Quality of life for quality at work

It is a fact that the human being is a social being. This aspect is present in its physical, mental, spiritual, economic and emotional dimensions. Most people understand the social dimension in a fragmentary way, that is, from the point of view of others; "My image before others, determines my image before myself" when reality is the other way around.

Unconsciously, we all make a difference between who we really are at the individual level and our behavior at the professional level. That is why we see sick doctors (health promoters), dishonest lawyers (fighters for justice), etc. every day, as the saying goes "nobody is a prophet in his land."

Almost nobody excludes himself from this phenomenon, it is rare that he maintains a congruence between what he is as an individual and his behavior towards the public. In most cases, you still separate your individual development from the professional and constantly contrast them.

This is much observed today in business culture. Two thirds of the total time of a day, we spend it working. However, during that time, some of us tried to appear "as little human as possible." Why? "It is frowned upon to show emotions" "What matters here is how much money is produced for the company per month, not people" It seems that the concept of "humanity" and "productivity" were divorced, for that of "It is humans make mistakes »

The result is the same; industrial doses of stress and fear, mistrust of each other, and in the end the quality of work is 50% of its potential, because at the end of the day, so as not to make mistakes, each one does only the minimum to keep his job.

Even at the beginning of this century, thanks to the advances in the technical and biological sciences, organized human society was conceived based on mechanistic principles. This was transferred to the consideration of the nature of man, identifying it as a true machine driven by the desire to satisfy his biological needs.

From the above it is explained that when laying the scientific foundations of the organization of work, only the material - economic reasons will be taken into account, excluding the values ​​and other spiritual factors that constitute the essence of the human person.

Until now, with the economic, political and social changes, the world begins to take into account that quality is made by human beings and not by machines. In recent years, a transition of consciousness has been brewing in the above, due to the emergence of new theories of total quality. This factor gave rise to the phase of the emergence of ideas that proclaim, as an urgent need, that work begin to reach the Quality of Life of individuals, since it has been observed that other qualities depend on it.

In countries with an advanced culture such as Japan, they are aware of the importance of creating the conditions to achieve increases in quality, productivity and impressive improvements in the work environment. They realized that although they implemented change processes such as redesign, total quality, reengineering, etc., they did not obtain the results they expected. Corporations had to be "rehumanized". Attend and understand each other as people, The result was surprising. They achieved a notable improvement in the work environment, a climate of greater communication and better interaction was fostered… Work teams began to emerge united towards the goals, because by giving importance to people, interpersonal differences and barriers disappear giving way to commitment work based on mutual trust between employees, as well as on the personal trust that each one experiences as a result of the intense experiential process carried out. Greater and better teamwork, resulting in a more positive, warm and cooperation-oriented work environment. Independence, security and self-confidence of the people to carry out their responsibilities and to carry out the performance of their functions. Faster and more effective implementation of changes.More creative people and greater contribution of ideas, people with personal sensitivity to rediscover all their internal potentials.

No one can give what he does not have. The question is: Does a professional, as an individual, have the personal quality of life to offer these skills to others?

The word quality is derived from quality that means each of the circumstances or characters that make a person or thing superior and excellent. They distinguish people or things.

According to the illustrated encyclopedic dictionary, life means: «Substantial internal force by virtue of which the being that possesses it works. Behavior or method of living with respect to the actions of human beings »

Quality of life is a concept that goes beyond the physical since it implies mental values ​​and attitudes. His search has been a constant in the life of man since the beginning of time. Poets and philosophers have tried to define, explain, analyze what truly makes man happy.

Because the sense of happiness not only differs in each person, but also becomes different at each stage and even in each moment of that person's life. Throughout history, man has pursued this fulfillment, which they call happiness, a toy, travel, love, eternal youth, money. But this is only a fleeting moment that sometimes justifies our own existence. However, the quality of life is very similar to happiness and much more lasting, whose achievement depends on each one.

Quality of life is a positive state from all points of view. It is being in fullness, it is being able to function one hundred percent. Physically, it means being in good condition, strong, resistant to diseases or able to quickly overcome them. From a psychic point of view, it is being able to enjoy, take responsibility, fight nervous tension and stress. From an emotional point of view, it is being at peace. The person who maintains their quality of life is a person who feels good, vigorous, enthusiastic, with the smile of a person who feels good in all its dimensions.

All in all, the individual who suffers from his illness, recognizing that a superior state exists, is much better than the one who has resigned himself. Indeed, that concerned person is minimally aware of his own desires for improvement, which puts him on the road to self-realization. What it lacks is recognizing its basic deficiencies, satisfying them and reaching its lost values. There are many more individuals who, suffering the same condition, are unable to listen to their own desires and are only guided by the exterior.

Maslow in his book speaks of biological wisdom, an innate tendency in man to choose what is beneficial to him. Or, at least, to wish it. Knowing, then, that there is sufficient biological knowledge in us to be able to recognize what is adequate for our well-being, it seems contradictory that, despite having clearly marked the path, without realizing it, we insist on taking the opposite direction. In this way, many of us escape the possibility of growth. We have lost the instinct to achieve quality of life.

