conflict with life inside us. The whole construct, the life we have created, can only be valued by a single parameter, which is our experience of life, our quality of life.

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Awareness Perception (1) Experience (1)

Perception (2)

Development

Behaviour (1)

Experience (2)

Behaviour (2) Exercise

State of being 1

State of being 2

Figure 2. Human beings develop when they become attentive to attitudes which are more in accordance with life and when life simultaneously is restructured and rearranged in favour of expressing more constructive and positive attitudes. You can either jump from one state to another, or you can develop by making a decision to improve your life, practising alertness and making your best efforts at living.

Our perception and our behaviour provide us with our experiences. Furthermore, our perception gives us an attitude, which leads to a response from our surroundings, which in turn inevitably confirms us in our beliefs. What happens to Lisa, when she is confronted by the death sentence is that she experiences her life structure, all she believed in and her way of life, as a failure. Put together, her attitudes and behaviour have not caught up with life and expressed love of life. She becomes attentive to a whole new set of beliefs and a whole new perception of life, which corresponds to a new practice of life. Concurrently with rearranging her life, she achieves a far better experience of life. She stops opposing life and finally finds herself close to life and alive according to the original meaning of her life as illustrated by figure 2.

Do I Have a Talent for this Task? Rasmus is trainee clerical assistant and not very good at his job. The secretaries perceive him as somewhat misplaced. He does not think of himself as talented. In general, he appears lazy and unmotivated. He does not have the curiosity towards the profession, which is typical of good trainees and he prefers to avoid the difficult tasks. At a particular point, the head of section makes it clear to Rasmus that he has to change his attitudes if he wants to stay with the company. Rasmus experiences a crisis in which he finds himself in serious doubt as to whether he really wants to work in an office or whether he should try manual work. Pressed by circumstances, he is in doubt as to whether he has a talent for office work at all. He ends up concluding that he does have talent but is not good at utilising it. As he does not try and does not do his best, he cannot expect to get better at his job. Rasmus radically

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changes his attitude to the job and decides to remain in the profession and give it all it needs. Soon after he begins to make progress and in time he becomes very valuable to the office and very happy in his job. Try to plot in Rasmus' attitudes before and after the crisis according to the list below:

Attitudes towards Becoming Really Good I have many important talents… 1 2 3 4 5 …I have no specific talents When I work on improving my skills, they improve quickly… 1 2 3 4 5… When I work on improving my skills, they improve only slowly I love challenges and continually look for new tasks that will force me to develop… 1 2 3 4 5 …Challenges stress me. I try to hold on to what I am used to do I am a person who succeeds, in general… 1 2 3 4 5… I am a person who does not really succeed I have big dreams of mastering my profession and create genuine value….1 2 3 4 5… I have no dreams about mastering my profession to become really valuable

Meeting People Anders was very fond of his small favourite bar. He did not go there all that often but when he did, he really let go. One day, when dropping by, he met a big nasty guy. The big guy was the kind of person who hit people for no cause and carry a gun in their inside pockets, Anders thought. He ordered a beer, but had not had a drop before the stranger started bothering him with stupid remarks. Anders was very fond of his small favourite bar. One day at the bar he met a customer he had not seen before, a big, strong guy with square features. He ordered a beer and after a while he was talking to the stranger. It appeared that he had just moved into town and did not yet have any friends. Anders could provide the stranger with useful information and they ended up getting on fine. The way we meet people, our attitudes and prejudices as well as our behaviour will always decide the quality of our human relations. Some people are incredibly good at meeting other people whereas others systematically make trouble for themselves. Nothing is as sensitive to attitudes and conduct as our dealings with others. We are able to create for ourselves most favourable circumstances provided that we know how to bring to the surface the best in people, if we consider them delightful, talented, constructive etc. Often we can inspire to personal development by observing fine traits in people who have not yet themselves discovered their good points. This is one of the best ways to interact with your friends and colleagues.

Attitudes towards others, towards Co-operation and Management I like other people… 1 2 3 4 5… I do not like other people I believe that otherpeople like me… 1 2 3 4 5…I do not count on other people liking me


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I am sure that my colleagues can perform just as well as I can… 1 2 3 4 5…I do not have confidence that my colleagues can do the job as well as I can The best thing is to create results together with others… 1 2 3 4 5… The best thing is to create something on your own Managers are a steady help and support in my development… 1 2 3 4 5… You cannot make friends with your manager - there are too many differences At times things are not perfect and we are obliged to change the situation because we are the best placed to do so. Our place of work, for instance, is managed by an authoritarian and out of date board, which acts as a barrier to any development, including creating genuine values. In this situation it is important to start fighting in order to create order. This fight is the ultimate test. Only when we are involved in confronting challenges of this size can we see the direct benefit of personally developing into a better and more influential person. You only develop when you are forced to. To accept the big challenge is to place yourself in a situation which leaves you with no choice but to do your best and to do it quickly.

Attitudes towards Creating Real Value At work I get the good feeling that I create value for others and myself …1 2 3 4 5…I do not give much thought to how valuable my work is to customers and others I feel that I realise some of my most significant values and dreams within the organisation… 1 2 3 4 5…I do not feel that I can realise my true values within the organisation My values are in line with those of the organisation… 1 2 3 4 5… My values are very different to those of the organisation The purpose of the exercises above is to draw your attention to your own attitudes and the way these attitudes are expressed. By paying attention to your attitudes and continually trying to develop and train these, you may ensure a better experience of life and a more valuable existence. The above lists are examples found in the tools for improving working-life quality. The tools are organised in such a way that it makes it easy for you to analyse your attitudes and find out what problems you cause for yourself in various situations at work. Everyday examples, like those provided by Lisa and a lot of other people, show that human beings have within them many more hidden resources than we think. We all have the option of revising what we think of ourselves, life and the world around us. Likewise we can make adjustments to our habits and our way of life in general. We can all do a lot to feel better, in private and on the job. For some reason we do not do anything about it until we are forced to. But we could easily do something if we decided to do so. There is nothing more delightful than discovering that nature actually created us wonderful, intelligent, attractive, talented and humorous etc. We must stop preventing ourselves from being so. Now and then we meet a very happy person - and they do exist. A feature of very happy people is that they do precisely the work they want to. Look closer and you will find that these people consider themselves hunters or warriors. They fight to make their dreams come true. They are very different from the majority since their efforts are not motivated by duty

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and mere necessity but by love of life. This love provides an indomitable will to make life come true. Happy people squeeze all they can get out of life. They fight to make life succeed. The willpower to fight uncompromisingly provides them with a special capacity for living and they develop a certain competence in life. When we meet people of this kind, we often think they were privileged by birth. Unfortunately it seldom occurs to us that they may have developed and shaped their lives individually and finally achieved mastery.

Get started - Personally and within the Company The Churchill Dairy's bottom line is in the red. Employees seek jobs elsewhere and everybody has a feeling that the company is a sinking ship, though this is not obviously the case. Milk, butter and cheese are always in demand and the dairy's products are not significantly poorer than those of other companies. Still, sales are declining. It has proven difficult to contact the customers. There are cliques; there is trouble and quarrelling. The employees blame the situation on management, who respond by pointing to shortcomings and lack of efficiency as well as lack of flexibility among the workers, many of whom are elderly. They are poorly educated and have problems handling the latest technology. In general, the bad and uninspiring atmosphere makes it hard to attract young people. An attempt to understand what is wrong is made by measuring the level of job satisfaction at the dairy. The evaluation shows that all four dimensions of working-life quality are low: personal quality of life, mastery, sense of community and the creation of genuine values. There is no particular point of failure but generally the dairy's working-life quality is 50-60% of its potential - in the so-called red area, the consultant says. Such a company runs at only half speed or less and is hardly able to compete. The consultant recommends quick implementation of a radical cure to raise the company to the orange area (60-70%). The green area, above 70%, will take a few years to attain. However, the dairy may succeed, provided the trend of development takes a turn for the better. Management presents the analysis at a staff meeting where the connecting principles are discussed concerning the bottom line and working-life quality. Agreement is reached that lack of information and lack of responsibility and commitment to the company are the main reasons for poor efficiency. Furthermore, poor communication between sections, lack of team spirit among the employees and conflicts between management and employees are other reasons for inefficiency. The cheese and some of the other products could be better, too. The customers complain about lack of consistency as well as fluctuating quality. Though it is not clear how production is supervised, it is obvious that improvement is needed through a better working environment, personal commitment and job satisfaction. When you have improved your skills in solving problems on the job, you will discover a general upgrading of your skills in troubleshooting. This may benefit your private life as well. It works both ways: if you try hard to solve private problems, the effects will be positive on the job as well. We have now examined the four issues necessary for a company to really succeed and create real value in the world: quality of life and job satisfaction, mastery within each individual field of activity, a sense of community with respect to co-operation and


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management, and finally creating real value. This is an ongoing process that affects revising of values, working procedures and goals. The company or organisation with these qualities will be successful both from the perspective of employees and customers. Such an organisation will go one step further and also prove to be valuable to the environment: nature and society. It is this type of development, which will carry companies forward into the 21st century.

How to Start Developing We all have resources, hidden as well as obvious, to improve our lives. We have the resources to ameliorate our actions. But how do we get started? Traditionally there are two ways. The first and ordinary way is the most difficult one to implement: we discover that we are to die within a short time and that we love life immensely and this makes us rearrange our limits. This is the method for those given a death sentence by their doctor. The situation is highly effective if you confront it properly, although naturally this situation could never arise artificially. Consciousness about death and the fighting spirit to remain alive are gifts we receive unexpectedly and often undeservedly. The second method is always at hand. In a flash of profound insight, a lucky moment in which we sense very intensely what life has in store for us, we suddenly decide to change our lives. When made wholeheartedly, the decision to change our lives is an extremely effective one. Unfortunately, our existence is often so unconnected that the decision is not made in our existential centre, in our inner integrity, but in a far corner of the brain. Such a decision has no great and pervasive effect. It can be compared with a decision to stop smoking where you start again after a fortnight. On the other hand, this is what we have to make do with. The missing discipline must be developed gradually through perseverance. As long as we do our best and a little more we cannot blame ourselves. What does it matter if we fall back into less fortunate patterns? If we eventually realise what is wrong, we can escape once more. This is exactly the struggle we are involved in, all of us. Such are the tough conditions of life. Very few people ever develop enough discipline to experience the full strength of a decision made by the whole person. This kind of decision simply changes life from one moment to the next. But again, people who are that disciplined rarely have anything to improve. They have achieved mastery. They have put their life in complete order. It is easier to decide if more people want the same thing. Joint inspiration and support is an advantage when running a development project in the company in order to improve life. It is often an advantage when a coach can keep you at it and prevent you from taking the easy way out. A coach can observe you from the outside and he or she has excellent opportunities of keeping an eye on you and finding out how you prevent yourself from creating true progress in your life. The ideal coach is a person who is not necessarily a close friend but he or she is somebody you trust and like.

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick ABOUT WORKING-LIFE QUALITY: A TOOL FOR EMPLOYEES AND EXECUTIVES

The Working-Life Quality tool has been developed in order to help you acquire the inspiration and discipline needed to develop personal working-life quality. It is not very difficult to use this tool but it commits you to being alert and effecting changes. The tool attends to the four aspects of good work: quality of life, mastery, sense of community, and creating authentic value. Furthermore, the tool comprises an understanding of what is needed for people to develop and grow, i.e. the perception and practice of life that must be developed analogously and brought in harmony with our inner lives. Finally, it supplies a form (including a chart for checking yourself) for exercises that may motivate the discipline needed. If you do not try, you will not improve. Our attention to positive attitudes as well as proper behaviour is what opens us up and gives us access to our hidden resources. The tool is an instrument to help make a difference in your working life. A combination of disciplined effort and understanding of the principles of development, a focus on better attitudes plus adjustment of less satisfactory conduct, which acts as an impediment, may lead to significant development.

WORKING-LIFE QUALITY – THE TOOL The tool itself guides you through a course lasting 15 weeks during which you improve the four central issues at work: your relationship to yourself, to the tasks you work with, to those you work with and to those you work for, customers and your environment. It is a workbook of 160 coloured pages with exercises and various examples. The material is collected in a folder including a 12-page questionnaire about working-life quality, as well as an inspirational brochure, which informs you about the basic ideas. The folder also contains a floppy disc with a programme (Windows operating system) showing your personal profile of working-life quality, which will help you to realise what particular efforts may be required on your part in order to improve. You can use the tool on your own. It may, however, be a good idea to ask your company to take initiative and to start a development project with the purpose of improving the working-life quality of the employees and the executives. Supplementary to the individual folder, you can get a company analysis programme (QOL Working-Life Quality - Company Profile) which provides you with a profile of the whole department or organisation with regard to its working-life quality. At the moment reference values from six Danish companies and their employees are included in the programmes in order to give you an idea of your company's standing or rating. If your company reaches the conclusion that they want to address working-life quality, they should earmark 1-2 hours weekly for 15 weeks for each employee (spread over 4-8 months, for instance) to train and do the exercises. In appendix A you will find references and addresses of public information centres, consultants as well as the Danish Research Centre in Copenhagen that can provide help and support for measuring working-life quality and quality development projects based on working-life quality. You will also find information on where to purchase the tools and questionnaires.


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Today, most company executives have come to realise that job satisfaction and commitment are significant parameters for quality assurance and efficiency. To an increasing extent companies need people who can find individual challenges on the job. More than ever independent-minded, creative, conscientious and resourceful employees are needed. Such people are rare and the companies will have to develop such capabilities themselves. To this end, projects of this type may be applied. It is no secret that the general unofficial retirement age of 61 constitutes an increasing drain on the cost of keeping the labour market going. It is hardly natural for most people to become so decrepit at the age of 61 that they are mainly a burden on the job. On the contrary, many people are still active, very much alive, loved, respected and visited at the age of 87. But let us face it: They are not the ones who for thirty solid years went on doing things they did not like, or take an interest in what they were doing. They are not the ones who were bored with their work from the age of 30 to the age of 60. Such a way of living is a prelude to a life of mental decline, cancer and heart attacks at an early age. Many companies may be interested because of a wish to retain their employees for the company and keep them healthy. If you can succeed in starting a developing process, which makes people grow and prosper and have fewer accidents, instead of becoming worn-out and decrepit slowly but surely, your company will gain an incredible advantage. Furthermore, it would be to everyone's advantage if management and employees were equally convinced of the benefit involved in embarking on the exercise. This will make the organisation a forum for the discussion of ideas, in respect of their substance and their viability. Another suggestion is to let management take the lead in the development process in order to build up consecutive steps of motivation and guidance for the employees. But one must beware of romanticising the project of improving working-life quality. There are many obstacles to initiating the process. However, once the basic idea of human development is accepted and the necessary self-discipline is established, the exercises will be much easier to cope with. When we are about to embark on personal development, the greatest challenge is believing that we are in fact able to make a change for the better in our lives. We have to convince ourselves. But we do not believe it until we see it. And we do not start until we believe. Consequently, we are faced with a dilemma that necessitates a firm decision. A decision such as, 'I will do it, for I intend to improve my life as well as my working life' cuts through the doubt and uncertainty. Once this decision has been taken, we need no longer wait for a life-threatening situation to impel us forward. We can start our development process right away, either within the community of the organisation or alone. We can also do it together with a friend or a coach. It is much more pleasant to do it together with someone else. But when it comes to our personal development, we must always realise that when engaged in the most significant struggles we are on our own. As individuals we are our own greatest and most dangerous enemies in the process of development. But when love of life is with us we have a fair chance of success. We wish you good luck with the improvement of your working-life quality.

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick DISCUSSION

There are many ways stating to improve the quality of working life in the company. But every improvement starts with yourself. It is almost impossible to change other people; just reflect on the sad fact that it is very hard to change yourself. To change and develop you needs a strategy that immediately pays off. Hard discipline in combination with doubtful results is only for the few God have chosen to be great examples for the rest of us. We need to walk a path that is immediately rewarding. And personal development of quality of life, mastery and fellowship can be that path. If only the project is managed well. Self-leadership is for the inspired ones, and development without pain for the prophets and saints. The rest of us needs to be pushed by suffering to change our attitudes and become self-reflective. The leader or employee that wants to introduce the concept of quality of working life and personal development in his company most therefore be extremely aware that everybody will resist development. Even the best of ideas will receive fierce resistance. So bring your idea forward, but do not despair, when the people around you do not follow. Just continue to say and do what you find appropriate. Speak the truth, keep your heart warm and open; do good and serve your friends, colleagues, costumers and mankind. When we are about to embark on personal development, the greatest challenge is believing that we are in fact able to make a change for the better in our lives. We have to convince ourselves. But we do not believe it until we see it. And we do not start until we believe. Consequently, we are faced with a dilemma that necessitates a firm decision. A decision such as, 'I will do it, for I intend to improve my life as well as my working life' cuts through the doubt and uncertainty. Once this decision has been taken, we need no longer wait for a life-threatening situation to impel us forward. Surveys carried out by The Quality-of-Life Research Centre showed that only one Dane in three is really happy in his work. Few people burn for their work, they just burn themselves out. But work is our great chance to develop our quality of life; it calls for personal development and a critical revision of our attitudes, as well as a change of our daily routines. You have working-life quality when your work is an extension of what you want in life, when you develop and become master of your particular field, when you experience fellowship with colleagues and managers, when you are proud of your place of work, and when you are useful to the world and able to deliver products and services of high quality in a responsible manner.

