Professional culture fit and work-related quality of life in academic departments: a phenomenographic approach.

Abstract

Although quality of life (QoL) has been a highly investigated issue over the last decades, there is still little agreement on its definition, and even less information about the validity of its measurements in specific settings. Additionally, in complex institutions like a university, functional units such as academic department usually are more valid levels of analysis than institutional ones, and their cultures can have a distinctive effect in its members' perception of QoL. In this study, faculty members of three academic units were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods in order to establish possible connections between their fit and their idea of quality of life. Results show different connotations and different relevant dimensions included in the concept of QoL, according to departmental culture and person-culture fit perception.