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Quality of Work Life

Some Unintended Effects On the Seniority Tradition of an Industrial Union

University of New Hampshire

This article examines some unintended effects of a quality of work life (QWL) effort in a metals processing plant in the midwestern United States. The project spanned 18 months with employee surveys and interviews at both project start-up and start plus 18 months. Overall analysis demonstrated many desired effects were achieved. However, when more detailed analysis was performed, it revealed that workers of relatively low seniority benefited more than, and sometimes at the expense of. workers with relatively high seniority. Additionally, data revealed that in some respects senior workers suffered negative effects (i.e., lost ground), whereas junior workers remained unchanged. Causes of these effects are explored with recommen dations for avoiding the undesirable consequences.

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