REFERENCES [1]

[2] [3]

Ventegodt S, Flensborg-Madsen T, Andersen NJ, Nielsen M, Mohammed M, Merrick J. Global quality of life (QOL), health and ability are primarily determined by our consciousness. Research findings from Denmark 1991-2004. Soc Indicator Res 2005;71:87-122. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Holistic Medicine III: The holistic process theory of healing. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1138-46. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Holistic Medicine IV: Principles of the holistic process of healing in a group setting. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1294-1301.

Up – or Down in your Life? [4] [5] [6]

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Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Merrick J. Principles of holistic medicine. Philosophy behind quality of life. Victoria, BC: Trafford, 2005. Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Merrick J. Principles of holistic medicine. Quality of life and health. New York: Hippocrates Sci Publ, 2005. Ventegodt S, Kandel I, Merrick J. Principles of holistic medicine. Global quality of life.Theory, research and methodology. New York: Hippocrates Sci Publ, 2005.



Chapter 8

HOW TO IMPROVE WORKING-LIFE QUALITY, QUALITY OF LIFE AND HEALTH Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel, Lars Enevoldsen and Joav Merrick We present a complete package of know-how and tools for improving quality of working life (QWL) in an intermediate to large, public or private, organization. Using the concepts of quality of life, mastery, fellowship and creation of value, we demonstrate how the companies revenue can be developed by helping the company to use its employees and leaders in a better way, leading to a happier, healthier and more productive working life. The QWL-tool box is today complete with QWL-questionnaires, QWL-software for measurement of employees, leaders and divisions; and developmental tools (exercises books and intervention programs). We believe that a company unaware of the idea of human capital can increase its value over a few years by implementing the concept of QWL as a policy tool.

INTRODUCTION The scope and complexity of change at all levels of our society - especially in the world of work - have placed a heavy burden on employees and leaders alike to ensure that they attain the necessary skills and understanding to survive and thrive in this new reality. Some people feel insecure and threatened by the speed, vastness and insecurity of the changes that they have to keep up with. Fear of losing their jobs because of downsizing, restructuring and affirmative action have put employees under tremendous pressure and stress and thrown many in crisis. Uncertainty about how to react to cultural differences as well as bad economic times is claiming its toll. The impact on the employees of our companies manifests itself in rising health problems and tremendous rises in claims for depression and stress-related medicine. It seems that people do not have the skills or right attitudes to deal with and handle all the pressures of current times. As the use of more traditional medicine can and will not stop the causes for its use (symptomatic treatment), it is becoming more and more clear that we will have to focus

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel et al.

our effort on prevention of illness rather than cure. This can only be done if we can develop values and skills in our employees that will enable them to take control of their own future and health. As this is a huge task, leaders as well as employees on all levels of the organisation will have to take individual as well as shared responsibility for this effort. Consciousness and understanding about the fact that we can change our health by changing our attitudes about life and developing the right abilities and skills to handle uncertainties, must be created everywhere in the organisation. Information and openness how to obtain these should be widely promoted. Open minds are needed to accept the fact that in order to solve our problems in respect of our health crisis we have to begin to care about our people in order to help them help themselves. We have to teach them to practice self-management of their health and life.

FOCUS ON QOL, QWL AND HEALTH Some time ago it was thought that ill health was a simple function of poor genes, hard living and old age. Today we know - although we still do not understand it completely - that a major cause of health problems is poor living style, especially negative attitudes and nonconstructive behaviour. But what is so surprising is that it seems possible for everybody to improve their living style and radically improve their experience of life and working-life. And when they do this, they also usually get healthier. Science has shown that even if you have a life threatening disease, like disseminated breast cancer [1], you can improve your quality of life (QOL) and live longer. If you have heart-problems due to atherosclerosis, science has recently shown that you can reverse the deadly decay of your vessels, if you improve your living style [2]. But we do not need to suffer from a deadly disease in order to improve our QOL and health. Research has shown that the statistical connection between the number of health problems and QOL is so strong that for example headache and sleeping disorders are likely to disappear, if people understood themselves and their lives better [3-9]. This is where focus on QWL (quality of working life) becomes important [10,11]. People spent a lot of their personal energy and effort in and around their work. According to research, to thrive on the job seems to be one of the most important sources for a general good QOL. And it is surprisingly easy to improve the QWL - you just have to improve your relations in your work, the relation to your colleagues, to your boss, to the customer and to yourself (see appendix E: basic theory and concepts). All it takes is a change of attitude and a change of habits. Of cause it takes a lot of effort to do that, but that is all it takes (see statistical connections between QWL and health in appendix I). When you want to change your QOL or QWL (and through that your health) you first of all need some self-discipline. As most people are lacking self-discipline it is of great help to do things together. This can be done by running a QWL project in the company. Here people can get the support, the comfort, the help, and the moral back up that is needed. Practically, they can get a reminder to practise; they can get an invitation to join in. The limitations of practising by yourself in order to make a difference in your personal and professional life can thus be lowered immensely.

How to Improve Working-life Quality, Quality of Life and Health

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Understanding Quality of Life: The Experience of Life as a Function of our Attitudes and our Personal Philosophy of Life QOL has for centuries been a mystery to mankind. It seemed quite unfair that some people materially have everything, while others had virtually nothing. It seemed very unfair and strange that two people in exactly the same physical conditions could have very different lives, when it came to mood and happiness. For no obvious reason some people lead a good life, healthy through-out life and most of the time without a single worry, while others seem to be tortured by pains, worries and ill fortune all through their lives. For the last 100 years, starting with Freud and psychoanalysis, QOL has been a research area in the western world. But only recently science came closer to a rational answer in this regard. It seems that QOL is greatly a function of the person's personal philosophy of life and his/her attitudes towards life. And since Rensis Likert (1903-1981) made his brilliant Likert scale for psychometric measurement in 1932, it has been possible to measure the strength of an attitude and rate the colour of an evaluation: the degree of positivity and negativity. By comparing peoples attitudes, it can been shown [7-9,12-17] that some attitudes are good for your life, while other attitudes are actually quite harmful. The scheme is quite simple: if your attitude expresses something positive and constructive towards life, then it is of good value, because it allow you to find good things in yourself and express it. On the other hand: if your attitude denies life and expresses negativity and destructiveness it will hardly do you any good. It will be a hindrance for you to find the good things in yourself and it will definitely inhibit you when you want to express yourself and the life you contain. The good life is a life where we grow and use all the enormous potentials we carry within us, all the talents, all the abilities, all the dreams, needs and wants. The good life is about expressing life’s potentials. And only a loving, supporting, containing and allowing attitude can make that possible. The fantastic thing is however that the personal philosophy of life can be developed. It cannot really be changed. People cannot really be taught a new philosophy, because the personal philosophy of life is in a way a simple function of their personal history. But as people reconsider their personal history and their fundamental attitudes and confront them with their intuition about life, the personal philosophy of life can fairly easy be developed. All it takes is a willingness to open up and learn and a safe environment in which to partake in the most important experiment in life, namely learning to look at the world and on life itself in a different manner.

A Need for an Integrated Approach towards QOL, QWL and Health In recent years the term quality of life almost became a household word in the domestic language of layman and professionals alike. The concept has also been widely referred to by health and social services, as well as in the political arena. Reference to terms such as happiness, well-being, the good life, health and standard of living has lend itself to a host of subjective and one-sided definitions and interpretations of the concept by all interested parties alike - medical, social, economic, psychological and political. They all claim to have the individual welfare foremost in their minds.

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This in term led to fragmented and limiting research approaches and ways to measure the quality of individual lives. Lots of efforts and money spend to enhance quality of life have consequently failed or were found not really to have had an impact on optimizing life quality, improving health or personal circumstances. All of the above pointed towards an urgent need to search for a global, holistic concept of the quality of life, which focuses on the totality of life aspects of the individual. It must be theoretically sound and common to people everywhere irrespective of age, sex, ethnic group, culture, income and state of health. Within such an approach we then need to do research in order to determine and understand what constitutes quality of life for all people. How is it the same and how does it differ from that of other cultures, if at all. Such an approach will allow us to investigate, examine, explore and scrutinise all efforts and domains that claim to determine, measure and improve the quality of life, of work-life and of health in a scientific and controlled way. We believe that the research done in Denmark has laid the groundwork for such an approach. This research developed a meta-theory for studying the concept of QOL, which is philosophically and methodologically sound (see appendix I). On the basis of the integrative theory on quality of life and health this research evolved into a theory on working-life quality (see appendix E). Generic and scientifically constructed questionnaires were further developed in order to measure the dimensions that constitute QOL, QWL and health, as well as the development of training programs and interventions to improve these and hopefully in the future even prevent illness. Although their questionnaires still must be validated in truly multicultural and multiethnical societies, their basic philosophy and methodology of a generic concept of QOL and QWL seems sound and worthwhile exploring in any context.

A Strategy for the New Millennium: Hard Value from Soft Values All individuals have resources, hidden as well as obvious, to improve their lives. But how do we get started on this road? We work from the premise that individuals are able and willing to tell us, how they feel about themselves and their circumstances and that they can learn, because we all have the potential for personal growth. The answer thus lies in dialogue (effective measurement) and the continuous practice of personal development. However in order to ensure the wanted outcomes (see features and benefits, appendix A) for the individual and organisation it makes good sense to structure such efforts in a practical, controlled and cost effective way within the organisation. Thus a QWL-Health intervention process should be planned in such a way that it continuously and systematically guides the company through preventative QWL-Health interventions and at the same time teach people to help themselves. It is however not good or cost effective practice to start with any intervention, if you do not know what the state of current affairs in respect of QOL, QWL and health in the organisation is. In the interest of both cost-effectiveness as well as creating new knowledge and understanding about the interrelatedness and development of these variables, it is wise to follow a scientific and controlled approach.


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A Scientific Approach: Using Knowledge to Create Knowledge Science has given us our wealth, ample food, breathtaking technology, computers, paintings, new materials, machines and life saving medication. It allows us to master the universe, to get freedom and control. Science also allows us to develop tools to change the world. Basically science is nothing but knowledge structured in such a way, that it can be used in practice. It is about knowing what to do and how to do it, when you want to make a difference. When it comes to QOL, QWL and health, science has suffered greatly from methodological problems. This is because one of the basic features of science always has been its need to define its boundaries. Science only works within narrow borders and when it comes to existence and survival many scientists - medical doctors, psychologists, sociologists - have believed that science should and could not cope with it. Because of this, QOL for many years, remained a subject for religion and philosophy only. Medical science has put an end to that. At present more than a thousand papers yearly are published on quality of life, which has been shown to be easy to measure, as soon as you know what it is. QOL can be many things - the different ways you can feel, good or bad; the different dimensions of well being, existence and functionality; lifestyle; etc. The problem therefore is to pick the right dimension to measure and improve, which is the same as to pick the right questionnaire and there are virtually a thousand questionnaires available to choose from. Very few of these questionnaires are what you call generic and global. Generic means that it can be used on everybody in spite of age, gender, health, socio-economical status, culture etc. As soon as you want that kind of questionnaire you are limited to choose from a handful. If you also want to focus on the dimensions of QOL that are related to health and development of diseases your choices are narrowed down once again. If you want to look at quality of the work-life the situation is very much the same. Many branches of industrial psychology that deal with the domain of work-life have there own questionnaires, but a questionnaire which can be used on all employees and managers from all different cultures is seldom found. Furthermore very few, if any, are developed with relation to QOL and preventative health-care intervention. The QWL-health questionnaire (developed in Denmark at the Quality of Life Research Center) seems to be such a questionnaire. A questionnaire can be valid, just as every other measuring instrument can be valid, this mean you must know what it measures and show that it measured precisely and reliably. This is done by constructing the questionnaire according to sound principles; ideally a good theory for QOL or QWL. Thereafter it can be checked by comparing the questionnaire with some external standard, which is generally acknowledged to measure the same. The degree of reliability is measured by a test-retest procedure. Sensitivity is given by the standard deviation. (For these aspects of the QWL questionnaire, see appendix E). When you have a validated and sensitive questionnaire you can measure a difference. If you for example intervene on the QWL, you can examine the test-group before and after the intervention to see, if the state of QWL and health have improved and to what extent. This makes it possible to learn from your experiences and to see if it works or not. When you do different things you can see which alternative works the best for the changes you want to achieve. If you measure with the combined QWL-health measuring instrument you can follow QWL, QOL and health. You can see how improvement of health follows improvement

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of QWL and QOL, when it does. This may be difficult to detect, when you look at a single individual only. Statistical science however functions as a magnifying glass, where you look at many people together (see sensitivity statistics for QWL-health studies, appendix J) and can easily detect the difference. Scientific research on the QOL-QWL-health connection however does much more than allow us to measure. It helps us to make a change. It helps us to identify the variables and dimensions to work with - e.g. conflict-resolution, self-esteem, stress - therefore assuring that we most likely get the change we aim for (see table-works on the QWL-QOL-health connections in appendix J). A scientific approach also gives us practical and reliable tools with which to make the difference. The science of QOL, QWL-Health is a promising new science, but already advanced enough to give us promises of success with QOL-interventions in the future.

Bridging Cultural Differences: Valuing Diversity and Creating a New Society According to world wide research and scientific studies, as underlined by Thomas Blakeslee (he called it “the attitude factor” in 1997) it seems more and more that people do not differ from one another in terms of their basic need for the experience of quality of life and quality of work-life. From our integrated theory of QOL [10,18-28] and the derived QWL-theory [11] we know that the essence of both these experiences are our satisfaction with the relationships we have with other people in our lives and environment, our work-process (colleagues and leaders) and ourselves. We also know that this satisfaction depends greatly on our philosophy of and attitudes towards life. For any multicultural society this holds immense promise. For what can be more useful than developing attitudes and a philosophy of life that allow us to value other people around us, but at the same time feel good about ourselves. The accompanying development of lifeskills, such as conflict-resolution and stress-management will help us to resolve problems and difficulties that might arise, but also make us more aware and understanding of the immense richness in possibilities the various cultures offer for experiencing QOL and learning from one another. Determining people’s experience of quality of life and quality of working-life is done by asking them about their deep-felt opinion of the quality of their relation with others, the workprocess and themselves. It is therefore important to give them the opportunity to do so in a language they feel comfortable with. This is especially important for people with lower levels of education. Questionnaires to do so should therefore be available in the persons preferred language.

