Career values and perception of quality of work life: A study on healthcare professionals

Career values and perception of quality of work life play an important role in evaluating and directing individuals' work lives. The relationship between these two concepts has a great impact on determining the satisfaction levels of working individuals in their work lives. Therefore, the aim of this study is to reveal the effect of career values of healthcare professionals on their perception of quality of work life. In the line with this purpose, a qualitative research was conducted on a sample of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals in the health sector in Bolu. In this context, in-depth interviews were conducted with 42 participants selected by snowball sampling method through a 14-question semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was applied to the obtained participant responses. Within the framework of the research findings, it has been observed that while the career perspective of healthcare professionals shows similar characteristics among occupational groups, there are differences in terms of achieving goals. In the light of the findings, it has been determined that the career values of healthcare professionals are based on professional dedication and being beneficial to humanity. It is observed that the career values of the participants affect the way they perceive the quality of work life. In other words, a career perception based on idealistic values leads healthcare professionals to evaluate the factors that determine the quality of work life from a different perspective. At this point, even if the quality of work life elements are negative from time to time, they are in an effort to see these elements as reasonable with the influence of career values or to keep their work motivation and work performance high despite the negativities.