IRJMST Vol 9 Issue 5 [Year 2018] ISSN 2250 – 1959 (0nline) 2348 – 9367 (Print) International Research Journal of Management Science & Technology http://www.irjmst.com Page 64 EMPLOYEES’ QUALITY OF WORK LIFE – INFLUENCING FACTORS IN CERAMIC INDUSTRY Dr. K. TAMIZHJYOTHI Assistant Professor in Business Administration Annamalai University Annamalai nagar – 608002, India ABSTRACT Quality of work life (QWL) is basically a philosophy or an approach that can saturate many activities in the workplace. Previous studies show that there is an optimistic relationship between these factors and quality of work life. The present study intends to examine the quality of work life in ceramic industry. This study was conducted among the employees working in ceramic industry in Tamilnadu with a sample size of 210 using simple random sampling method. The result shows that the quality of work life has a significantly influenced by job satisfaction, safe and healthy working environment, prospects for growth and development, welfare measures and social relevance whereas it is not influenced by knowledge and perception about the job, social motivation and societal encouragement, and work itself. Keywords: Quality of work life, welfare measures, social relevance, job satisfaction, working environment INTRODUCTION In any business firm, employees are the major components. The management of those employees is the most important part of every manager’s job. Particularly, it is the specialized responsibility of the Human Resource Department of the organisation to manage its employees. In the 21 st century, the competitive business environment is distinguished by factors such as developing and changing workforce in a high tech workplace that demands and rewards ever-increasing skills and increasing global competition in almost every sector of the country. A growing number of companies recognize that employees are more likely to choose a firm and stay there if they believe that it offers a high quality of work life. Hom and Griffeth (1994) in their studies on employee turnover have found that “A high quality of work life is related to job satisfaction, which in turn is a strong predictor of absenteeism and turnover.” It can also be said that it is appraisal of how safe and satisfied employees are in their jobs. Unlike other management approaches, Quality of work is not based on a particular theory and it does not advocate a particular technique for application. Deborah Shaw Cohen (1979), in his analysis of Quality of work, has described it as “a process of joint decision making, collaboration and building mutual respect between management and employees”. The purpose of changing the work climate is that the human-technological-organisational interface leads to a better Quality of work. Flippo (1984) argues that quality of work life is basically a philosophy or an approach that can saturate many activities in the workplace. In the performance appraisal program, joint superior- subordinate review and evaluation possibly will be characterized as an improvement in quality of work life. Job enlargement and enrichment, instead of highly specialized job assignments, are also frequently described as quality of work life programs. Joint union-management programs to reduce