A Practical Solution: Measurement, Education, Learning and Personal Development (QOL-health and QWL-health Interventions) Even though the principles are fairly simple, the practical implementation of the ideas and processes explained can be done in many different ways. To a large extent the choice of approach is an empirical question (i.e. what works). But there is a significant element of taste


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and art in it to. A special situation, a special work environment, a special group of people or maybe a special company might need a very different approach than others. The principles behind development of QWL-health are really simple. It is about improving the relations in the work-situation. This is done by letting the employees and leaders/managers identify bad attitudes and destructive behaviour and then consequently create their own exercises to make a change happen. Because resistance against change is normal and this process is aimed at changing old comfortable attitudes and beliefs, the intervention design is very important. Carefully designed activities and exercises that is fun, but at the same time unobtrusively raise awareness about the reality of the participant's conception of there own life and the fact that a lot of their attitudes and beliefs are not appropriate any more, will facilitate learning and change. Based on the above rationale, the implementation process can therefore successfully be guided by tools and instruments with face validity (acceptable appearance) such as to be acceptable to participants, but also good construct and content validity in order to educate and train employees and leaders in the basic concepts of the good working life, as well as the skills needed to achieve good working life quality. The first education begins with a measurement, the QWL-questionnaire itself. Its construction has been well considered: 100 questions on the central aspects connected to QWL e.g. “How much do you develop professionally?” “How do you feel at work?” “How stressed are you at work?” “How interesting is your work?” By filling in the questionnaire people learn the basic concepts, but they are also forced to evaluate their present work/job situation from a QWL perspective. This confront them with the real nature of QWL and raise awareness regarding the problems and aspects of their QWL that they are not satisfied with at present and create a need and will to change. Please beware that the QWL-score obtained at the second (retest) measure is very often lower than the first measure. This seems to be the consequence of higher awareness by the individual of the reality of his/her real situation regarding QWL. If personal development is continued the consequent QWL-scores should be higher. Hereafter the process is guided by interventions/tools (seminars, courses, workshops, awareness campaigns, lectures and programs) designed to address various needs and specific problems. QOL, working life quality and health seminars confront people with a very optimistic and positive philosophy of life and working life: "Your life can be better! You have lots of hidden resources! Deep down you are a joyful, knowing, skilful, playful and capable being. The real purpose of life is to create value for yourself and others! Useful people are most often happy people!" Although this may seem innocent, it is a direct provocation of the negative set of attitudes most of us carry around unconsciously: "Work means suffering and is a necessary evil; big companies are abusing their employees and managers, draining them of energy and leaving the burnout victim to a hopeless destiny and struggle for survival; life sucks; etc.” Even if taken lightly, everybody with a serious desire to learn and understand will be a little different thereafter. A 16-week QWL training program lets people search in their souls for the right answers and attitudes necessary to obtain good quality of working life. Awareness-exercises cast light on limiting beliefs and change-exercises induce real changes in the old habits until now, expressed negativity towards life. Everybody who does his or her exercises will be changed little or much - according to the exercise. No one is forced to do anything that seems or feels

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wrong. The concept is one of ultimate freedom. The only thing you are obliged to do is to be aware and practise your own exercises. If you need help to create the exercises you can get it. But nobody forces any specific drill unto anybody. The course also makes people aware of the connection between the quality of their working-life and their health. As soon as people have been measured for QWL-health it is very easy to identify the persons with specific problems i.e. health problems, QOL-problems, QWL-problems, problems with stress or problems as a result of lack of skills in conflict-resolution. Due to the screening-process people can be offered exactly the intervention, which match their specific problems. If they have problems with health a unique course in health management (heal yourself) is offered. This provides a unique opportunity for the company to really enhance and practice preventative health care/medicine. During the course people are taught how to listen to their body and follow its messages. This is accomplished by lessons in the philosophy of life, some classical therapeutic procedures and through bodywork i.e. exercises with specific focus on the body. The QWL-questionnaire-personal profile is available in an electronic version to be run under Windows. This provide participants with a personal profile of their present QWL, whilst saving previous profiles, thus allowing them to continuously follow their own development, as they progress due to courses, exercises and other interventions. An inspirational book, ''Working-Life Quality" will give employees and leaders with a deeper interest in QWL a chance to understand the background and the concepts in more detail. It should be given to everybody in the company who wants a copy. Teaching QWL to the employees may in the long run prove to be the best investment the company ever made, as understanding is the road to joy and freedom at work and only the joyful and satisfied worker will eventually do an excellent job.

CONCLUSIONS There are so many uncontrollable factors in a company that everybody seems to agree that human thriving and health is too complex and farfetched to be the companies responsibility. We think that the research in human development, quality of life and healing during the last decades has indicated that thriving at work and productivity are most intimately connected. Only the companies who understand this connection and use it in the development of the whole organisation, from mission to daily management, will be successful in the new millennium. We have developed a theory of quality of working life, and according to this all the tools for measuring and developing the company, that its leaders needs for taking the challenge. We hope that this work will be of value to all involved.


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APPENDICES APPENDIX A. DETAILED PROPOSAL FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A PREVENTIVE QWL-HEALTH INTERVENTION PROCESS WITH COMPANIES

Rationale • • •

There is a direct connection between Quality of Life (QOL), Quality of Working Life (QWL) and Health Quality of Life is a function of our philosophy of and attitudes towards life, which can be developed thereby improving health Quality of Working-life arises from good relations in the work situation, namely your relation to: − Yourself − The work-process − Those you work with and − The customer, community and environment (nature)

which can be improved through education, training and personal development, thus empowering people to take responsibility for their own QWL, QOL and health?

Strategy • • •

• • • •

Implement a continuous preventative Health Care process within the company based on QOL-QWL-Health connection rationale Determine current status re quality of life, working-life and health in the company, using the QWL-Health Questionnaire? or QOL-Health Questionnaire? Provide and implement intervention processes for individuals with problems after scientific screening, using the QOL, QWL and health programs, tools and instruments or other applicable sources as appropriate Analyse and evaluate outcomes through retest measures and correlation with external health audit data Align and integrate efforts with other company health care efforts Create a culture of awareness about the connection between QOL, QWL and health Promote personal life and health management

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Features and Benefits of the QOL, QWL and Health Programs, Tools and Instruments Features • • • • • • • • • •

Accurate, immediate analyses of QOL, QWL and health situation of individuals and the organisation as a whole Quick and user friendly measurements Accommodates all levels Independent of income, culture, gender, age, state of health, etc Establish a preventative health care approach Identify individuals who need treatment Pinpoint appropriate choice of intervention needed Equip employees and leaders with attitudes and skills to handle problems, change, personal and inter-personal relationships and crises Allow for comparison with other companies (benchmarking) as well as between branches, departments, etc. Methodologically and philosophically sound

Benefits Features • Accurate, immediate analyses of QOL, QWL and health situation of individuals and the organisation as a whole • Quick and user friendly measurements • Accommodates all levels • Independent of income, culture, gender, age, state of health, etc • Establish a preventative health care approach • Identify individuals who need treatment • Pinpoint appropriate choice of intervention needed • Equip employees and leaders with attitudes and skills to handle problems, change, personal and inter-personal relationships and crises • Allow for comparison with other companies (benchmarking) as well as between branches, departments, etc. • Methodologically and philosophically sound

Benefits Direct Benefits • Lowered absenteeism • Improved health • Less stress • Better ability to solve conflicts • Improved personal development • Higher efficiency • Improved commitment to work • Better co-operation • Improved communication • Better leadership • Improved organisational image • Individual life and health management Indirect Benefits • Lowered medical costs • Higher productivity • Healthier retirees and older workforce • Higher value to society • More innovation • Improved competitiveness

See Appendix I for tables on statistical connections and Appendix B for estimation of immediate financial value gained .


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Proposed Process for Implementation Step 1: Initial Project (Include the Executive Management Group) •

•

• •

Purpose: − Launch preventative QWL-Health intervention process within the company − Conduct qualitative interviews to validate and explore the processes − Evaluate the value of the QWL-Health programs, tools and instruments for preventative Health Care − Determine success of various interventions − Analyses for possible effects of multicultural realities Process: a) Establish a QWL-Health project team to co-ordinate, plan and execute project b) Obtain support and commitment from senior management for the process c) Launch QWL-Health awareness campaign through internal company media d) Distribute inspirational brochure to everybody in the company e) Make inspirational book - Working-Life Quality - available to everybody who participate in the process. f) Communicate QWL-Health-project and process to the people involved – written communiqué – One hour inspirational lecture /session g) Administer QWL-Health Questionnaire as well as the QWL- questionnaire (paper or diskette) to all involved h) Collect data (questionnaires or diskettes) for analyses i) Provide each participant with his/her personal profile, explaining results and possible solutions to problems (Users of PC-version get his/her profile immediately but borrow diskette to company consultant in order to compile company profile) j) Compile company-profile and give feedback to the executive team. k) Invite executive members to attend 2-day seminar on Quality of Life, working life and health and eventually the 16-week course l) Screen rest of participants for specific health problems - high stress rating, low psychological health rating, low ability to solve conflicts, general problems with QOL and QWL - and offer appropriate courses and interventions to those in need m) Retest all participants with QWL-Health Questionnaire after six months n) Retest all intervention participants every 3 months after intervention for 1 year o) Report results: − Analyses of QWL-Health situation within the company − Evaluation of QWL-Health project-interventions and outcomes for the pilot project − Results of QWL-Health standardisation and validation process Project management Budget

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Step 2: Continuation of QWL-Health Project •

Purpose: To sustain the benefits of implementing the process it is important to: − continue with the preventative QWL-health process as a permanent strategy for Health Care management in the years to follow − Change the company culture towards one of understanding the implications of the connections between QWL, QOL and health for personal well being and happiness as well as organisational performance, and financial growth. − implement yearly screening of employees to detect problems with health, stress, poor QWL and QOL, poor conflict-resolution abilities and unhealthy lifestyle timeously − make self-help tools available to everyone who needs and want it ( 16-week QWL-programme ) − empower the company through selection, training and licensing of internal trainees to run the 16-week QWL-program internally under supervision − provide intervention programmes (QWL-, Health-, resilience-learning (stress) and conflict-resolution courses) on a yearly basis employees − empower managers to manage the QWL-Health situation in their departments, divisions etc. by letting them attend the QWL-course and the 16-week program themselves − continue scientific approach through (1) continuously mapping and analysing changes in the companies QWL-Health situation and the effects of interventions and (2) continuing qualitative interviews to validate and explore the process, thus gaining and creating new knowledge for the future − continuously calculate the impact on the bottom line

APPENDIX B. AN ESTIMATE OF IMMEDIATE VALUE GAINED AS A RESULT OF QWL-HEALTH INTERVENTIONS It is predicted that QWL can be raised with 1% yearly as a result of QWL-health interventions. As seen in the previous appendix - Features and Benefits- this will influence a wide variety of variables directly as well as indirectly. The hard value of some of these aspects is difficult to estimate, e.g. that of higher efficiency, value to society quality of services etc. The value of better and more stable client-customer relationships as a result of employees who are happy and satisfied with their work should also not be underestimated. The value of other aspects are however much easier to calculate, for instance that of 1% lower absenteeism, 1% better health and 1% less stress and depressive related illnesses and the accompanied lower medical costs. On the basis of the statistical connections achieved in research studies so far, the following can be expected:

How to Improve Working-life Quality, Quality of Life and Health • • • • • •

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A lowering in one day absenteeism for employees attending one of the courses and A lowering of 3-day absenteeism for the subordinates of leaders who attend the 16week QWL-course At least 1% fewer bad health symptoms can follow from attending one of the courses, which is likely to result in 1% better performance as well as accompanied lowering in direct expenses to medical costs and insurance, disability pensions etc. A 1% improvement in personal efficiency if a person lowers his/her stress level by 3%, is expected from participation in one of the courses; this equals 1% of the salary of these individuals.

These estimations are only for one year, but as QWL development continues similar contingencies can be expected in the years to follow. It is suspected that improvements because of participating in interventions will last for 10 years.

APPENDIX C. LEGAL ASPECTS

Intellectual Rights The Quality of Life Research Center (QOLRC) in Copenhagen, Denmark owns the intellectual rights and copyright on all the developmental tools and measuring instruments on QOL-QOW-Health, the books mentioned in this document as well as the software on QOL, QOW and Health that accompany these. All new versions of the QWL-QOL-Health tool, QWL-QOL-Health courses and the QOL-QWL-Health concepts belong to the QOLRC. New QWL-QOL-Health tools developed in prolongation of the old tools also belongs to the QOLRC. The QOLRC supervise all measurements in companies and elsewhere with the QOL, QWL and Health Questionnaires and preserve the data in order to protect the rights of individuals against misuse or identification by companies or the state.

Right of Use Special permission (in writing) can be granted to individuals who want to use the questionnaires for research purposes on signing an agreement that the questionnaires will not be copied and or modified. Everybody who is trained and licensed to use the questionnaires or products owned by the QOLRC must sign the same agreement.

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel et al. APPENDIX D. LIST OF MATERIAL AND COURSES

The Material • • •

• • • •

QWL-Health Questionnaire QWL-Questionnaire PC Questionnaires: − QOL® Working-Life Quality - a Personal Profile − QOL® Working-Life Quality - a Company Profile Book: Working-Life Quality by S?ren Ventegodt Inspirational Brochure QWL-Tool: Working-Life Quality - A tool for employees and leaders Tabelworks + graphs (Statistical and validation information)

The Courses 1. A Five-day Workshop. Heal Yourself © QOLRC, Copenhagen, All Rights Reserved Change your course in life and mobilise your hidden resources and you will improve your health and your quality of life.

Introduction In the course of five days, working intensely with our philosophy of life, our personal history and our feeling of being present in our own bodies, we shall try to examine why we become ill, tired, low on energy and burned out etc. and find out what we can do to help ourselves. The purpose of the seminar is to point the participant in a new direction in life, the direction that is a consequence of taking responsibility for your own personal development. The seminar is directed at people with bad health and a poor quality of life who want to realise their hidden potentials and help themselves to a better life. The seminar is for people who want to discover and surmount limits, both personal and in relation to other people and the surrounding world. It is for people who want to experience more connection and concord between intention and action. Purpose • To provide the participants with the possibility of re-discovering and experiencing hidden resources for personal progress and strength. To identify bad attitudes and inappropriate behaviour and change these. • To inspire the participants to become responsible for their own lives, their relationship with their partners, friends, work, nature and the community and, most of all, their re¬lationship with themselves. • To enable the participants to discover life’s deeper meaning, to re-discover and develop a greater correlation between our own inner self and our ego - our inner world and the external reality we live in.

How to Improve Working-life Quality, Quality of Life and Health •

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To provide the participants with the possibility of discovering their original source, to find the essence of their own existence, to clarify own values and prioritise values and to develop agreement between values, attitudes and action.

Contents What is illness? Why do we get sick? What can we do ourselves to become well? What is illness? Feeling burned out? Decay of the body? What is quality of life? What is life? What are cells? How do cells communicate? What is the connection between body and mind? What is the placebo effect? How can we improve our health through our consciousness? A New Model for Understanding Illness From material to spirit through life, feelings and mind. What is material? What is spirit? What are your attitudes to life? Your personal philosophy of life? What do you do when life becomes painful? To close off life events with a lie to escape from the pain. Why does a bad quality of life disturb the body? About being present in the body and the importance of not being present. Working with your body. Working with your Body To become present in your body and to like being there. What is the connection between body and feelings? What happens when we touch the body? How does the body remember events in life? How can we rid the body of bad memories, which bind the energy for life? The hidden source of the energy of life. About chronological and physiological age. The Medicine Wheel About feeling and reason, action and growth. What are feelings? What is reason? What is action? What is personal growth? To Create Confidence and Openness: Your life just now. Where are you now?

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel et al. What is your life like just now? Do you get out of life what you want? Do you experience the world with all your senses? Do you thrive in all aspects of life? Why do you do what you do - and how do you do it?

To Experience all Possibilities and Re-discover your Own Resources: Personal history. What are your greatest talents? What are your greatest achievements? Where are you heading? What do you want? When have you tried being yourself? To Re-discover the Meaning of Life: Your soul. When do you let people limit you? Who limits you? What lies do you tell yourself in order to limit your own self-expression? Do you take responsibility for yourself, your words and your actions? What is the basic cause of your limits, guilt, fear of love, dependency, desire and ignorance? ‘To become oneself’ means to grow wonderful. The Change: To find the source of your existence and being. Who are you when you are you? The essence of life: love and strength, to be, peace, continuity, clearness and bodily comfort. The connection between your inner self, your values and attitudes to life and what you do, your behaviour and your habits. What is important to you? When will you live the life you want and deserve? What is holding you back?

To Create Energy and Movement: Your future. How do you want your life to be in the future? What will you do, how will you think? How will you attain your new purpose? How will you become valuable to yourself and your surroundings? Methods: Dialogue between philosophy of life, processing of personal history and working with the body in order to re-establish the inner connection, the coherence. Ten (10) circles of presentations, exercises and discussions. The combination of presentations by instructors and exercises both individually and in groups, as well as joint discussions will provide the


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participant with a personal experience of attention, insight and change. The seminar presupposes the willingness to change and personal commit¬ment.

Form: The seminar will be held over five days and includes accommodation. It starts Monday morning and finishes Friday afternoon. Attendance throughout the course is obligatory. During the seminar the participants will be presented with challenging and demanding exercises and tasks. Timetable: Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday:

09.00 – approx. 24.00 09.00 – approx. 24.00 09.00 – approx. 24.00 09.00 – approx. 24.00 09.00 – approx. 16.00

Other: The atmosphere during the seminar is happy, free, supportive and confrontational and is one’s own responsibility. Use of medicine and other medical or psychological treatment must be reported prior to commencing the seminar. 2. A Two-day Seminar on Quality of Life, Working Life Quality and Health © QOLRC, Copenhagen. All Rights Reserved Purpose: The purpose of the seminar is to inspire participants to a more positive and optimistic philosophy of life as well as a more constructive way of living and working. The seminar illustrates the connection between quality of life, health and personal responsibility for one's own future health. Contents: During the seminar we shall try to find answers to life's great questions. What is quality of life? How do we improve our own quality of life? How do we form our own lives through our attitudes and behavior? How do we become really happy with our work? Why do we let our brain and consciousness fool us into believing things that are wrong and contrary to life? Why do we become ill? Can we cure ourselves by improving our quality of life? Form: The seminar will consist of lectures, exercises, group work and general discussions. The seminar covers the Research Center's philosophy and theories on the good life, the good work, health and illness. Results from The Quality-of-Life survey and other scientific surveys will be presented and discussed. Participants must not expect adequate answers to all

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questions, as the whole purpose of the seminar is to teach people to ask their own questions and supply their own answers. Thus the seminar is first and foremost an inspiration to a better quality of life.