Maslow offers us the following examples of the distinctive characteristics of the self-realized individual:

1. More efficient perception of reality and more comfortable relationships with it.

Maslow viewed these symptoms as an unusual ability to detect false or dishonest personality and to judge people correctly. Healthy subjects accept and like the unknown, ambiguous, or unstructured. They search for the truth not because of a catastrophic need for certainty, security, definitiveness and order, and for this reason, they can find in doubt and uncertainty a pleasantly stimulating challenge.

2. Acceptance (me, others, nature).

"It would make a bad impression to say that they are satisfied with themselves," Maslow said. "What we should say instead is that they can take the weaknesses and sins, weaknesses and evils of human nature with the same unconditional spirit with which one accepts the characteristics of nature" (21)

When speaking of acceptance, Maslow refers to that complete acceptance of natural bodily functions, with a corresponding lack of dislikes and aversions. There is no absolute lack of guilt or shame, but rather these feelings focus on measurable deficiencies "stubborn remnants of psychological ill health" (eg, prejudice, jealousy, envy) and failures in the species, culture or group in the long run.

3. Spontaneity.

Maslow asserted that self-realizing people are more spontaneous and informal in their inner lives than in their external behavior. The convention does not prevent them from doing what they consider important, but they do not make that a big problem when it comes to minor customs or regulations.

4. Centralization of problems.

Self-actualized subjects are more concerned with philosophical or ethical questions. They live within the widest possible frame of reference and work within a structure of values ​​that are broad and universal.

5. The quality of separation; need for privacy.

The self-realized person likes solitude and privacy to a much greater degree than ordinary people. Maslow does not apply the adjective of introverts to them, but prefers the term separation, to describe a certain calm, withdrawal and dignity that the self-realists possess.

6. Autonomy; independence of culture and environment.

The self-realizing person depends for his own development on his own resources; she does not find her main slackfactions in the world or in other people. That independence contributes to her stoic natural resistance to blows, frustrations and privations.

7. Continuous freshness of appreciation.

Subjects retain their sensitivity. They can respond to fresh manifestations of artistic or natural beauty.

8. The mystical experience; oceanic feeling.

It is the feeling of limitless horizons, of great ecstasy, of wonder and fear, the loss of place in time and space, finally with the conviction that something extremely important and valuable has happened, so that the subject is transformed and strengthened even in your daily life with these experiences.

9. Sense of solidarity.

Suggests a deep sense of identification, sympathy, and affection, despite occasional anger, impatience, or disgust. Because of this they have a genuine desire to help the human race.

10. Interpersonal relationships.

Self-actualizing subjects tend to have deep and intense friendships and their choice of friends is discriminated in favor of people like them. They tend to be more kind and benevolent to others. They especially love children and feel compassion for all humanity.

11. The democratic character structure.

Those self-realizing people are elite for their character, ability, and talent, rather than for birth, race, blood, etc. These subjects present a certain humility in learning. They are very aware of how little they know compared to what might be known.

12. Discrimination between means and ends.

They have morally defined rules. They behave as if ends and means could be distinguished and as if the former were more important than the latter. They also have the ability to treat some of their experiences and activities as ends in themselves that more normal people would consider as means to their ends (for example, a trip).

13. Philosophical sense of humor, not hostile.

According to Maslow, self-actualized people don't laugh hurting others, or out of superior humor. Characteristically, what they consider humor is more closely linked to philosophy than to anything else, their jokes have a function beyond making people laugh. The common man considers these jokes as sober and religious.

14. Creativity.

"This is a universal characteristic of all self-actualizing people," says Maslow. These people have a general creativity similar to that which is natural in children. They put everything they do a certain attitude or spirit.

15. Resistance to acculturation.

By this phrase, Maslow meant to convey the relative degree of acceptance and rejection of the cultural values ​​of self-realizing people.

16. The imperfections of the self-realizing people.

Self-actualizing people have many of what we might call minor human flaws.

17. Values ​​and self-realization.

Many moral conflicts disappear for the person who realizes himself. Its other characteristics give it a firm foundation for a natural value system.

18. The realization of dichotomies in self-realization.

In conclusion, Maslow made perhaps one of his most important generalizations about self-realizing people:

"What had been considered in the past as polarities or opposite places and positions or dichotomies were in unhealthy people. In healthy people, these dichotomies were resolved, polarities disappeared, and many oppositions, believed to be intrinsic, emerged and joined together to form units ».

2. Personal Integrity

An integral part of any professional is ethics. At the same time that the individual requires a thorough examination of her goals, the means towards the goals and whether her personal philosophy is in accordance with her professional goals.

A professional (and any human being) must worry about three main aspects: a) His personal ideology, b) His sense of social responsibility, c) His control of the truth. The question is how far you can go without distorting these three points.

One way of thinking about the ethics that corporate culture implies is to visualize the effects that its practice has between selfish and comprehensive benefits (individual, professional and public benefit).

The end of selfish profit represents the practice of public relations in which there is only one particular benefit at the expense of others (business, public, etc.).

