BACHELOR OF COMMERCE
SEMESTER V,
Submitted
By
PTVA’S
(Roll no.10726)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Last but not the least I also would like to thank my professors
who have helped and encouraged me throughout the working of the
project.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Work is an integral part of everybody’s life. On an average an
employee spends around 12 hours at his workplace. This is nearly one third of
our entire life. It should yield job satisfaction, fulfillment of a task done, peace
of mind and give a satisfaction of usage of time fruitfully and completely. All
such factors determine the Quality of Work life of any employee in an
organization.
I have undertaken the project on “Quality o f Work Life” as a part of
the curriculum of the Final Year of Bachelors in Banking and Insurance. The
main reason I took up this project is to learn how different work life
situations affect employees in their working styles.
The content of the project is divided into two parts. The first part
consists of the Secondary data which explains Quality of Work life as a
concept. The second part consists of the Primary data which gives a
Comparison between the Quality of Work life of employees of the Axis
Bank (which represents the Private sector banks) and Central Bank of India
(which represents the Public sector banks).
The first part is again divided into nine chapters and the second part is
divided into the primary data, conclusion, annexure and the bibliography.
The 1st chapter deals with the introductory part to the Quality of Work
life. The chapter includes various definitions of Quality of work life and
explains its concept.
The 2nd chapter from the contents explains the position of Quality of
work life in the Banking and I.T industry and its impact on them.
The 3rd chapters deal with various tools of Quality of Work life. The
chapter consists of advantages and limitations about various tools like
quality circle, suggestion schemes, autonomous work teams etc. that are used
by organizations to improve the Quality of Work life of employees.
Families and Work Institute was establishes in 1989 which is a non
government organization which conducts the National Study of the
Changing Workforce (NSCW), a nationally representative sample of
employed workers , designed to collect and compile information on the work
and personal lives of the U.S. workforce. Chapter 4 deals with the objectives
of this ngo and its benefits to organizations.
Chapter 5 summarizes the various factors affecting the Quality of
Work life like pay, benefits, job security, worker participation etc. These
factors determine the Quality of Work life of an employee.
6th chapter describes about the Work-Related Quality of Life scale
(WRQoL) which is an assessment device on the basis of 6 core factors that
determine the variation in the Quality of Work life of employees.
Chapter no 7 and 8 explain about the aspects, benchmarks and results
of high Quality of Work life. Chapter no 7 establishes a relation between the
inducements and contributions in an organization.
Chapter no 9 describes about a Research review by Miller, Kirkman,
Metz, and Mirvis & Lawler. The research suggests four dimensions of
Quality of Work life.
The primary data consists of a Comparison of Quality of Work life
between the employees of Axis bank and Central bank of India at their
Mulund branches. The data was collected and analyzed to draw valid
conclusions and suggestions.
CONTENTS
PART I
1-4
1. INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY OF WORKLIFE
EMPLOYEE QUALITY OF WORKLIFE IN BANKS 5-6
AND I .T INDUSTRY
PART
II
1. PRIMARY DATA 28-56
28-51
2. COMPARISON OF QUALITY OF WORKLIFE
BETWEEN AXIS BANK AND CENTRAL BANK
3. CONCLUSION 52
4. ANNEXURES 53-55
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY 56
➢ DESIGN OF STUDY
• OBJECTIVES:
✔ To understand what is Quality of Work life.
• METHODOLOGY:
✔ Secondary Data:
The Secondary data in the project deals with the concept of
Quality of Work life and its various elements. The data and
research has been collectively done through various internet
websites and books based on Quality of Work life.
✔ Primary Data:
• LIMITATIONS:
INTRODUCTION
DEFINITION
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MEANING
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OTHER DEFINITIONS:
➢ There are also few other definitions for Quality of work life but the main
ones are-
*RICHARD E WALTON
CONCEPT
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In today's high tech, fast-paced world, the work environment is very different
than it was a generation ago. According to the Institute of Industrial Engineers,
it is not uncommon for a person to change careers an average of six times in his
lifetime. It is now rare for a person to stay with a single bank or financial
institution his or her entire working life, because employees are often willing to
leave a bank for better opportunities. Banks or any organization needs to find
ways not only to hire qualified people, but also to retain them.
Unfortunately, many employees these days feel they are working harder, faster,
and longer hours than ever before. Job-related employee stress can lead to lack
of commitment to the corporation, poor productivity, and even leaving the
company; all of which are of serious concern to the management. Many
employees bring work home with them on a regular basis, especially now that it
is so easy for them to do that. With the wide availability of cell phones, pagers,
personal digital assistants (PDAs), and computers, employees find it harder to
get away from the office.
