Efraty and Sirgy (1990) conceptualized QWL in terms of “need
satisfaction.” In their later research, Sirgy et al. (2001, p. 242) define
QWL as “employee satisfaction with a variety of needs through
resources, activities, and outcomes stemming from participation in
the workplace.” They proposed that QWL be measured in terms of
employees' needs. Specifically, seven dimensions of needs were
suggested: (a) health and safety needs (protection from ill health
and injury at work and outside of work, and enhancement of good
health); (b) economic and family needs (pay, job security, and other
family needs); (c) social needs (collegiality at work and leisure time
off work); (d) esteem needs (recognition and appreciation of work
within and outside the organization); (e) actualization needs
(realization of one's potential within the organization and as a
professional); (f) knowledge needs (learning to enhance job and
professional skills); and (h) aesthetic needs (creativity at work as well
as personal creativity and general aesthetics). The QWL measured in
our study is based on the work of Sirgy et al. (2001). As pointed out
previously, both aspects of QWL conceptualized by them, lower- and
higher-order QWL, were investigated in our study.