Time Schedule: 9 a.m. -4 p.m. on both days Target group: The seminar is targeted at anyone interested in quality of life, working-life quality and health. Material: Lecture book 'Working-Life Quality' with loose-leaves of exercises and tasks regarding attitudes and behavior. Requirements: No professional requirements are necessary to participate in the seminar. Openness to new ideas and personal courage and honesty would be an advantage. This program is only meant as a guideline as the day will largely be based on the subjects brought up and the questions asked by the participants.

APPENDIX E. QWL-QUESTIONNAIRE®

Basic Theory and Concepts The QWL-questionnaire was developed on basis of the integrative theory of QOL. According to this theory a good quality of life is not just about personal functioning or immediate subjective well-being, but basically about good relations to self, other people and what you do for a living. Relationships with the surrounding world, nature and culture are also of great importance. The derived theory of working life says that a good QWL arises from good relations in the working situation. The theory (explained in Working Life Quality, the book) states that there are basically 4 important relations in the working-life: • • •

The relation to yourself The relation to the work process The relation to other people in the work group, i.e. colleagues, managers and subordinates • The customer and the surrounding world These four relations that the QWL aims to improve, sum up to the four keywords or basic concepts of the QWL theory: 1) QOL 2) Mastery 3) Fellowship and 4) Creation of real value.


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QOL (Quality of Life) QOL refers to the person's state of living. It is basically and surprisingly a function of the level of inner harmony and balance. You can say that QOL is about expressing the basic qualities of life: Joy (pleasure-pain axis), knowledge (information-structure axis) and awareness (consciousness-unconsciousness axis) in your daily living. Inner conflicts and lack of knowledge and understanding of yourself make this difficult for a majority of mankind.

Mastery It is the purpose of human life to be active and to create value. This is done through our understanding and behaviour. Personal and professional development leads to a state of being where ideas and intentions can be freely expressed in the work-process. This is the ideal but seldom achieved state of mastery. The reason why mastery is seldom achieved is that most people stop in their personal development before they reach perfection. Development of mastery can only be achieved through challenge, which most people seem to avoid for safety and personal security. A working culture focusing on challenge and personal development can be of tremendous value to the employee personally and to the company. For there is nothing as satisfying as personal development and there is nothing as valuable for a company as mastery among its employees and leaders.

Fellowship Man as a social being has a deep-rooted need for being a part of a social whole, an accepted and appreciated member of the group. But unfortunately, many people do not develop the social skills necessary for communication, conflict solving, co-operation, leadership and personal responsibility in a group and so forth. As these social qualities are with us all the time as hidden resources, processes that take them into use are of huge value for the individual as well as for the organisation.

Creation of Real Value Work is about creating value, and not really about money, although most people who have not reflected deeply on this might think it is. Real value is about helping other people improve their lives. It is about experiences. It is about fulfilling real needs for individuals and for society. It is in the end about creating a better world and taking development and evolution a step further. It is rather surprising when studies of happiness are done, that happiness and life satisfaction are so closely related to being useful and only remotely connected to yearly income. This at least appears true for rich countries such as Denmark where material wealth has been striven for long, but now that everybody is rich, nobody seems to be happy. It seems that human beings have a need for being useful and not for material wealth in itself. This does

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not imply that we should not take care of things like clean water and basic standard of living, but this in itself does not make people happy. Where this has been obtained people need more.

Development of the QWL-Questionnaire Based on the above theoretical foundation the QWL-questionnaire seems to be valid when it comes to its basic construction. Amongst 500 items originally proposed by a workgroup with professors, company directors, MDs, PhD's in organisational theory development, as well as industrial psychological experts, 100 questions were selected. The criteria for the selection was that they together should show the broadest possible picture of the working-life situation, redundancy should be minimised, and they had to be meaningful and linguistically sound to maximise communication i.e. the obtained level of information.

Validation of the QWL-Questionnaire The QWL-questionnaire, which gives a number for the calculated QWL as a mean of the rating of the four basic dimensions, has been validated when it comes to internal consistency (focus) by the Cronbach-alfa method, external validity (criteria validity) by its correlation to the self-evaluated QWL and some international questionnaires on health; its reliability has been tested through test-retest procedures and its sensitivity has been found through its statistical variation. All of the parameters were found to be satisfactory compared to internationally accepted standards.

APPENDIX F. THE PERSONAL QWL-PROFILE AND ITS DIMENSIONS As discussed in appendix E - The Quality of Working-life: Basic theory and concepts, working-life quality can easily be divided into four main issues impacting strongly on people's experience of satisfaction with the process of work, namely • • • •

Quality of life Mastery Fellowship Creating real value

The hundred questions of the QWL-Questionnaire have been constructed to measure these four aspects of the work process by attending to important dimensions of each domain. These dimensions provide a practical and useful way to give feedback to the individual about his/her experience of their working-life and allow for easy identification of areas that can and should improved.


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Feedback is given in the form of a QWL-Personal Profile, which gives a graphic picture of personal performance in respect of experience of working-life quality, but also shows how the personal profile compare to those of the other employees in the company. The dimensions covered within each domain of the questionnaire are provided in the table below, whilst an example of a profile can be found on the next page.

Quality of Working-Life: The Four Domains and their Dimensions © QOLRC, Copenhagen. All Rights Reserved Quality of Life: Relation to self Experience of life Satisfaction with life Needs fulfilment Mastery: Relation to your work Skills competence Character of work Influence re own work Experience of work Commitment to work Salary and status Personal development

Fellowship: Relation to the Organisation Commitment to organisation Information flow Teamwork Working environment Management Interpersonal relations Influence Creating real value: Relation to environs Organisational mission Quality of products/service Efficiency Creating proper values

APPENDIX G. INSPIRATIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL RESOURCES Work can be one of the greatest pleasures in your life. On the other hand there is nothing worse in life than a job you are unhappy with. Work is such a vital part of a life – such a permanent companion – that if you do not feel at ease – when leaving for work in the morning - your joy of life may be shattered. It is difficult to feel happy when you do not really feel committed to your work. If your work is not a place where you can thrive and be happy, but more like a prison with displeasing work – your life’s energy is being drained. If you cannot see the point of what you are doing and you do not feel that you contribute with anything valuable – your work wears you out. That kind of work may kill you slowly – bit by bit. Furthermore, if you do not consider your work valuable the same will apply to your company, the customers and the environs in general. Without responsibility and commitment, quality and efficiency disappears into the blue. According to ‘The Quality-of-Life’ survey of 10,000 Danes carried out by The Qualityof-Life Research Center in Copenhagen, only every third citizen who is working is happy in his or her job which is catastrophic for the society. Personally, I am convinced that a uninspiring and detached working life is one of the main reasons people on average retire at

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the age of 61. And that may also be the reason why people rate such a short average life as proven by several surveys and reports. Only few human beings can cope with leading a meaningless life – lives spent working in jobs that they do not really like. It takes its toll because our health and well being are dependent on our ability to renew ourselves and develop new expressions of our personality in order to use life properly. Every human being is created to be active, using his or her talents the best possible way to the benefit of oneself and others – this is what is meant by life. This meaning of life we find in all dimensions of our life: Within the family, with friends in our spare time as well as on the job. Research shows that people who feel useful are the ones who are happy. It seems that we all have a dream of contributing something to this world – in our private as well as our professional lives. Work can be exciting, it can be thrilling – and at best – it is not experienced as mere work. Instead it becomes the challenge of our life – becomes what we dreamt of really doing, in private as well as professionally. There is nothing more exhilarating than an exciting job because work is about being useful to the world as well as influencing and creating a world in accordance with our private dreams. This book was written in connection with a project ’Working-Life Quality’, which resulted in a simple and useful kit of tools, easily applicable for developing working life quality ( i.e. Working life quality. A tool for employees and leaders, appendix I). There seem to be four basic conditions, which determine the quality of working life: 1) Personal quality of life 2) Mastery of the working process 3) Fellowship with colleagues and management 4) Genuine improvement for both customers and environment. A closer look should be taken on personal development: How do you improve your life? What is it that makes it so difficult for us to develop? In order to develop and improve your life, it is essential to be aware of your attitudes and your way of doing things. This requires alertness and your best efforts. It may sound easy, but as a matter of fact it requires an immense amount of self-discipline which only a very few possess at the outset. The above mentioned tools will inspire you as well as support your selfdiscipline. With your decision to make improvements, miracles might be waiting around the corner. At your company it should not be difficult to agree on commencing a project with the purpose of developing your working-life quality because an improvement of your job satisfaction will be in the interest of your company, too. Employees and leaders who have gained more insight and a more profound sense of responsibility will in future encounter a more viable production, which does not interfere with the delicate balance of the ecosystem.

Reference Ventegodt S. Working life quality. Copenhagen: Quality Life Research Center, 1996


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APPENDIX I. THE QWL-TOOL: INTRODUCTION AND CONTENTS Working-life quality is a new concept meaning 'The quality of life you experience at work.' It is about job satisfaction, about excitement, enthusiasm and commitment at work. It is about the feeling of being alive when working. The Working-Life Quality tool was developed in order to help employees as well as leaders to acquire the inspiration and discipline required to develop the quality of their working life. It attends to the four aspects of good work, namely quality of life, mastery of the work process, a sense of community with colleagues and management and creating real value for the customer and environment. It also comprises an understanding of what is needed for people to develop and grow namely awareness and practice or change. These must be developed analogously and brought in harmony with the life inside us. Finally it supplies the user with exercises to motivate discipline because only if you try new behaviour will you improve. Throughout the book attention is focused on positive attitudes and behaviour for this is what opens us up and give us access to our hidden resources.

Description and Contents of Package The tool consists of a folder with a workbook of 160 coloured pages with exercises and examples that guides the user through a 16-week course to improve the four central issues of work namely: 1. Your relation to yourself, which is about Quality of Life 2. Your relationship to the tasks you work with - the working process, which is about Mastery 3. Your relationship to those you work with and the organisation, which is about Cooperation and 4. Your relationship to the customer and the environment, which is about creating real value and obtaining proper values. Furthermore, it includes a 12-page questionnaire on quality of working life as well as an inspiring brochure, which informs you of the basic ideas of QWL. The folder also contains a floppy disc with a programme: QOL® Working-Life Quality - a Personal Profile (Windows operating) showing the user his or her personal profile of working life quality, helping them identify which particular aspects will require effort on their part in order to improve their personal quality of working life. Supplementary to the individual folder, a company PC analysis-programme (QOL® Working-Life Quality - a Company Profile) is also available. This programme correlates the keyed answers from several Personal Profile disks and then provides a total profile of a company's or a department's working-life quality. At the moment reference values from six Danish companies and their employees are included in order to allow you to benchmark your rating. Eventually the program will allow you to benchmark your company to the best in your own country as well as in the world.

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Overview of Program Contents and Form •

Understanding the role and value of awareness and practise (exercise) in the forming and changing of attitudes and beliefs

Module 1 - 5. Quality of Life Living the life you deep down experience • • •

Discover what quality of life means to you personally and how you can achieve it Develop an understanding of the relation between your attitudes towards life and being healthy Discover your own attitudes towards yourself and your life

Module 6 - 9. Mastery of the Work-process To become really good at your work and love it. Experiencing work satisfaction and joy • • • • • • •

Understand the function of your potential and challenge in becoming a master of your work Discover the role or your attitudes and personal beliefs in the experience of mastery Discover your boundless and unused potentials and resources Create energy Develop your skills and abilities Commit yourself to your work Grasp your challenges

Module 10 – 13. Sense of Community within the Organisation The experience of teamwork and working together to obtain results for yourself and the organisation through joined effort and shared purpose • • • •

Understanding community within the organisation The function of communication and the role of your attitudes and beliefs The art of co-operation and teamwork Leadership and co-operation - to lead and be lead

Module 14 -15. Creating Real Value Producing products and providing services, whilst at the same time preserving the environment and adding value to the community • • • • •

To be valuable to the customer and society Meeting the real needs of people Feeling useful in the world Developing valuable values Apprehension of the connection between attitude and perception in developing values and creating value


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Implementation of 16-week Program 1. Inform selected employees about aim of intervention and distribute inspiration brochure 2. Screen everybody with QWL-Health Questionnaire 3. Give feedback to all about their questionnaire results and invite participation in intervention 4. Distribute QWL-Workbook to participants and explain process to them 5. Individuals work alone and in small groups trough the first 5 weeks 6. 2-Day group seminar 7. Individuals work on their own and in small groups for the next 5 weeks 8. 2-Day group seminar 9. Individuals complete rest of modules 10. After 2-months: QWL-Health measurement 11. After 3-months: QWL-Health measurement 12. Report on results of intervention

Teachers Trained psychologists of the QOLRC and assistants

Reference Working Life Quality: A tool for employees and management. Copenhagen: QOLRC, 1996.

APPENDIX J

QWL Tables 2,500 Danes from the Central Person Register (CPR) where mailed a QWL questionnaire with 500 items including questions on QOL, QWL and health. 700 persons returned the huge questionnaire in a usable form for the QOL-QWL-Health analysis. 16 dimensions were chosen as core dimensions: • QOL • Mastery • Fellowship • Creating value • Estimated QWL (calculated as a mean of the former 4 dimensions) • Own rating of QWL • Own rating of psychological working condition • Immediate subjective well-being at work (“Feeling good at work”) • Own rating of physical working condition

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel et al. • • • • • •

Stress factor Number of days off sick Own rating of psychological health status Own rating of physical health status The amount of health difficulties Own rating of own efficiency.

60 dimensions were then plotted against these 16 core dimensions to map the central statistical co-variations.

Major Findings We will show some major findings and the results as documentation. These connections are not analysed according to causality, but it is our research hypothesis that they will change dynamically according to their statistical connections. This is the subject for the intervention study. The following categorisation of the size of the connections (according to prior test) are used in the descriptions below: 0-5%: 5-10%: 10-15%: 15-30%: 30%+:

Very small connection Small connection Intermediate connection Large connection Very large connection

We found the following statistical connections (selected findings): 1. 2.

A large connection between “being good at work” and QOL (1) A very large connection between “being good at work” and "own estimate of physical health (10) 3. A very large connection between “being good at work” and amount of health problems (11) 4. An intermediate connection between “being good at work” and "stress (13) 5. An intermediate connection between “being good at work” and own estimate of physical working condition (14) 6. A large connection between “being good at work” and commitment to your work (15) 7. A large connection between “being good at work compared to the best” and QOL (17) 8. An intermediate connection between “being frustrated because work is to difficult” and “fellowship” (131) 9. A very large connection between “stress” and “feeling good at work” (152) 10. An large connection between “ability to influence the goal of the work” and the number of days off sick (171)


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11. A large connection between “ability to influence how to do your work” and “the amount of health problems" (178) 12. A large connection between “feeling good at work” and “QOL” (209) 13. A large connection between “feeling good at work” and “Mastery” (210) 14. A large connection between “feeling good at work” and “fellowship” (211) 15. A large connection between “feeling good at work” and “Creating value” (212) 16. A very large connection between “feeling good at work” and “Estimated QWL” - a criteria validation (213) 17. A very large connection between “feeling good at work” and “Number of days off sick” (OBS only two respondents in 5. category) (219) 18. A large connection between “feeling good at work” and “number of days off sick" (220) 19. A large connection between “feeling good at work” and “stress" (221) 20. A large connection between “feeling good at work” and “own estimate of psychological health" (222) 21. A large connection between “feeling good at work” and “commitment to your work" (223) 22. A large connection between “doing what you like the best” and “commitment to your work" (239) 23. A large connection between “experience of joy in work” and “QOL” (241) 24. A very large connection between “experience of joy in work” and “mastery” (242) 25. A large connection between “experience of joy in work” and “fellowship” (243) 26. A large connection between “experience of joy in work” and “creating value” (244) 27. A very large connection between “experience of joy in work” and “feeling good at work” (248) 28. A large connection between “experience of joy in work” and “own estimate of psychological health" (250) 29. A very large connection between “experience of joy in work” and “amount of health problems" (251) 30. A very large connection between “experience of joy in work” and “commitment to your work" (255) 31. A large connection between “interesting work” and “mastery” (258) 32. A large connection between “interesting work” and “fellowship” (259) 33. A large connection between “interesting work” and “creating value” (260) 34. A large connection between “interesting work” and “own estimate of psychological health" (266) 35. A large connection between “interesting work” and “amount of health problems" (267) 36. A large connection between “interesting work” and “own estimate of physical working condition" (270) 37. A very large connection between “interesting work” and “commitment to your work" (271) 38. A large connection between “time spent in flow” and “mastery” (306) 39. An intermediate connection between “time spent in flow” and “amount of health problems" (315)