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high demand for programmers and engineers. Most had their choice of high-
paying jobs as technology companies competed to recruit the best of the
employees.
This is not the case today. In June 2004, Meta Group, Inc. surveyed 650
companies and found that nearly 75 percent of the companies acknowledged
morale problems among their IT staffs. This number was up from the year
before, which showed that two-third of the total number of companies cited
poor worker morale as an issue. Perhaps this is because the U.S. technology
sector experienced widespread layoffs during the third quarter of 2004. In
general, when layoffs happen the remaining employees are forced to pick up the
workload of those who were laid off. This leads to added responsibility and
longer work hours, often without additional compensation. This in turn leads to
stress, burnout, and resentment. Other causes of employee dissatisfaction
include low wages, lack of challenges, insufficient resources, unrealistic
expectations, pressure to produce, willfully blind management, unreasonable
policies and procedures, difficulty in balancing family and work, and increased
health benefit costs.
1.Quality Circles
A quality circle is a completely voluntary group of 6 to 8 employees who meet
regularly during company time once every fortnight or every month under the
leadership of a trained foreman or section head to examine work-related
problems that affect the Quality of Work life of rest of the employees and
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Quality circles were first developed in Japan in the early sixties. Today, these
circles have spread to many other countries including India.
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resistance which is usually found when such forums are created by the
government or management.
• It makes full use of a worker’s potential.
• It provides the worker autonomy and sense of achievement
• It ensures greater participation and involvement of a worker in the day-
to-day functioning of his department.
• It helps in finding solutions to several problems that obstruct the
smooth working of employees and in removing cobwebs and bottlenecks
in daily functioning.
• It helps in creating cohesive groups with improved morale.
2. Suggestion Schemes
It is an incentive scheme designed to encourage and reward the submission of
valuable and practical ideas of the employees for improving operational
efficiency in various areas, such as, work environment, work movements, layout
of machines substitution of materials, improvement in tools, effective use of
safely precautions and devices, elimination of defective production and waste,
maximum utilization of existing machinery and so on. When employees see that
their ideas count their dignity is raised. Instead of feeling numb like robots they
feel important.
The direct benefits of a suggestion scheme are:
• It can make work more easy
• It can make-work more safe for employees
• It can remove mistakes
• It can improve quality of work life through increase efficiency
• It can reduce costs
• It increases employees’ work morale
• It develops employee’s capabilities
• It activates communication
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Blank forms and empty suggestion boxes must be put at convenient points. The
boxes should be opened every day and suggestions acknowledged directly and
promptly. The management should set up a committee consisting of a workers’
representative. The head of Research and Development department and the
HRD/personnel manager to ensure complete impartiality in the administration
of the scheme. The committee should examine each idea without knowing the
name or the person. Alternatively, the work of the evaluation or ideas can also
be entrusted to the works committee if it already exists. Higher executives may
be excluded from getting rewards.
DRAWBACKS:
1. The scheme may face opposition from the line supervisor or staff
personnel who consider all suggestions coming from employees as a
reflection on their efficiency. This difficulty may be overcome by
involving the line supervisor or staff personnel in evaluating suggestions
and handing out rewards.
2. Employees themselves may sometimes-oppose the scheme if they fear
that a good labour-saving suggestion may result in their lay-off. This
difficulty may be overcome by assuring them before the scheme is
introduced that no labour-saving suggestion would be allowed to cause
Layoff.
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I. Personal characteristics
Participation also depends on the individual characteristics of workers. They
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cannot be ordered to participate. They must want participation and must have
the necessary skill and information to enable them to participate effectively.
An autonomous work team is one, which can plan, regulate and control its
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own work world. The management only specifies the goals-that too in
collaboration with the team and employees of the organization. The team
organizes the content and structure of its job, evaluates its own performance,
establishes its speed and chooses its production method. It makes its own
internal distribution of tasks and decides its own membership. It also decides
whether it should have a leader for regulating its internal and boundary
conditions and who that leader should be. Autonomous team approach
increases satisfaction and reduces turnover and absenteeism. Moreover, if a
breakdown occurs in one team’s operation, all other teams can continue their
operations undisturbed. This is not so in the assembly line. Milliken &
Company in the United States employs 14,300 workers and establishes
autonomous work teams’ .The Company has achieved a flat management
structure in which associates, working primarily in self-managed work teams,
exercise considerable authority. Self managed work teams are groups of
employees who have the power to make operating decisions and operate the
system designed by managers. This approach has worked so well that Milliken
has eliminated nearly 700 management positions since 1981, freeing that many
individuals to serve as process-improvement specialists. Since the early1980s,
productivity has increased by 42 per cent, and sales have risen significantly.
