The Work-Related Quality of Life scale for healthcare workers Darren Van Laar, Julian A. Edwards & Simon Easton Accepted for publication 22 June 2007 Correspondence to J.A. Edwards: e-mail: julian.edwards@port.ac.uk Darren Van Laar BSc MSc MErgS PhD CPsychol Principal Lecturer Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK Julian A. Edwards BSc PhD Research Fellow Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK Simon Easton BSc MA CPsychol Senior Lecturer Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK VAN LAAR D VAN LAAR D ., EDWARDS J EDWARDS J .A . & EASTON S EASTON S . (2007) (2007) The Work-Related Quality of Life scale for healthcare workers. Journal of Advanced Nursing 60(3), 325–333 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04409.x Abstract Title. The Work-Related Quality of Life scale for healthcare workers Aim. This paper is a report of a study to develop and test the psychometric prop- erties of the Work-Related Quality of Life scale for healthcare workers. Background. As problems associated with stress and job satisfaction are evident for healthcare workers and nurses, a reliable tool to assess employees’ quality of working life is required. However, previous research has produced inconsistent factor structures and inadequate psychometric properties for a range of quality of working life measures. This new scale expands the concept of quality of working life by incorporating a broad six-factor structure derived from a theoretical review of the field. Method. We used data from a 2003 survey of 953 healthcare workers. Eighty-six per cent of the sample is female and 36% had been employed by the organization for 1–5 years. Approximately 50% of workers were employed full-time. Findings. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis using split-half data sets produced a good fit and a reliable 23-item, six-factor measurement model of Work-Related Quality of Life. The factors generated were labelled: Job and Career Satisfaction, General Well-Being, Home–Work Interface, Stress at Work, Control at Work and Working Conditions. Conclusion. The Work-Related Quality of Life measure is one of the most succinct yet psychometrically valid and reliable Quality of Working Life scales in the liter- ature. We propose that it can appropriately be used in healthcare organizations to assess quality of working life. Further research is required to refine the instrument and assess its applicability to other areas. Keywords: health psychology, healthcare workers, instrument validation, Quality of Working Life, stress, well-being, Work-Related Quality of Life Introduction Quality of Working Life (QoWL) can be seen as the way in which work is good for you in the widest context in which an employee would evaluate their job. The assessment of employ- ees’ QoWL would therefore seem important and can provide employers with valuable information about their workforce. Assessment of QoWL in healthcare workers requires valid and reliable tools as a basis for effective intervention to tackle the well-established pressures affecting this occupational group. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY JAN Ó 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation Ó 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 325