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel et al. 40. An intermediate connection between “time spent in flow” and “commitment to your work" (315) 41. A large connection between “challenges” and “mastery” (370) 42. A large connection between “challenges” and “Own estimated QWL” (374) 43. An intermediate connection between “challenges” and “own estimate of psychological health" (378) 44. An intermediate connection between “challenges” and “amount of health problems” (379) 45. A large connection between “challenges” and “commitment to your work" (383) 46. A large connection between “professional development” and “mastery” (386) 47. An intermediate connection between “professional development” and “own estimate of physical working conditions" (398) 48. A large connection between “professional development” and “commitment to your work" (399) 49. A large connection between “personal development” and “mastery” (418) 50. A large connection between “personal development” and “creating value” (420) 51. A large connection between “personal development” and “commitment to your work" (431) 52. A large connection between “responsibility towards the organisation” and “fellowship” (435) 53. A large connection between “responsibility towards the organisation” and “creating value” (436) 54. A intermediate connection between “responsibility towards the organisation” and “amount of health problems" (436) 55. A large connection between “responsibility towards the organisation” and “commitment to your work" (447) 56. A very large connection between “how well are your treated by the organisation” and “creating value” (452) 57. A large connection between “how well are your treated by the organisation” and “amount of health problems" (459) 58. A very large connection between “how well informed are your by the management” and “fellowship” (467) 59. A large connection between “how well informed are you' by the management” and “own rating of psychological working conditions” (471) 60. A large connection between “how well informed are your by the management” and “feeling good at work” (472) 61. A very large connection between “teamwork” and “own estimate of QWL” (502) 62. A very large connection between “teamwork” and amount of health problems" (507) 63. A large connection between “teamwork” and “own estimate of physical working condition" (510) 64. A large connection between “ability to resolve conflicts” and “QOL” (529) 65. A large connection between “ability to resolve conflicts” and “fellowship” (531) 66. A very large connection between “ability to resolve conflicts” and “Own rating of QWL” (534)


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67. A large connection between “ability to resolve conflicts” and “feeling good at work” (536) 68. A very large connection between “ability to resolve conflicts” and “own estimate of psychological health" (538) 69. A large connection between “ability to resolve conflicts” and “amount of health problems" (539) 70. A large connection between “ability to resolve conflicts” and “number of sick days off" (540) 71. A large connection between “level of responsibility” and “QOL” (561) 72. A large connection between “level of responsibility” and “fellowship” (563) 73. A large connection between “level of responsibility” and “own estimate of psychological health" (570) 74. A large connection between “level of responsibility” and “own estimate of physical working condition" (574) 75. A very large connection between “level of responsibility” and “commitment to work" (575) 76. A large connection between “psychological working environment” and “QOL” (593) 77. A large connection between “psychological working environment” and “own estimate of physical working condition" (606) 78. A large connection between “how good is the management” and “QOL” (609) 79. A large connection between “how good is the management” and “estimated QWL” (613) 80. A large connection between “how good is the management” and “own rating of QWL” (614) 81. A large connection between “how good is the management” and “feeling good at work” (616) 82. A large connection between “how good is the management” and “own estimate of physical health" (617) 83. A large connection between “how good is the management” and “amount of health problems" (619) 84. A large connection between “how good is the management” and “own estimate of physical working condition" (622) 85. A very large connection between “how good is your boss” and “fellowship” (627) 86. A large connection between “how good is your boss” and “creating value” (628) 87. A large connection between “how good is your boss” and “feeling good at work” (632) 88. A large connection between “how good is your boss” and “amount of health problems" (635) 89. A large connection between “how good is your boss” and “own estimate of physical working condition" (638) 90. A large connection between “possibilities of taken new initiatives” and “estimated QWL” (645) 91. A intermediate connection between “possibilities of taken new initiatives” and “amount of health problems" (651)

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel et al. 92. A vary large connection between “possibilities of taken new initiatives” and “commitment to your work" (655) 93. A very large connection between “importance of the mission” and “creating value” (660) 94. A large connection between “importance of the mission” and “own estimate of psychological health" (666) 95. A large connection between “importance of the mission” and “amount of health problems" (667) 96. A large connection between “ethical organisation” and “fellowship” (803) 97. A very large connection between “ethical organisation” and “creating value” (804) 98. A large connection between “being of value to the organisation” and “own estimate of psychological health" (826) 99. A large connection between “being of value to the organisation” and “amount of health problems" (827) 100. A very large connection between “thinking the organisation is a success” and “fellowship” (851) 101. A very large connection between “thinking the organisation is a success” and “creating value” (852) 102. A large connection between “thinking the organisation is a success” and “own estimate of psychological health" (858) 103. A very large connection between “thinking the organisation is a success” and “creating value” (852) 104. A large connection between “thinking the organisation improves the customers QOL” and “creating value” (868) 105. A very large connection between “thinking the organisation helps the development of society” and “creating value” (916) 106. A very large connection between “thinking the organisation helps the development of society” and “estimated QWL” (917) 107. A very large connection between “thinking the organisation helps the development of society” and “own estimated QWL” (918) 108. A very large connection between “own estimated QWL” and “own estimate of psychological health (938) 109. A very large connection between “own estimated QWL” and “own estimate of physical working condition" (942) 110. A very large connection between “own estimated QWL” and “commitment to your work" (943)

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How to Improve Working-life Quality, Quality of Life and Health [4]

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Ventegodt S. The Quality of Life of 4500 31-33 year-olds. Result from a study of the Prospective Pediatric Cohort of persons born at the University Hospital in Copenhagen. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. [Danish] Ventegodt S. The quality of life and factors in pregnancy, birth and infancy. Results from a follow-up study of the Prospective Pediatric Cohort of persons born at the University Hospital in Copenhagen 1959-61. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1995. [Danish] Ventegodt S. The quality of life and major events in life. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 2000. [Danish] Frankl V. Man’s search for meaning. New York: Pocket Books, 1985. Antonovsky A. Health, stress and coping. London: Jossey-Bass, 1985. Antonovsky A. Unravelling the mystery of health. How people manage stress and stay well. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1987. Ventegodt S. Measuring the quality of life. From theory to practice. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. Ventegodt S. Working life quality, 2nd ed. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1999. Csikszentmihalyi M. Flow. The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. Fromm E. The art of loving. New York: Harper Collins, 2000. Goleman DL. Destructive emotions. New York: Mind Life Inst, 2003. Tolle E. The power of now. Novato, CA: New World Library, 1999. Buber M. I and thou. New York: Charles Scribner, 1970. Nordenfelt L. Quality of life and health. Stockholm: Almqvist Wiksell, 1991. [Swedish] Ventegodt S, Flensborg-Madsen T, Andersen NJ, Nielsen M, Morad M, Merrick J. Global quality of life (QOL), health and ability are primarily determined by our consciousness. Research findings from Denmark 1991-2004. Soc Indicator Res 2005;71:87-122. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Quality of life philosophy: when life sparkles or can we make wisdom a science? ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1160-3. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy I: Quality of life, happiness, and meaning of life. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1164-75. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Kromann M, Merrick J. QOL philosophy II: What is a human being? ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1176-85. Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. QOL philosophy III: Towards a new biology. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1186-98. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy IV: The brain and consciousness. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1199-1209. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy V: Seizing the meaning of life and getting well again. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3: 1210-29. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. QOL philosophy VI: The concepts. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1230-40. Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life theory I. The IQOL theory: An integrative theory of the global quality of life concept. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1030-40.

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[27] Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life theory II. Quality of life as the realization of life potential: A biological theory of human being. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1041-9. [28] Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life theory III. Maslow revisited. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1050-7.

PART II: RESEARCH IN QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE: IMPROVING VALUE BY MAKING YOUR PEOPLE HAPPY AT WORK



Chapter 9

WORKING LIFE QUALITY AND VALUE Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick When job satisfaction and functional ability is to be measured and improved, it is necessary to assess and quality assure the intervention of company consultants on the soft assets of a company, however for many years it was believed that the scenario of a common worker is far too complex and that factors that makes him or her valuable to a company could not be agreed upon. It seems that the new concept of quality of working life (QWL) could be a key concept in the description of the employee making, enabling, for the first time possible, a simple way to determine the value or potential value to be realised under good leadership of an employee. Working-Life-Quality (QWL) is easily measured by the SEQWL questionnaire. By measuring with SEQWL before and after an intervention on employees, created change in QWL, can be documented, hereby enabling the documentation of the gain of value for the company by the intervention. This paper aims to find a simple formula by which the value for an improvement in QWL easily can be calculated. We found the following formula useful: ΔV total for a QWL project = N α S T ΔQWL, where ΔV is the potential additional value gained more for the company under good leadership, N is the number of participants, α is a psychobiological constant for human beings ˜ 10, S is the average salary, T is the duration of the improvement and ΔQWL is the difference in quality of working life.

INTRODUCTION Thriving at work is statistically strongly associated to quality of life (QOL) [1,2], selfassessed health, physical and physiological (measured by SEQOL [3]) and quality of working life (QWL) [4], as we present it in this paper and measured by SEQWL [5]. In addition to these statically findings, a number of projects have successfully been carried out in Denmark and Norway leading to the general conclusion that it is possible to improve both thriving at work, general health and the quality of life of employees.

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Just as evident as it seems to many modern managers, that relations as QWL and wellbeing at work are fundamental to the qualitative and quantitative output of employees, (i.e. too the benefit to the employee and the organisation), just as difficult is it for organisations to value the benefit of soft values to hard numbers. The difficulty is caused by the lack of credible numbers for QWL that could have been used as a basis for proper mathematical calculations of the profit. Calculations showing a positive outcome of interventions on QWL and prosperity are a precondition for the willingness of company leaders to prioritise projects meant to improve QWL, QOL and health. The arguments against an overly focus on the employee thriving on the job are often derived form an economic perspective and from the wish to secure efficiency through a certain degree of authority and control. In order to meet such requirements, measurements have been limited to hard facts, such as “consumption of time and materials and production.” Soft values such as the employee’s experience of his own thriving, mastery, sense of community and productivity have not previously been taken into consideration. There seems to be a growing awareness of the concept of QOL in society and the business world has also seen the benefits. This article aims to render probable the benefit of an organisation by improving quality of working life for the employee and managers of the company. On the basis of existing empiric data we will try to establish the formula for the connection between improved QWL and increased profit for the company, calculated on the individual employee.

WHAT IS QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE (QWL)? Work can be one of the greatest pleasures in your life [1,2,4]. On the other hand there is nothing worse in life than a job you are unhappy with. Work is such a vital part of a life, such a permanent companion, that if you do not feel at ease, when leaving for work in the morning, your joy of life may be shattered. It is difficult to feel happy when you do not really feel committed to your work. If your work is not a place, where you can thrive and be happy, but fells more like a prison, your life energy is being drained. If you cannot see the point in what you are doing and you do not feel that you contribute with anything valuable, your work wears you out. That kind of work may kill you slowly, bit by bit. Furthermore, if you do not consider your work valuable the same will apply to your company, the customers and the environment in general. Without responsibility and commitment, quality and efficiency disappears into the blue. According to the “Quality of Life” survey of 10,000 Danes carried out by the Quality of Life Research Centre in Copenhagen [1,2], only every third Danish citizen was happy in his or her job, which is catastrophic to Danish society. Personally, we are convinced that the uninspiring and detached working life is one of the main reasons Danish people retire at the age of 61 years. Only few human beings can cope with leading a life as meaningless as ours – all our lives spent working in jobs that we do not really like. It takes its toll, because our health and well being are dependent on our ability to renew ourselves and develop new expressions of our personality in order to use life properly. Every human being is created to be active, using his or her talents the best possible way to the benefit of self and others – this is what is meant by life. This concept of meaning of life we find in all stages of our life: within the family, with

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friends in our spare time as well as on the job. Our research showed that people, who feel useful, are the ones who are happy. It seems that we all have a dream of contributing something to this world – in our private as well as our professional lives. Work can be exciting, it can be thrilling – and at best – it is not experienced as mere work. Instead it becomes the challenge of our life – becomes what we dreamt of really doing, in private as well as professionally. There is nothing more exhilarating than an exciting job, because work is about being useful to the world as well as influencing and creating a world in accordance with our private dreams. There seem to be four basic conditions, which determine the working life quality [4]: 1) 2) 3) 4)

Personal quality of life Mastering of the working process Fellowship with colleagues and management Genuine improvement for both customers and environment.

QWL determines the quality and efficiency of both the employees and the leaders work in the company. Roughly speaking you can say that the value of an employee or leader for a company depends on his or her ability to create value by him- or her or in co-operation with colleagues and the leader and subordinates. Or in other words the person’s influence on the surroundings in a positive or negative direction together with the ability to perform with efficiency and quality in the broadest sense of these two difficult concepts. In our studies of QWL we have noticed that there is a huge connection between "objective quality" (the concrete ability to function i.e. make a selling exhibition or keep a tight budget and "subjective quality" - the experience of the work. A survey of the selfassessed QWL for the Danish population showed the following distribution: 23% said their QWL was very good, 57.5% said "good", 15.9% said neither nor, 3.2% said bad and 0.4% said very bad (see table 1). We found an average for the Danish companies of 70%, the score equal to the expression good on the above-mentioned five-point scale [6]. Table 1. Selfassessed QWL in Denmark [1] Self-assessed QWL 1. Very good 2. Good 3. Neither good nor bad 4. Bad 5. Very bad Total number of respondents, Overall average

No 159 397 110 22 3 691

% 23.0 57.5 15.9 3.2 0.4 69.9

Meas. QWL 76,1 69,7 63,0 55,2 42,0 69,5

When calculated from the 100 questions in the QWL-health questionnaire the distribution was narrowed and only 3.8% of the employees get 80-100% (very good) on average. 72.9% scored between 80% and 60% in measured QWL, 22.5% between 60% and 40%, and less than one percentage below 40% in measured QWL (see table 2). From these numbers it seems fair to conclude that you cannot function in a job with a QWL below around 50%. Most people score around 70%. Terrible employees score below 55%. Bad employees get 55-65%.

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Average scores 65-75. Good employees score 75-85% and the extremely good (1:50) scores 85-100% in measured QWL (see table 2). A lot of very important factors seem to follow the measured QWL closely: Self-assessed physical health, self-assessed mental health, stress, number of sick days and working environment, thus implying some of the reasons why a low measured QWL is incompatible with working efficiently and happily. The value of a worker can be negative if he or she significantly disturbs the work environment and destroys co-operation and other vital company relations, for example to the customers. A bad employee can easily destroy the value that equals one other worker. A good employee can inspire good work.

ECONOMICAL INTEREST IN IMPROVED QWL Let us address the company’s direct and indirect economic interests in the employee’s QWL. Improvement of QWL, primarily seems to be of benefit to the employee himself, but also benefits the company. Table 1 lists the expected benefits for the company. It has been confirmed by a series of practical intervention examples conducted by Niels Jørgen Andersen, where it was found that these benefits normally follow such a QWL improving intervention. Table 1 also lists some of the features experientially needed in a good QWL-improvement project. Table 1. Expected benefits for the company

• • • • • • • •

• •

Features Accurate, immediate analyses of QOL, QWL and health situation of individuals and the organisation as a whole Quick and user friendly measurements Accommodates all levels Independent of income, culture, gender, age, state of health, etc Establish a preventative health care approach Identify individuals who need treatment Pinpoint appropriate choice of intervention needed Equip employees and leaders with attitudes and skills to handle problems, change, personal and inter-personal relationships and crises Allow for comparison with other companies (benchmarking) as well as between branches, departments, etc. Methodologically and philosophically sound

Benefits Direct Benefits • Lowered absenteeism • Improved health • Less stress • Better ability to solve conflicts • Improved personal development • Higher efficiency • Improved commitment to work • Better co-operation • Improved communication • Better leadership • Improved organisational image • Individual life and health management Indirect benefits • Lowered medical costs • Higher productivity • Healthier retirees and older workforce • Higher value to society • More innovation • Improved competitiveness


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TO THRIVE BETTER People who are not thriving in their job have a tendency to burn out and sooner or later become only of modest value for the company. Employees who are developing through their working life, however, will become of increasing value for the company. It is important for a company to keep employees in the company instead of constantly needing to recruit new employees. If you want to keep employees with the present labour market, then you need to make sure that they are thriving in their job, i.e. developing personally and professionally. The reason the job is important to the person, is its importance to his general QOL and it seems that creating value is inherently the meaning of life [7-13].

Fewer Days Lost through Sickness Since there is a significant correspondence between QOL and the number of days lost through sickness, an improved QWL most probably will also result in fewer days lost through sickness. If the project results in fewer days lost through sickness per employee per year, then the project will soon have proved profitable. Presumably more engaged employees would also be less likely to report sick.