There are also a number of independent banks that conduct employee surveys
to gather this information.
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Every five years FWI conducts the National Study of the Changing
Workforce (NSCW), a nationally representative sample of employed workers
designed to collect and compile information on the work and personal/family
lives of the U.S. workforce. The study is widely used by policy makers,
employers, the media, and all those interested in the widespread impacts of the
changing conditions of work life.
The 2002 NSCW showed a slight increase from 1992 in the number of
companies that offer work-life supports on the job both specific benefit
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entitlements and less formal policies and practices. Despite this, the survey
showed a large increase in the number of employees with families who felt
there was interference between their jobs and their family lives, than employees
25 years ago. The NSCW also found "the importance of supportive work-life
policies and practices, such as flexible work arrangements, is clear when they
are available. Employees exhibit more positive work outcomes, such as job
satisfaction, commitment to employer, and retention, as well as more positive
life outcomes, such as less interference between job and family life, less
negative spillover from job to home, greater life satisfaction, and better mental
health."
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The major factors that affect Quality of Work life may be stated as
follows:
1. Pay
Quality of Work life is basically built around the concept of equitable
pay. In the days ahead, employees may want to participate in the profits of the
firm as well. Employees must be paid their due share in the progress and
prosperity of the firm.
2. Benefits
Workers throughout the globe have raised their expectations over the
years and now feel entitled to benefits that were once considered a part of the
bargaining process.
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3. Job Security
Job security is the probability that an individual will keep his or her job.
A job with a high level of job security is such that a person with the job would
have a small chance of becoming unemployed Employees want stability of
employment. They do not like to be the victims of whimsical personal policies
and stay at the mercy of employers.
ii. Staggered hours: Here groups of employees begin and end work at
different intervals.
iii. Compressed workweek: It involves more hours of work per day for
fewer days, per week.
1. Occupational Stress
Occupational mental-health programmes dealing with stress are
beginning to emerge as a new and important aspect of QUALITY OF
WORKLIFE programmes. Obviously, and individual suffering from an
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2. Worker Participation
Employees have a genuine hunger for participation in organizational
issues affecting their lives. Naturally they demand far more participation in the
decision making process at the workplace.
3. Social Integration
The work environment should provide opportunities for preserving an
employee's personal identify and self-esteem through freedom from prejudice, a
sense of community, interpersonal openness and the absence of stratification in
the organization.
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There are few recognized measures of quality of working life, and of those that
exist have evidence of validity and reliability, that is, there is a very limited
literature based on peer reviewed evaluations of available assessments. A recent
statistical analysis of a new measure, the Work-Related Quality of Life scale
(WRQoL), indicates that this assessment device should prove to be a useful
instrument, although further evaluation would be useful. The WRQoL
measure uses 6 core factors to explain most of the variation in an
individual’s quality of working life:
2. Working Conditions
3. General Well-Being
4. Home-Work Interface
5. Stress at Work
6. Control at Work.
The Job & Career Satisfaction (JCS) scale of the Work-Related Quality of Life
scale (WRQoL) is said to reflect an employee’s feelings about, or evaluation of,
their satisfaction or contentment with their job and career and the training they
receive to do it. Within the WRQoL measure, Job & Career Satisfaction (JCS)
scale is reflected by questions asking how satisfied people feel about their work.
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It has been proposed that this Positive Job Satisfaction factor is influenced by
various issues including clarity of goals and role ambiguity, appraisal,
recognition and reward, personal development career benefits and enhancement
and training needs.
The General well-being (GWB) scale of the Work-Related Quality of Life scale
(WRQoL) aims to assess the extent to which an individual feels good or content
with themselves, in a way which may be independent of their work situation. It
is suggested that general well-being both influences, and is influenced by work.
Mental health problems, predominantly depression and anxiety disorders, are
common, and may have a major impact on the general well-being of the
population. The WRQoL GWB factor assesses issues of mood, depression and
anxiety, life satisfaction, general quality of life, optimism and happiness.
The WRQoL Stress at Work sub-scale (SAW) reflects the extent to which an
individual perceives they have excessive pressures, and feel stressed at work.
The WRQoL SAW factor is assessed through items dealing with demand and
perception of stress and actual demand overload. Whilst it is possible to be
pressured at work and not be stressed at work, in general, high stress is
associated with high pressure.
The Control at Work (CAW) subscale of the WRQoL scale addresses how
much employees feel they can control their work through the freedom to
express their opinions and being involved in decisions at work. Perceived
control at work as measured by the Work-Related Quality of Life scale
(WRQoL) is recognized as a central concept in the understanding of
relationships between stressful experiences, behavior and health. Control at
work, within the theoretical model underpinning the WRQoL, is influenced by
issues of communication at work, decision making and decision control.
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The WRQoL Home-Work Interface scale (HWI) measures the extent to which
an employer is perceived to support the family and home life of employees.
This factor explores the interrelationship between home and work life domains.
Issues that appear to influence employee HWI include adequate facilities at
work, flexible working hours and the understanding of managers.
The Working Conditions scale of the WRQoL assesses the extent to which the
employee is satisfied with the fundamental resources, working conditions and
security necessary to do their job effectively. Physical working conditions
influence employee health and safety and thus employee Quality of working
life. This scale also taps into satisfaction with the resources provided to help
people do their jobs.
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INDUCEMENTS = CONTRIBUTIONS
(Organization to employees) = (employee to organization)
This is the way for organization to create healthy psychological contract and
Jobs satisfaction for their members to provide them with High
QUALITYoFWORKLIFE environment.
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• High Productivity
• Increase organizational effectiveness
• High employee satisfaction
• High morale.
• Reduce the absenteeism and labor turn over
• Increase the quality of life of employees
• High employee involvement
• Peaceful industrial relation
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program assumes that a job and the work environment should be structured to
meet as many of the worker’s needs as possible.
Richard Walton has organized such aspects into eight categories. These
aspects should be integrated, coordinated and properly managed.
RESEARCH REVIEW
Miller, 1978; Kirkman, 1981; Metz, 1982; Mirvis & Lawler, 1984;
Cooper, 1988) define that the qualities of work life are broadly similar to the
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○ PRIMARY DATA
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2. Increase in responsibilities
4. Good infrastructure
• Axis bank:
• Central bank:
Here however the trend was a bit different from Axis bank. Most of
the employees gave priority to conducive and friendly atmosphere at the
workplace. Increase in responsibilities was given the last preference by most of
the employees working here.
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OBSERVATIONS-
To insure punctuality of attendance in the morning, both axis and Central bank
of India have adopted the practice of keeping a book, in which every clerk
writes his name on his arrival, and when the time has expired, a line is drawn,
which shows who has arrived in time, and who has arrived late.
IN AXIS BANK-
Here, according to the conversation had with the bank manager , applications
for promotion or leave of absence, is subject to an inquiry, whether the bank
employee is usually punctual in his attendance or not. With regard to absence
for illness, in order to have an excuse for absenting himself from the bank, it is
made sure that none of the employees pretends to be ill. Such an act would
result in disqualification for his job designation.
An employee said "The attendance records are very much considered for
the promotions and transfers of employees and a candidate who is the most
punctual gets a first preference for job enrichment schedules.” All the
employees said that punctuality is highly expected in the organization.
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100% employees said that there were actions like restigation , cancellation of
incentives, imposition of penalties etc taken for impunctual records.
IN AXIS BANK-
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It is mandatory on the part of the bank employees of Axis bank to attend the
training programs mainly conducted in the training branches at Ghatkopar,
Mumbai. The employees are willing to attend such training sessions as its
proving to be fruitful and helps them in excelling in their performance.
Axis bank has devised an outcome-oriented training process. Each and every
module is designed so that learning takes place through interaction. It is also
ensures that this learning is translated into action at the work place. Their
training programs actually deliver value to the bank. Post course surveys
conducted by them have confirmed this. They invite Organizations to give the
enriching experience to the employees, to create learning and growing
organizations. Axis Bank is also organizing executive education programs in
association with Icfian Business School - an arm of the Institute of Chartered
Financial Analysts of India, Hyderabad. In this stream following programs are
offered:
a. Finance for Non-Finance executives
Central Bank :
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In Axis bank
76% employees said that training helped them while the rest 24% employees
were of the opinion that it was of no help to them as the curriculum for training
was not as per their interest or was very exhaustive.
In Central Bank
Out of the 60% of employees who said that training is of no help to them, many
had never undergone through the bank’s training programmes. The rest 40 % of
employees who included bank officers said that training helped improving their
performance.
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efficiently working air conditioners, water coolers and computers with latest
version softwares all add to the favorability of infrastructure and ambience in
that particular branch of Axis bank. There are refreshment facilities like
availability of tea and coffee in the afternoon hours, neat and hygienic rest
rooms with adequate water supply and safe drinking water that add to the
favourability.Only 1 employee in the bank found the infrastructure and
ambience unfavorable as he was not contended with the cabin allotted to him as
he found it inconvenient.