Higher Quality and Larger Efficiency Employees who are engaged and developing in their job will also be more efficient and deliver work of a better quality. When communication is improved, the distance not only between employees and leaders is reduced, but also between colleagues on the same level and between employees and customers. Different teams of the organization will become able to make a better and more coherent effort. Expensive waste of time due to common confusion about the tasks to carry out, unproductive double work, and unprofitable attempts to solve problems will be avoided.

Better Innovation Development of quality products demands a large personal reserve of energy within the employee. The innovative employee must be courageous, visionary and willing to go all the way for his idea. That personal surplus arises, when the employee masters his field of work, when he/she really masters it. The growth of this mastery in the work process is one of the main aims of the QWL project. Those employees who achieve real mastery within their field of work will become the experts, who are vital for the company and driving its development.

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Environment-friendly Image There are many image related benefits, when conducting a project in order to improve QWL. It is very valuable for the company that the employees are thriving, but it is perhaps just as important to make it public. That makes it not only easier to keep valuable workers, but also to attract attractive new manpower. It seems logical that a company, which is able to take care of its employees thriving and health also will be able to make sound decisions on a larger scale. People with a high QOL and a large personal reserve of energy have better possibilities to consider external dimensions, such as sustainability, life time cycles and more, even if they are not directly profitable. The importance of an environmental-friendly image to the still more numerous ”political consumers” cannot be underestimated.

FORMULA FOR QWL AND VALUE TO THE COMPANY How is it practically possible to measure the economical worth of an employee? The traditional way has been to look at manpower as a commodity you can buy on the market. It is supply and demand, which is determining the value – and price – of a commodity. Establishing such a formula is connected with a lot of ethical thoughts, because a human being is certainly not a thing, but a person, a subject, and as such the human being must be respected and its integrity hold sacred. However, it is well known from the realm of psychology that people have different value to us, just as our own life differs in value at different times and states. When we are improving our self-esteem and increasing our selfcare by being better towards ourselves, our QOL and joy of life is being improved and thus also the value we hold for others and ourselves. Even if the value of a human being cannot be completely settled and we are all equal before God, it is therefore in the context of a company reasonable to allow the perception that two employees in the same job function hold very different values for the company, due to their skills and experience, ability to cooperate and width of view. When you as a leader are looking at the employee from the outside, you wish to see exactly those resources, the good spirit, health and professional stability and the personal reserve of energy that are connected with a good QOL, exactly that mastery which comes from engagement, commitment and personal development in the job, exactly that ability to cooperate which comes from being a well integrated and generally liked part of a professional cooperative and exactly that real productivity that comes from broad point of view, general orientation towards and understanding of the totality on all levels. Thus, it is a probable hypothesis – which of course is to be proven empirically – that the value of an employee corresponds directly with the four fundamental dimensions of QWL [4]. The first question is whether there is a simple and linear relation between productivity and QWL. Presumably there are linear relations between the quality of the four fundamental human conditions and the productive functions of the company, which they support – and relations between QOL dimensions and other conditions of life, like self estimated QWL are just linear [1,2]. In research we normally find those correspondences surprisingly linear within the normal range [1,2,15] and accordingly, we find the following simple relation, which is the formula for a straight line: V = k QWL + β


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where QWL is measured with SEQWL [5] or a corresponding form based on the QWL theory, k is the slope (multiplied with a constant, depending on the units) and b is the intersection point with the y axe that determines when an employee holds no or negative value to the company. Using S for the average salary, we have: V = S (α QWL + β) Where S is the average salary for a worker in this function.

Determination of α and β When an employee scores around 60% QWL (measured with SEQWL) we know from experience (compare the numbers above) that he often does not function well enough to keep his job. If the score is around 70%, he is stable and a good working power. 50% QWL means that he is a considerable burden to the company, while 80% would mean that he is a fast advancing star worker. Accordingly it is possible to establish the following table (table 1) which shows that α must be around 10 and β be around 0,6. We have: V = S (α QWL + β) = S (10 QWL – 0,6) And ΔV = V (t2: QWL 2) - V(t1: QWL 1) = S α (ΔQWL) = 10 S ΔQWL Table 2. Connection between value of the worker (expressed in the units of salary) for the company and measured QWL (rough estimate) QWL 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Close to 100%

Value of employee to the company (s = average salary) not able to work not able to work not able to work not able to work severe strain -1s worthless 0s worth his salary (average/normal) 1s especially well functioning employee 2s best practice 3s unique genius 4-1000 s

Example 1 An employee with a QWL measured to 65% and an average salary of 50,000 $ for his type of job will create the following value for his company (OBS: If you use the corrected formula below you will find a negative value):

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V (QWL 65%) = V = S α (QWL + β) = 50,000$ x 10 x (0,65– 0,6) = 50,000$ x 10 x 0,05 = 25,000 $ If his QWL is raised only 5%, the value gained on a yearly basis (given α˜10, which must be empirically conformed) will be: ΔV = V (t2: QWL 70%) - V(t1: QWL 65%) = S α (ΔQWL) = 50,000$ x 10 x 5% = 25.000 $ So his value of this employee to the company will be doubled.

DISCUSSION When you see this formula and table 1, then as a leader you would spontaneously feel like firing all employees with a QWL ranging under 65%. However, the valuable thing by measuring QWL as a leadership tool is not the inhumane dismissal of people, who are not thriving for the time being, because the QWL of the individual employee is varying considerably through time, i.e. it is well known that the best worker of one month is not the one of the following month. The clever leader consequently supports the development of QWL within the company, thus contributing to the increasing value of all employees to themselves and each other. In that way, the company also makes a valuable contribution to society instead of just picking people from the top and just unethically wearing them down for final discard. This practice, which has been used in the high-tech business in the last two decades should be stopped and replaced by a more decent human resource philosophy. Such a change would also be of benefit for the companies themselves, improving their ability to keep workers and supporting them in their ongoing development instead of putting them under constantly higher pressure finally resulting in their burnout. The difference in productivity per employee at a certain time thus is: ΔV = 10 S ΔQWL where QWL is the QWL measured with SEQWL, S is the salary and α is a constant (estimated α˜10). However, this is not enough to determine the value of a QWL intervention, because the crucial question is how the employee will do in the long run. It has to be integrated over a longer period: ΔV total for a participant = ∫t2-t1ΔV = α S ∫t2-t1ΔQWL, α ˜10 The value created trough time for a participant is α (ten) times the difference in quality of working life (mQWL) though time (t) times the average salary (S) For the QWL intervention project as a whole is the formula: ΔV total for QWL project = P ∫t2-t1ΔV = PαS ∫t2-t1ΔQWL, α˜10


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The value created trough time for an intervention group is α (ten) times the number of participants (P) in the intervention times the difference in Quality of Working Life (mQWL) though time (t) times the average salary (S). Will he continue to develop after i.e. a QWL course or will the improvement only be temporary? The answer to this very important question is that it completely depends on how the QWL project is conducted and how well it is anchored within the organization. It turns out to be of outmost importance that even after the closure of the project, there continues to be setters and holders of perspective maintaining the vital, down-to-earth and existentially orientated development perspective, which is the basis of the complete QWL theory. That good QWL first of all is about having good relations, both internally and externally. Do you succeed in involving all workers and leaders in the project and in anchoring this philosophy in the company? The experience from Niels Jørgen Andersens lifelong practice seems to show stable improvements within a time span of ten years, even if some employees leave and new ones join the company. A lasting change has been created in the very culture of the company, and thus also the QWL in the company as a whole. Thus, when the project is well conducted in the whole company (or a well-defined, independent part of it), we can simplify the formula above as follows, when B is the number of years the QWL improvement lasts: ΔV total for QWL project = PBΔV = P α S B ΔQWL, where P= number of members in the organisation, α˜10, B˜10years The value created trough time for a QWL intervention project is α (ten) times the number of participants (P) in the company/division times the difference in Quality of Working Life (QWL) though time (B) times the average salary (S)

Example 2: Improving QWL in the Company Improving QWL 10 % in a company – which we some times see in QOL and QWL projects with 100 employees with an average QWL measured to 65% and an average salary of 50,000 $, will in 10 years create the following value for its owners: ΔV total for QWL project = P α S B ΔQWL = 100 x 10 x 50.000 $ x 10 x 0,1 = 100 mill. $ where P= number of members in the organisation, S the average salary for that kind of work, α˜10, B˜10 years.

DISCUSSION When QWL projects are conducted successfully in companies, large negative results can be turned into large positive results. This has occurred many times, and it always seems like a miracle for the company. Interestingly, the health of the employees in several of the projects we have participated in often undergo such a radical improvement that the days lost through sickness during the intervention period of 6-12 months decrease from 10 and 20% to only 23%. The QWL concept thus seems to have such a great impact that it, correctly applied in

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companies and society, can restore not only the company’s own economy, but also the general health and economy of society. The importance of leadership for productivity and a formula for the leader’s productivity: A generalised formula for the value the leader can create for his company, based on his QWL. Let us finish with turning our attention towards a fact that it is very important, but for which it at the same time is very difficult to establish a formula, namely the productivity of the leader. The leader has crucial importance for the possibilities of the employee to make the most of his potential in order to create value. This reflection is about the leader as a limiting factor and the potentials of the employees must be exploited, which is the responsibility of the leader. Potentials can be visible or hidden, and it is evident that the good leader helps his employees to develop themselves by recognizing hidden potentials and talents and using them. This is a promising and rich perspective and it gives the leader a very large responsibility for the fate of his subordinates. The skilled management consultant or physician is delivering just that service to respectively his costumer or patient. A more common and neutral view upon leadership is that the employees hold merely those resources that are visible, and that the leader has to manage them as he or she best can. That perspective, to which we will stick, means that bad leadership simply waste the resources of the employees, just in the same way as excellent leadership makes the best of them. The numbers we have seen in the calculated examples above implicitly implied optimal leadership. If the employee improves his QWL, he is potentially increasing his value for the company, but that does not necessarily mean that he actually creates more value. That would imply the cooperation with a leader seeing him and his new, released potentials and helping him to exploit them for the common good. The leader is of crucial importance for the effort and QWL of his subordinates. Most workers are able to work much smarter and better. Actually, a good leader is able to make people thrive, just as a bad leader makes his employees not thrive. As mentioned at the beginning, it is very common that people are working efficiently in their job and are holding large, visible and not exploited resources. This implies that the problem of low productivity very much is a matter of bad leadership. Therefore, you should normally focus on the leader and the leadership, if you want to improve the productivity of the company as a whole. An investigation of QWL and the quality of leadership showed almost linear correspondence between these two factors. It seems to be reasonable to propose a formula showing the created value as a function of leadership quality and as a function of QWL. It is sufficiently general to embrace all members of an organization, since every employee also has to lead him- or herself. But in order to be meaningful you have to start at the highest level of leadership. Because top leaders should let intermediate leaders flourish so that their employees in return use themselves optimally. Thus, this formula tells nothing about the potential productivity as the formulas above have done, but about the actual productivity for which the leader is responsible. The number of subordinates, N (including the leader), is a simple expression of the empowerment of the leader function. Under normal conditions and if he is not somehow completely unfit for his job and thus in one way or another predestined to ruin everything, the leader will create the following value: V (leader) = N S (α QWL + β)


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and ΔV total for a participant leader = N ∫t2-t1ΔV = N α S ∫t2-t1ΔQWL, α ˜10 The interesting thing is that the result turns out to be exactly the same, whether you develop the management level or the whole organization. The explanation is, of course, that a skilled management department always would optimise the employment of the workers in the very same ways as a QWL project would. ΔV total for a QWL project in the company = ΔV total for a QWL project in the management = NTΔV = N α S T ΔQWL, where V is the potential value the employees can create for the company under good leadership QWL is the measured Quality of Working Life (in percentage) calculated as a mean of the four dimension: "QOL", "Mastery", "Fellowship" and "Creation of real value" according to the QWL-theory S is the average salary N is the number of participants in the project T is the duration of the created improvement

CONCLUSIONS How can the gained value of a QWL-project be calculated when intervening on a group of employees in a company? We recommend the use of this simple formula: ΔV total for a QWL project = N α S T ΔQWL where ΔV

is the potential value the employees can create more for the company under good leadership N is the number of participants in the project α is a psychobiological constant for human beings ˜ 10 S is the average salary T is the duration of the created improvement – often 10 years in good project ΔQWL is the difference in Quality of Working Life, measured with SEQWL before and after the intervention

FUTURE RESEARCH AND DIRECTIONS It is important to stress that the established formulas have to be proved empirically, which is a task is for continued scientific work. The formulas are not likely to have found their final

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shape. Expectation based on calculations with that formula has to be held with reservations. Most of today’s consultants are not able to create large successes as seen in the best cases. It is recommended to pick your consultants with outmost care and through good references secure, that they actually have delivered what they are promising. Measurements and improvement of QWL have to be conducted by independent units in order to secure objectivity. As a final remark it can be stated that development of QWL gives a person both external and internal empowerment. The more conscious you get in your job the more QWL you will develop and the more power and potential success you will have. The development of QOL, QWL and health is actually happening, when an employee or leader takes responsibility for his own professional life and this is basically self-empowerment. Responsibility is the door to success in private life as in professional life and a company and society always needs employees and leaders that is responsible for being, doing and having – which is basically what QWL is all about. The collective development of QWL in companies and society at large might be a very important issue in the future. As QWL is so closely linked to QOL and health, it will be for the benefit of not only our people and society, but for our whole global community. Its simplicity and clarity and the large statistical background material from the QOL investigation of 10.000 Danes [1,2,15] vouch for the value of the QWL concept. The great challenge for industrial healthcare, health politicians, and trade unions is to make public and private organizations interested in focusing on the thriving of their employees. In the future it will perhaps be relevant for trade unions to demand better conditions for the pleasure of work, instead of higher wages and other advantages.

REFERENCES [1] [2]

[3]

[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Ventegodt S. Quality of life in Denmark. Results from a population survey. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1995. [Danish] Ventegodt S. The quality of life of 4500 31-33 year-olds. Result from a study of the Prospective Pediatric Cohort of persons born at the University Hospital in Copenhagen. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. [Danish] Ventegodt S, Henneberg EW, Merrick J, Lindholt JS. Validation of two global and generic quality of life questionnaires for population screening: SCREENQOL and SEQOL. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:412-21. Ventegodt S. Working life quality. To become valuable to yourself and your surroundings. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1999. Ventegodt S. Quesionnaire for working life quality (SEQWL). Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. [Danish] Ventegodt S. Measuring the quality of life. From theory to practice. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. Ventegodt S. The life mission theory: A theory for a consciousness-based medicine. Int J Adolesc Med Health 2003;15(1):89-91. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory II: The structure of the life purpose and the ego. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1277-85.

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[14]

[15]

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Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory III: Theory of talent. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1286-93. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. The life mission theory IV. A theory of child development. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1294-1301. Ventegodt S, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory V. A theory of the antiself and explaining the evil side of man. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1302-13. Ventegodt S, Kromann M, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. The life mission theory VI: A theory for the human character. ScientificWorld Journal 2004;4:859-80. Ventegodt S, Flensborg-Madsen T, Andersen NJ, Merrick J. Life Mission Theory VII: Theory of existential (Antonovsky) coherence: a theory of quality of life, health and ability for use in holistic medicine. ScientificWorld Journal 2005;5:377-89. Ventegodt S. The quality of life and factors in pregnancy, birth and infancy. Results from a follow-up study of the Prospective Pediatric Cohort of persons born at the University Hospital in Copenhagen 1959-61. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1995. [Danish] Ventegodt S. The quality of life and major events in life. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 2000. [Danish]



Chapter 10

WORKING LIFE QUALITY WITH THE SEQWL QUESTIONNAIRE Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen and Joav Merrick We have constructed a “self evaluation of working life quality” questionnaire (SEQWL). It was developed on the basis of the philosophy and theory of quality of working life (QWL), strongly inspired by recent quality of life theories, especially the integrated quality of life theory (the IQOL theory) with a focus on the quality of human relations. The QWL-theory considers four fundamental domains of working life: quality of life, mastery, fellowship and creation of real value. These dimensions arise from four fundamental relations at work: the relations to one self (quality of life), to the job function (mastery), to other members of the working team (fellowship), and to what extend the individual contributes to the surrounding world (creation of real value). Thus good quality of working life is about much more than job-satisfaction, stress, the working environment, personal functioning, performance, health and immediate subjective well-being at work, although these factors are also covered by the QWL-concept, and measured by the SEQWL questionnaire. The SEQOL measure is an objective and valid measure, which together with good leadership will determine companies of value.