In Central Bank:
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Bank employees cannot afford the time to relax and "wind down"
when they are faced with work variety, discrimination, favoritism, delegation
and conflicting tasks. The study also shows the degree to which some
employees tend to bring work-related problems home (and take family problems
to work) depends on their educational background, the strength of the
employees' family support, and the amount of time available for them to relax.
• However there were a certain number of employees who found their work
stressful due to reasons like lack of motivation, dislike of assignments
given to them for execution, clash of work and personal life etc.
7. Deadlines:
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8.Shift working:
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In Central Bank
Axis Bank:
In Axis bank all employees are involved in the job rotation schedule. Here, the
staff gets rotated in every 6 months and the officers get rotated in every 3 years
of their service. The flexibility and consideration is given to employees with
physical difficulties. There are no job rotations for such employees as it
becomes difficult for adaptation. For e.g. employees who are dumb and deaf.
There are meetings held to discuss issues on job rotations. Job rotations take
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place in bank for new comers to share their experience and knowledge and to
avoid any frauds.
Central Bank :
As per the survey done it was found that there could or could not
be a transfer along with a promotion of any employee working in the bank in
both the banks. It completely depends upon the organizational structure that
prevails in that particular bank. If an employee is promoted to a higher position
which is held by another officer working in the same branch, he might be
transferred or else he can be promoted to a higher position within the same
branch.
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100% employees in both Axis and Central bank of INdia said that it
cannot be stated that there are compulsory transfers along with the promotions
or not. It depends on the managerial decisions and the organizational structure.
12. TRANSFERS:
Axis Bank :
In Axis Bank or rather any private sector bank it is mandatory on the part
of the employees to take the special or routine transfers up as and when
conferred upon them. However considerations are made in case of physically
handicapped employees , females, pregnant women, senior employees etc.
Voluntary transfers are also provided at Axis bank if the reason for such a
transfer is found to be genuine. In such cases of transfer, the Personnel
Department is first consulted wether the transfer is within the immediate
working section of the employee.
Central bank:
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employee or in the vicinity of his residence. The bench also held that such
persons should not be normally transferred even on promotions.
The employees of both Axis bank and Central bank of India seemed to
have good peer relations established among themselves. On being asked as to
why according to them are peer relations important in the bank, an employee
from Central bank of India replied “It makes working more comfortable and
less stressful.”
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In Axis Bank the bank managers have a system which they call it a
“pratha” (ritual) of giving appreciation letters as a token of thanks or
acknowledgement toward the good work or performance done by the employees
in the bank. Thanking, motivating or recognizing an effort of colleagues,
subordinates and business associates through an appreciation letter is highly
recommended even in days of telecommunication, as appreciation letters are
personal in nature and thereby highly valued. Employers who appreciate their
employees through the written word in the form of employee appreciation
letters are highly regarded as very ethical and aspiring leaders. The employees
are thus encouraged to work better and attain laurels.
Central bank
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Axis bank:
On being asked whether the employees of Axis bank were contended
with their Quality of work life, the employees said that there is a bonding built
between the employees and the bank. Most of the employees were satisfied and
happy with the quality of their worklife.There were few employees who said
that they deserved a better place and bank or organization to work with and
were partially satisfied with the quality of their work life.
Central bank:
In Central bank the young staff seemed to be unsatisfied with their
work life quality due to various reasons like lack of competition, bad
infrastructure and ambience of the bank etc. However, the senior most staff and
employees working over a number of years at Central bank seemed to be pretty
much contended and have adapted themselves to the bank.
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➢ CONCLUSION:
✔ Based on the data collected along with the interpretation and
analysis following are the conclusions that can be drawn:
• The Mulund branch of Central Bank needs to improve its infrastructure
and provide better facilities and amenities, so as to improve the Quality of
work life of the employees working there.
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• There should not be much of Multi tasking expected from the bank
employees as this would not help in analyzing the skills, interests and
inbuilt specialized qualities of the employees.
➢ ANNEXURES:
1.How do you define Quality of Worklife ? Rank the following:
• Increase in responsibilities
• Good infrestructure
yes no
yes no
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yes no
yes no
yes no
• Computers
• Water coolers
• Printers
• Internet
• Rest rooms
• Air conditioners
yes no
7.Are there deadlines imposed and are you expected to follow them?
yes no
yes no
9.Are you expected to take extra responsibilities and perform ‘Multi Tasking’?
yes no
yes no
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yes no depends
yes no
yes no
yes no
yes no
➢ BIBLIOGRAPHY
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➢ WEBLIOGRAPHY
The content is collected from the following :
• www.qualityofworklife.com
• www.ask.com
• www.google.com
• www.humanresourcemanagement.com
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