INTRODUCTION The philosophy of QWL (quality of working life) aim to empower the leader or employee to improve his subjective QWL-dimensions like joy of work, job-satisfaction and improve health and performance. The theory of working life is based upon the idea that good QWL arises from good relations in the working situation [1]. The theory states that there are basically four important relations to the working life: The relation to yourself, the relation to the work process, the relation to other people in the work group, i.e. colleagues, managers and subordinates and the customer and surrounding world. The four relations each define its specific domain: 1) quality of life 2) mastery 3) fellowship and 4) creation of real value. The theory defines that these four domains are of equal importance to the perception of quality of

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work life, leaving QWL as an average of 1-4 (Find the scoring formula attached below the SEQWL questionnaire).

Quality of Life (QOL) QOL refers to the person's state of living, which is a function of the level of inner harmony and balance. QOL depends on basic qualities of life as joy (pleasure vs. pain), knowledge (information vs. appearance) and awareness (consciousness vs. unconsciousness) in your daily living. Inner conflicts and lack of knowledge and understanding of your self will make a good life difficult for the majority of mankind today. It is known that QOL is closely related to health [2,3]. QOL has been investigated scientifically for two decades using the IQOL theory [4-8].

Mastery As it is the purpose of human life to be active and to create value, perfection of our talent and behaviour are essential elements of the achievement of mastery. Personal and professional development leads to a state of being, where ideas and intentions can be freely expressed in the work-process. This is the ideal, however seldom achieved, state of mastery. The reason for this is to be found in the personal search, or lack of such, for self-actualisation. Most people stop in their personal development before they reach the state of transcendence and perfection, so well described by Maslow [9]. Development of mastery can only be achieved through on-going challenges, which most people seem to avoid in return for safety and personal security. Nowadays business consultants predict a working culture focusing on challenge and personal development as tremendous valuable to both the company and its employees.

Fellowship As a social being, mankind has a deep-rooted need for being a part of a social whole, an accepted and appreciated member of the group. However, many people do not develop the social skills necessary for communication, conflict solving, co-operation, leadership and personal responsibility in a group. As these social qualities exist as hidden resources, processes that take them into use are of great value for the individual as well as for the organisation as a whole.

Creation of Real Value It is rather surprising, when studies of happiness are done, that happiness and life satisfaction are closely related to being useful, and only remotely connected to yearly income [4,5]. This at least appears true for rich countries such as Denmark, where material wealth has been

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striven after for a long time. Material life has been attained, citizens are wealthy, however not many seems to be happy. Work is about creating value, and not really about making money, although most people who have not reflected deeply on this, might think it is. Real value is about helping other people improve their lives. It is about experiences. It is about fulfilling real needs for individuals and for society in general, and it seems that human beings have a need for being useful and not for material wealth in itself [10].

NOTHING IS AS PRACTICAL AS A GOOD THEORY Consciousness is tricky and it is very easy to fool one self. Although consciousness and the very depths of human existence are difficult to reach by the quantitative methodology, we believe it to be a more feasible starting-point than the qualitative methodology. When we are striving to improve our state of being, it is very important to have some hard benchmarks to compare with during time and to measure our improvements. To do this we need to measure though the period of intervention both of the group or person we want to evaluate, and of the population we want to benchmark against. Subjective dimensions are best measured psychometrically by a questionnaire and the measurement must be generic and global [11]. We have constructed the self evaluation of working-life quality” questionnaire (SEQWL) according to the seven criteria, which was originally set up for the generic measuring of global QOL [11]. These criteria range from the most abstract, a philosophy of working life, to the most factual, like 5 point Likert scales. Qualitative surveys rely on the respondent’s subjective judgment. The interpretation process of the collected data itself requires a deep understanding of the nature of human consciousness and must follow strict methodological criteria as outlined. The seven construct criteria have already been shown to be of value in practical use as demonstrated in [11,12,13]. The criteria as they are when applied to the QWL are presented in table 1. Table 1. Methodological requirements for quantitative, questionnaire-based research on the global quality of working life • A clear definition of the quality of working life • A philosophy of working life on which the definition of the quality of life is based • A theory that operationalize this philosophy by a) deducing questions that are unambiguous, mutually exclusive and comprehensive as a whole and b) establishing the relative weights of each question. • A number of response options that can be interpreted quantitatively on a fraction scale • Technical quality in terms of reproducibility, sensitivity and well-scaled- ness (appropriate scale characteristics) • The survey must be meaningful to both researchers, respondents and those who use the results (including criterion validity) • An appreciation of the aesthetic dimension

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The SEQWL Questionnaire: The Domains and the Sub-domains and their Definitions To make the questionnaire it was important to create the correct number of sub-dimensions. Ideally a theory was made for each sub-domain if these were not given by the main theory. We have not been able to do that in a convincing way and have chosen to be practical about it instead. We collected the hundred most popular questions in each domain and selected the 2030 that a working group found to be the most relevant, most in accordance with the basic philosophy of QWL, and most helpful for the development of QWL in a company using information technology. The 20 sub-domains, which have been chosen, illustrate the complexity of the four domains (see table 2; the principle for Scoring the QWL-questionnaire is also given here). Table 3 states the chosen definitions of the sub-domains. Table 2. The SEQWL questionnaire has three levels: level 1: Global QWL, level 2: the 4 QWL – domains, level 3: the 20 sub-domains (each domain is scored as an average of its sub-domains, and QWL is score as an average of the domains) Quality of working-life: The four domains and their dimensions © QOLRC, Copenhagen. All rights reserved. Quality of Life: Fellowship: Relation to self Relation to the Organisation Experience of life Commitment to organisation Satisfaction with life Information flow Needs fulfilment Teamwork Working environment Mastery: Management Relation to your work Interpersonal relations Skills competence Influence Character of work Influence re own work Creating real value: Experience of work Relation to environs Commitment to work Organisational mission Salary and status Quality of products/service Personal development Efficiency Creating proper values

Tabel 3. Definitions of the QWL sub-domains •

Level 1: QWL – Total “Working-Life Quality, Estimated” is the calculated value of QWL as a mean of QOL, Mastery, Fellowship and Creation of value. “Working-Life Quality, Self-Assessed” is your self-assessed well being at work - a very important dimension of QOL. We use it as a control and compare it with the calculated QWL.

Working Life Quality with the SEQWL Questionnaire •

•

129

Level 2: the 4 QWL - domains “Quality of Life” is a name for all the different ways life can be good and bad. In this survey QOL indicates your experience of life, your satisfaction with life and your actual state of fulfilling your needs. “Mastery” indicates your present state of mastery in your work - and so it also reflects your hidden potentials. “Fellowship” indicates your present state of fellowship with the organisation and everybody in it. “Creating real value” indicates your present situation when it comes to contribute to the world through your job. Level 3 – the sub domains • Quality of Life (QOL) “Life experience” refers to your subjective QOL - your rating of such factors as “life satisfaction”, “happiness” and “well-being at home”. “Satisfaction” means satisfaction with all your personal relations, i.e. to your partner, your friends, your children and your society. “Needs” means fulfilment of your needs, i.e. your physical and social needs and your need of self-realization. • Mastery “Skills” is about your present state of professional development - how good are you at present compared to the best and to your own potential? “Character of work” is about variation, boredom, stress and workload and the influence of your work on your health. “Influence” (mastery) is about freedom to determine what to do and how to do it. “Experience of working” is about joy and meaningfulness of - and well being at your work. “Commitment” (mastery) refers to your passion for and interest in your work as well as the priority it has in your life.

•

“Salary and status” refers to yearly income as well as your status at work and in your society. “Development” is about your experience of personal and professional development as a result of your work. Fellowship “Commitment” (fellowship) refers to your relation to your company, i.e. your passion for and interest in your organisation. “Information” is about the richness and quality of the information flow to the employee from the organisation and vice versa. “Teamwork” is about your present ability to cooperate, solve conflicts and assume responsibility. “Working environment” is about your experience of your physical and psychological working environment.

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen and Joav Merrick Table 3. Continued

•

“Management” is about your experience of the quality of the leadership of the company at present, including the management skills of your manager and yourself. “Relations” is about the quality of your relationships to your colleagues, your boss and your subordinates. “Influence” (fellowship)is about your ability to influence the goals and decisions of your organisation. Creating real value “The Mission” is about your understanding and personal support of the company mission i.e. the major goals of your organisation. “Quality” is about your pride of being part of the organisation and your judgement of the quality of its products. “Efficiency” is about how efficient the organisation uses its resources - human, material and technological and the total impression of the efficiency of the organisation. “Ethics” reflects your judgement of the ethical standard of the organisation and the degree it pollutes its environment. “Creating real value” might be the most important dimension reflecting your value for the organisation and the surrounding world and your experience of the organisation as creator of value for its customers/users i.e. by taking a leading role in developing man and society.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEQWL-QUESTIONNAIRE

Amongst 500 items originally proposed by a workgroup with professors, company directors, physicians, consultants in organisational development, 102 questions (+9 controls) were finally selected in total, about 25 from each domain. The selection criteria was the following: The questions should together show the broadest possible picture of the working-life situation, risk of redundancy should be at a minimum and the questions should be meaningful and linguistically sound, in order to maximise communication.

VALIDATION OF THE SEQWL-QUESTIONNAIRE

The QWL-questionnaire, which gives a number for the calculated QWL as a mean of the rating of the four basic dimensions, has not yet been sufficiently validated, when it comes to internal consistency (focus) by the Cronbach-alfa method. However the external validity (criteria validity) has shown to be validated by its correlation to the self-evaluated QWL (see table 4) and SEQOL. Its reliability has not been sufficiently tested through test-retest procedures, but its sensitivity has been found through its statistical variation. All of the investigated parameters are found to be satisfactory compared to internationally accepted standards. We believe though, that SEQWL is valid as it is constructed and developed exactly like the validated SEQOL and QOL5 questionnaires [12,13].

Table 4. External validation of the SEQWL questionnaires is defined by its correlation with self-assessed QWL and calculated QWL value. The correlation coefficient is 0.69, and the statically covariation is measured to 75.0%, and calculated to 48,1%, using the method of modified regression (ref: measuring the QOL). As we find these numbers satisfactory, we have an external validation of the SEQWL questionnaire How good is your quality of working life (as you understand it)? Table of frequency

No. Resp.

Score

Calculated WLQ 10 30 50

70

90

1. Very good 2. Good 3. Neither good nor bad 4. Bad

159 397 110 22

90 70 50 30

0 0 0 0

0 1 0 1

6 56 73 21

132 339 37 0

21 1 0 0

5. Very bad

3

10

0

1

2

0

0

Total number of respondents

691

0

3

158

508

22

Corr.(r), Signif.(p), Total resp. (n)

-0,6872

0,0001

691

Table of average

Deviation from survey average

Group average; Number of respondents in group

as a percentage thereof Test

Test 1. Very good 2. Good 110 3. Neither good nor bad 4. Bad 5. Very bad Overall average; total numbers 691

Resp. 159 397 15,9 57.9 22 3 100 66.0

% 23.0 57.5

(p-value)

73.7 ** 0.0001 66.2 0.5014 ± 1.1 ** 0.0001 3.2 49.3 ** 0.0001 0.4 44.5 ± 0.6

Calc. WLQ ± 1.1 ± 0.6 ** 0.0001 -12.3 ± 2.2 ±11.5

(p-value)

Calc. WLQ 11.7 0.4 110

** 0.0001 0.5014 3. Neither good nor bad 4. Bad 5. Very bad Overall average; total numbers 691

Table 4. Continued VARIATION IN WORKING-LIFE QUALITY ACROSS THE MEASURING INTERVAL Total Variation



44.3

Variation Uncertainty

37.1 ±

3.9 Numbers in percent

[Δ 1 is the measured max-min difference. D2 is the variation calc. by weighted linear regression, ±e being the measurement error at a=0.05 ]

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Working Life Quality with the SEQWL Questionnaire 90

80

70

60

50 You The company 40

30

20

10

0 Self-assessed QWL Working-Life Quality

Quality of Life

Mastery

Fellowship

Creation real value

Figure 1. Quality of working life (QWL).

The Personal QWL-profile and its Dimensions The hundred questions of the QWL-Questionnaire have been constructed, in order to measure the four domains of the work process, by attending to important dimensions of each domain. These dimensions provide a practical and useful way to give feedback to the individual about his/her experience of their working-life, and further allow for easy identification of areas, that can and should be improved. Feedback is given in the form of a personal QWL-profile, which 1) gives a graphic picture of subjective experience of working-life quality 2) shows how the personal profile compare to those of the other employees in other companies (the benchmark). Figure 1 illustrates an example of this.

APPENDIX 1. SELF-EVALUATION OF WORKING LIFE QUALITY QUESTIONNAIRE (SEQWL) © 2008 Quality-of-Life Research Center, Classensgade 11C, 1th, DK-2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark. This SEQWL questionnaire is hereby released for non-commercial, scientific use. Please apply for written permission for all commercial or non-scientific use to the Quality of Life Research Center.

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About this Questionnaire You experience quality of work when your work life suits you well. This questionnaire takes the pulse of the quality of working life. The inquiry form comprises about 100 questions that throw light on various aspects of working life. The concept ’Quality of working life’ comprises 4 main subjects: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Your concept of yourself: Which is about Quality of Life Your relation to your job: Which is about Mastery Your relation to the organization: Which concerns cooperation and community Public relations and the customer: Creating proper values

The questionnaire is structured according to the above-mentioned four main domains. At the end of the questionnaire you will find a few questions concerning assessment. We kindly ask you to state your opinion of the questionnaire in case a total of ”quality of work” is summed up for your company. Furthermore, at the back of this form please find a score sheet for your answers – in order to give you an overview of your quality of work. This questionnaire is a part of the product series ”Working-life Quality – A Tool for employees and managers”.

How to Complete the Questionnaire? Please mark the answer you choose – with a circle: How do you feel at work? 1 2 3 4 5

Very good Good Neither good nor bad Bad Very bad

Leave out questions that you cannot answer.

You Yourself: Quality of life. How do you Feel about Your Life? Q1 1 2 3 4 5

How are you at the moment? Very good Good Neither good nor bad Bad Very bad

Working life Quality with the SEQWL Questionnaire Q2 1 2 3 4 5

How happy are you with your life right now? Very content Content Neither content nor displeased Displeased Very displeased

1 2 3 4 5

How happy are you at present? Very happy Happy Neither happy nor unhappy Unhappy Very unhappy

1 2 3 4 5

How do you feel at home? Very good Good Neither good nor bad Bad Very bad

1 2 3 4 5

How do you feel in your spare time? Very good Good Neither good nor bad Bad Very bad

Q3

Q4

Q5

Q6

135

How is your present quality of life (as you understand it) Very good Good Neither good nor bad Bad Very bad

Satisfaction with Relationships Q7-16 How content are you at present with: (Please note, for instance, that it is possible to feel satisfied in spite of a poor health)

Your health? Your material and economic conditions?

Very content 1 1

Content 2 2

Neither nor 3

Displeased 3

Very displeased 4 5 4 5

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen and Joav Merrick Table. Continued

Your intimate relationship? Your parents? (Please answer even though your parents have passed away) Your situation concerning children? (Please answer even though you have no children) Your relationship with your friends? Your relationship with acquaintances? Society – your environment? Nature around you? Your work?

Very content

Content

Neither nor

Displeased

Very displeased

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Needs Q 17 How well are your basic needs fulfilled at the moment? (This means physical needs such as food, clothes, temperature, dwelling, sleep, private life and safety.) 1 Very well 2 Well 3 Neither very well nor well 4 Badly 5 Very badly 6 I do not have these needs

Working life Quality with the SEQWL Questionnaire

137

Q 18 How well are your social needs fulfilled for the time being? (For instance your need for human warmth, recognition, friendship and social togetherness.) 1 Very well 2 Well 3 Neither good nor bad 4 Badly 5 Very badly

Q 19 How well realized is your need to prove useful – at present? (For instance a need to help others, to keep the world going or make it better.) 1 Very well 2 Well 3 Neither well nor badly 4 Badly 5 Very badly 6 I do not have this need Q 20 1 2 3 4 5 6

How well realized is your need for an exciting and varied life – at present? Very well Well Neither well nor badly Badly Very badly I do not have such a need

Q 21 How well realized is your need to unfold your true potential – at present? (For instance, a need to develop your insight and your drive, in order to live in conformity with yourself – to a greater extent.) 1 Very well 2 Well 3 Neither well nor badly 4 Badly 5 Very badly 6 I do not have this need

The Job: Mastery Skills Q 22 How good are you at your work? 1 2 3

Very good Good Neither good nor bad

138

Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen and Joav Merrick 4 5

Bad Very bad

Q 23 How good are you within your field of activity, if you compare yourself with the best people? 1 Very good 2 Good 3 Neither good nor bad 4 Bad 5 Very bad Q 24 How good a professional are you, compared to how good you could be? 1 Very good 2 Good 3 Neither good nor bad 4 Bad 5 Very bad Q 25 To which extent are you using all your skills? 1 2 3 4 5

To a very large extent Very much Average Below average Far below average

The Character of your Work Q 26 How varied is your work? 1 2 3 4 5

Very varied Varied Neither varied nor monotonous Monotonous Very monotonous

Q 27 How many hours a week do you work? _________ Q 28 How many hours are you paid for weekly? _________ Q 29 How often are you bored, because there is too little to do? 1 2 3 4 5

Very rarely Rarely Part of the time Most of the time Almost always


139

Q 30 How often are you frustrated about ‘too much to do’? 1 2 3 4 5


Q 31 How often time are you bored because your work is too easy? 1 2 3 4 5


Q 32 How much of the time are you frustrated about your work being too difficult? 1 Very rarely 2 Rarely 3 Part of the time 4 Most of the time 5 Almost always Q 33 How stressed are you at work? 1 2 3 4 5

Not at all stressed Partly stressed A bit stressed Very stressed Almost ‘dying from stress’

Q 34 How is your work affecting your health, physically? 1 It is very beneficial 2 It is beneficial 3 It is neither beneficial nor harmful 4 It is harmful 5 It is very harmful Q 35 How does work affect your mental well-being? 1 2 3 4 5

It is very beneficial It is beneficial It neither beneficial nor harmful It is harmful It is very harmful

140


Influence Q 36 How clear is the goal of your work? 1 2 3 4 5

Very clear Clear Neither clear nor unclear Unclear Very unclear

Q 37 To which extent do you exert an influence on the goal of your work? (Do you make your own decisions as to what you want to do?) 1 To a very large extent 2 To a large extent 3 Average 4 Below average 5 Far below average Q 38 To which extent can you decide how to do your work? (freedom to accomplish your tasks the way you want it) 1 To a very large extent 2 To a large extent 3 Average 4 Below average 5 Far below average

The Experience of Working Q 39 How are you at work? 1 2 3 4 5

Very good Good Neither good nor bad Bad Very bad

Q 40 To which extent do you work with what you like best? 1 To a very large extent 2 To a large extent 3 Neither high nor low extent 4 Below average 5 Far below average Q 41 How much job satisfaction do you experience at work? 1 2 3

Very much Much Neither much nor little

Working life Quality with the SEQWL Questionnaire 4 5

141 Little Very little

Q 42 How much meaning do you experience at work? 1 Very much 2 Much 3 Neither much nor little 4 Little 5 Very little

Commitment Q 43 How interesting is your work? 1 2 3 4 5

Very interesting Interesting Neither interesting nor uninteresting Uninteresting Very uninteresting

Q 44 How committed are you to your work? 1 2 3 4 5

Very committed Committed Average Hardly any commitment No commitment at all

Q 45 How much do your burn for your work? 1 2 3 4 5

I burn I am hot I am warm I am cold I am ice-cold

Q 46 How much of your time spent at work are you in ‘flow’ (That’s to say that can you forget yourself and vanish into concentration)? 1 Almost always 2 Most of the time 3 Part of the time 4 Rarely 5 Very rarely Q 47 How is work prioritised in your life? 1 2 3 4 5

Work is the most important thing in my life Work is more important than my private life Work and private life are equally important Private life is most important Work is a necessary evil

142


Salary and Status Q 48 How much do you earn annually before tax? 1 2 3 4 5

More than 40.000 Euro. 30.001 - 40.000 Euro. 20.001 - 30.000 Euro. 10.001 - 20.000 Euro. 0 – 10.000 Euro

Q 49 Which status do you have at work? 1 Very high status 2 High status 3 Neither high nor low status 4 Low status 5 Very low status Q 50 Which status have you acquired off work due to your position at work? 1 Very high status 2 High status 3 Neither high nor low status 4 Low status 5 Very low status Q 51 How sure are you to keep your job? 1 2 3 4 5

Very sure Sure Neither sure nor unsure Unsure Very unsure

Q 52 How promising does your future at work appear to be? (Prospects of promotion, a good career, a company of your own etc.) 1 Very good 2 Good 3 Neither good nor bad 4 Bad 5 Very bad

Professional and Personal Development Q 53 How many good challenges do you find at work – at present? 1 There is nothing but challenges 2 Many 3 A few 4 Few 5 None


143

Q 54 How much do you develop professionally? 1 I am developing tremendously 2 I do develop a lot 3 I develop a bit 4 I develop very little 5 I do not develop at all Q 55 What are the prospects for you as to further professional training on the job? 1 Very good 2 Good 3 Neither good nor bad 4 Bad 5 Very bad Q 56 How much do you develop as a human through your work? (your personal character) 1 I am in the midst of a tremendous development 2 I develop a lot 3 I develop a bit 4 I develop very little 5 I do not develop at all

Organization: Fellowship (’Organization’ does not mean ’union’, but ’private or public enterprise’.)

Attachment Q 57 How important is your person to the organization? 1 Very important 2 Important 3 Neither important nor unimportant 4 Unimportant 5 Very unimportant Q 58 How important is this particular organization to you? 1 Very important 2 Important 3 Neither important nor unimportant 4 Unimportant 5 Very unimportant

144


Q 59 How much responsability do you feel towards your organization? 1 2 3 4 5

Q 60 How well are you treated by the organization? 1 2 3 4 5

Very much Much Average Little Very little

Very good Good Neither good nor badly Badly Very badly

Information Q 61 How well are you informed by management as to what happens within the organization? 1 Very well informed 2 Well informed 3 Neither well nor badly informed 4 Badly informed 5 Very badly informed Q 62 How well do you keep up with events within the organization (except from gossip)? 1 Very well 2 Well 3 Neither well nor badly 4 Badly 5 Very badly Q 63 How good are you at informing management on what agitates you? 1 Very good 2 Good 3 Neither good nor bad 4 Bad 5 Very bad


145

Q 64 How is the reaction from management on your input?(for instance proposals for improvement, briefing on personal matters) 1 Very good 2 Good 3 Neither good nor bad 4 Bad 5 Very bad

Cooperation Q 65 How are you at cooperating? 1 2 3 4 5

very good good neither good nor bad bad very bad

Q 66 How often are you praised for your work? 1 2 3 4 5 Q 67 How thoroughly is your work evaluated? 1 2 3 4 5

very often frequently neither often nor frequently not often very rarely

very thoroughly thoroughly neither thoroughly nor superficially superficially very superficially

Q 68 How are you at solving your own conflicts at work? 1 2 3 4 5


Q 69 Do you think your colleagues take enough responsibility when you cooperate? 1 very much 2 frequently 3 average 4 little 5 very little

146


Q 70 Do you think you take enough responsibility when you cooperate? 1 2 3 4 5

very much frequently average little very little

Working Environments Q 71 How is your physical working environments? 1 2 3 4 5


Q 72 How is your psychological working environment? 1 2 3 4 5


Management Q 73 As a whole, how is the management in your organization? 1 2 3 4 5


Q 74 How is your immediate superior as a manager? 1 2 3 4 5


Q 75 How are you at cooperating with your manager? 1 2 3 4

very good good neither good nor bad bad

Working life Quality with the SEQWL Questionnaire 5 Q 76 How are you at managing yourself, i.e. self-discipline? 1 2 3 4 5 Q 77 How are you at managing others? 1 2 3 4 5

147 very bad

very good good neither good nor bad bad very bad very good good neither good nor bad bad very bad

Relations Q 78 How is your relationship with your colleagues? 1 2 3 4 5


Q 79 How is your relationship with your boss? (If you have one) 1 2 3 4 5


Q 80 How is your relationship with the organization’s executive management? 1 very good 2 good 3 neither good nor bad 4 bad 5 very bad Q 81 How is your relationship with your subordinates, if any? 1 2 3 4 5


148


Influence in the Organization Q 82 What are your possibilities of influencing the organization’s objectives? 1 very good 2 good 3 neither good nor bad 4 bad 5 very bad Q 83 What are your possibilities of influencing decisions in the organization before they are made? 1 very good 2 good 3 neither good nor bad 4 bad 5 very bad Q 84 What are your possibilities of taking new initiatives? 1 2 3 4 5


Customers/surroundings: Creating Proper Values (By ‘Creating proper values’ we mean producing values that cover real needs, not artificial ones.)

The Mission Q 85 How clear is the organization’s mission (by mission we are talking about ‘overall objective’)? 1 very clear 2 clear 3 neither clear nor unclear 4 unclear 5 very unclear Q 86 How well do you understand the organization’s mission? 1 2 3 4

very well well neither well nor badly badly

Working life Quality with the SEQWL Questionnaire 5

149 very badly

Q 87 How important do you think the organization’s mission is? 1 very important 2 important 3 neither important nor unimportant 4 unimportant 5 very unimportant

Quality

Q 88 How proud are you of being a member of this organization? 1 very proud 2 proud 3 neither proud nor embarrassed 4 embarrassed 5 very embarrassed

Q 89 How do you rate the quality of the organization’s product/service? 1 very good 2 good 3 neither good nor bad 4 bad 5 very bad

Efficiency Q 90 How efficient do you think your organization is? 1 2 3 4 5

very efficient efficient neither efficient nor inefficient inefficient very inefficient

Q 91 How well does the organization utilize the new technology? 1 2 3 4 5

very well well neither well nor badly badly very badly

150


Q 92 How well does the organization utilize its human resources (employees’ talents and abilities)? 1 very well 2 well 3 neither well nor badly 4 badly 5 very badly Q 93 How well does the organization utilize material resources (think of waste of time, materials, packaging etc.)? 1 very well 2 well 3 neither well nor badly 4 badly 5 very badly

Ethics Q 94 How much does the organization pollute the environment? 1 2 3 4 5 Q 95 How ethical do you think the organization is? 1 2 3 4 5

very little pollution a little pollution some pollution much pollution very much pollution

very ethical ethical neither ethical nor unethical unethical very unethical

Creating Proper Values Q 96 How valuable are you to the organization? 1 2 3 4 5

very valuable valuable neither valuable nor worthless rather worthless totally worthless

Q 97 What is your relationship with customers/users/clients? 1 2 3 4 5



151

Q 98 To what extent do you think the organization is a success? 1 to a very great extent 2 to a great extent 3 to neither a great nor a small extent 4 to a small extent 5 to a very small extent Q 99 To what extent do you think that the organization’s product/service improves the customers’ quality of life? (maybe as a sub-contractor) 1 to a very great extent 2 to a great extent 3 to neither a great nor a small extent 4 to a small extent 5 to a very small extent Q 100 How useful is the organization to the community? 1 2 3 4 5

indispensable very useful of some use not very useful useless

Q 101 How well is the organization doing economically? 1 2 3 4 5

very well well neither well nor badly badly very badly

Q 102 In your opinion, to what extent is the organization helping to develop people and the community in a positive direction? 1 to a very great extent 2 to a great extent 3 neither to a great nor a small extent 4 to a small extent 5 to a very small extent

Personal Evaluation of Quality of Working Life Q 103 How is your quality of working life (as you understand it)? 1 2 3 4 5


152


Assessment and Critique of the Questionnaire (Q 1-103) Q 104 How easy was it to complete the questionnaire? 1 2 3 4 5

very easy easy neither easy nor difficult difficult very difficult

Q 105 How long did it take you to complete the questionnaire? 1 less than a quarter of an hour 2 l/4 - 1/2 hour 3 1/2 - 1 hour 4 1 - 2 hours 5 more than 2 hours Q 106 What do you think of dividing quality of working life into four main subjects (quality of life, mastery, solidarity, creating proper values)? 1 very good 2 good 3 neither good nor bad 4 bad 5 very bad Q 107 How safe do you feel taking part in this survey? 1 2 3 4 5 Q 108 How honest were your answers? 1 2 3 4 5

very safe safe neither safe nor unsafe unsafe very unsafe

very honest honest neither honest nor dishonest dishonest very dishonest


153

Q 109 While answering did you find there were questions that would cause ethical problems at your place of work?

1 yes

2 doubtful

3 no

Q 110 Do you think the questionnaire covers all relevant subjects necessary for your quality of working life? 1 yes

2 doubtful

3 no

Q 111 If no or in doubt, write the subjects missing: QWL Rating Scale (Please See Table 2 for the Principle of Scoring) SCORING of SEQWL: QWL= (QOL+ Mastery + Fellowship + Creation of real value):4= (((Q1+Q2+Q3+Q4+Q5+Q6):6 + (Q7+Q8+Q9+Q10+Q11+Q12+Q13+Q14+Q15):8 (Q17+Q18+Q19+Q20+Q21):5):3 + ((Q22+Q23+Q24+Q25):4 + (Q26+Q29+Q30+Q31+Q32+Q33+Q34+Q35):8 + (Q36+Q37+Q38):3 (Q40+Q41+Q42):3 + (Q43+Q44+Q45+Q46+Q47):5 + (Q48+Q49+Q50+Q51+Q52):5 (Q53+Q54+Q55+Q56):4 ):7 + ((Q57+Q58+Q59+Q60):4 + (Q61+Q62+Q63+Q64):4 + (Q65+Q66+Q67+Q68+Q69+Q70):6 (Q71+Q72):2 + (Q73+Q74+Q75+Q76+Q77):5 + (Q78+Q79+Q80+Q81):4 + (Q82+Q83+Q84)):7 + ((Q85+Q86+Q87):3 + (Q88+Q89):2 + (Q90+Q91+Q92+Q93):4 + (Q94+Q95):2 (Q96+Q97+Q98+Q99+Q100Q+10Q1+1Q02):7):5 ):4 CONTROL: Self-assessed QWL: (Q16+Q39+Q103):3

+

+ +

+

+

REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

[6]

[7]

Ventegodt S. Working life quality. Copenhagen: Quality Life Researchy Center, 1996. Spiegel D, Bloom JR, Kraemer HC, Gottheil E. Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer. Lancet 1989;2(8668):888-91. Ornish D, Brown SE, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, Armstrong WT et al. Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary heart disease? Lancet 1990;336(8708):129-33. Ventegodt S. [Quality of life in Denmark. Results from a population survey]. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1995. [Danish] Ventegodt S. [The quality of life of 4,500 31-33 year-olds. Result from a study of the Prospective Pediatric Cohort of persons born at the University Hospital in Copenhagen]. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. [Danish] Ventegodt S. [The quality of life and factors in pregnancy, birth and infancy. Results from a follow-up study of the Prospective Pediatric Cohort of persons born at the University Hospital in Copenhagen 1959-61]. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1995. [Danish] Ventegodt S. [The quality of life and major events in life]. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 2000. [Danish]

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Søren Ventegodt, Niels Jørgen Andersen and Joav Merrick Ventegodt S, Merrick J, Andersen NJ. Quality of life theory I. The IQOL theory: An integrative theory of the global quality of life concept. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:1030-40. Maslow AH. Toward a psychology of being. New York: Van Nostrand, 1962. Frankl V. Man’s search for meaning. New York: Pocket Books, 1985. Ventegodt S. Measuring the quality of life. From theory to practice. Copenhagen: Forskningscentrets Forlag, 1996. Lindholt JS, Ventegodt S, Henneberg EW. Development and validation of QoL5 for clinical databases. A short, global and generic questionnaire based on an integrated theory of the quality of life. Eur J Surg 2002;168(2):107-13. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Long-term effects of maternal medication on global quality of life measured with SEQOL. Results from the Copenhagen Perinatal Birth Cohort 195961. ScientificWorld Journal 2003;3:707-13.



Chapter 11

ANTONOVSKY SALUTOGENESIS RELATED TO WORK Søren Ventegodt, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick 40 patients with low or very low self-assessed working ability were treated with psychodynamic short time therapy complemented with body-work. They received in average 20 sessions at a prize of 1,600 EURO. The Body Work was inspired by Marion Rosen and helped the patients to confront old emotional pain from childhood trauma repressed to the body-mind. Results: 52.5% (95% CI: 36.1% - 68.5%) of patients recovered their self-assessed working ability (from 4.2 to 2.4 up the five point Likert scale (p500. The responders improved their self-assessed physical health (from 3.3 to 2.6; 0.6 step up the five point Likert Scale, p=0.01), self-assessed mental health (from 3.8 to 2.5, p

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Health and happiness from meaningful work: research in quality of working life

Quality of Life, Health and Happiness

Quality of Life and Mental Health Services

Working on the Quality of Working Life: Developments in Europe (International Series on the Quality of Working Life)

Work, Happiness, and Unhappiness

The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work

Making Life Meaningful

Quality of Life and the Millennium Challenge: Advances in Quality-of-Life Studies, Theory and Research (Social Indicators Research Series)

Quality of Life Research: A Critical Introduction

Community and Quality of Life

Handbook of Social Indicators and Quality of Life Research

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Health Care Matters: Pharmaceuticals, Obesity, and the Quality of Life

Offshoring and Working Conditions in Remote Work

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Happiness and the Good Life

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Investigating Quality of Urban Life: Theory, Methods, and Empirical Research

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The Power of Silence: An Interpretation of Life in its Relation to Health and Happiness

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