The extreme of the integral benefit is reflected by that practice that is useful both individually and professionally. In other words, to achieve our ends, we must operate in such a way that our individual-professional and collective ideals are benefited.

In short, what is good for you has to be good for others, otherwise it is not good for anyone.

In the current situation of rethinking organizations based on total quality theories, public relations set out among its fundamental goals to develop high-quality leadership from the top to the bottom of the organization.

This philosophy requires an explanation of the current trading system, especially in terms and principles of the reality of human nature and behavior.

This is difficult work and one of the weakest elements in practically all companies.

Nielander says about it: «A basic objective of any profession is the development of leadership at all levels of an organization. Effective activity with beneficial results will be achieved in organizations that successfully develop their highly distributed leadership potential. ” (32)

It is interesting to see here, the opinion of John Heider about the leaders:

«It is a mistake to believe that a great leader is above others. Paradoxically, greatness is acquired from knowledge, from humility, from emptiness, from receptivity and from availability to service ».

«The wise leader is a servant; receptive, dedicated, docile. The vibration of the group dominates and leads, while the leader is behind. But soon it is the conscience of the group that is transformed, it is their vibration that makes its way ».

«The relationship is reciprocal. The leader's job is to be aware of this group process. And the group eagerly needs to be received and heard by the leader »

Here are some of the subjects that a leader should promote for quality of life:

1. Integral Development of the Individual

2. Human Values

3. Cultural Identity

4. Social Responsibility

5. Ecology

The quality of personal life is the ideal of the way of life that individuals desire if they set their mind to it and that consists of an integral development of the physical, mental, social, economic and spiritual dimensions, which will endow it with a balance with itself. and with your society.

Whether you are aware of it or not. Any professional is an integrator of people, (from a basic business operation such as uniting a supplier with a buyer, to the daily dealings with his subordinates and bosses) If he is an integrator of publics, he requires in his profile the achievement of his own quality of life. If this is part of your professional development, including the two areas that comprise quality of life (way of life and standard of living), quality will be present in your attitude as a human being and will also promote the quality of lifetime.

This, as we mentioned before, is not possible if there is no demand for the individual in its environment through an integrative vision of its elements.

I consider that one cannot speak of quality of life if, in the first place, an analysis of the individual and the way in which it has been studied is done to later solve the problem in its development. Observe some fundamental aspects that must be present as essential means to achieve the quality of life in the individual, to set guidelines in their development and the ways of improvement.

Analyze the role of the professional from the individual point of view regarding their training and values ​​such as ethics, human rights, rational faith and their preparation for leadership in quality of life.

Provide concrete tools on how to implement a program that guides the individual to the development of quality of life in all its dimensions. Finally, I would like to emphasize that the measures in this proposal are applicable to both the advertiser and any individual who decides to excel.

This is the root of the problem: If a company does not have "order at home" it will be difficult to project a good image and if it does, it will maintain it for a short time because it is based on false foundations. The same is true for the advertiser if he does not have internal harmony, he will hardly be able to maintain the harmony of his environment.

Nielander summarizes the above in the following sentence: "Good public relations are simply good private relations projected outwards"

3. Qualities in quality of life education

Few professions remain static. In the medical field, practitioners must continually update and renew their knowledge. Practitioners must meet and exchange information through published magazines and in other ways; Sharing information is a characteristic of professions. This should be a general rule for all professions, since it is necessary to live in a permanent process of education to be able to perform in our profession, in all areas and at all levels.

Learning is a 'change'. As for the achievement of quality of life, we will necessarily have to enter a dynamic of constant changes that never end. Perfection cannot be achieved, but it is possible to approach it with each change.

Herberto Mahon recognizes two fields of learning in man:

"One is that of the aptitudes or abilities where the man incorporates the knowledge that extends his" know-how ". The other of the fields is that of attitudes or behaviors, where the man incorporates the messages that the context puts on him, and that, when they reach sufficient force, they assimilate and thus produce a behavior modification ».

Henceforth we will consider the learning of aptitudes or abilities such as professional training and that of attitudes and behaviors such as personal training. We will analyze them separately, trying to define how it is convenient to manage them in a process of progress towards quality of life.

Many authors insist on the technical training, aptitudes or abilities of each profession. However, reflecting on the fact that there is no "school for life", one should think that any professional activity is a human activity; It deals with people, and the success of any activity depends on them and dealing with people requires quality of life on the part of the practitioner.

Albert Einstein used to state:

«I consider it criticizable to treat the individual as an inert tool. The school should always consider as its objective that the young person leave it with a harmonious personality and not as a specialist… The first thing should always be to develop the general capacity for independent thought and judgment and not the acquisition of specialized thoughts » (36)

By way of conclusion, it would be convenient to remember a wise story by an anonymous author that clearly illustrates this topic.:

When I was young and free

and my imagination had no limits…

… I dreamed of changing the world

When I matured and became wiser, I discovered that the world

it would not change, so I moderated my aspirations

and I decided to change only to my country.

But I also discovered that my country would not change

Upon reaching my old age.

in one last desperate attempt

I resolved to change only my family and my job

But they never allowed it

And now, at the end of my life, I suddenly realize!

If only

I would have changed myself first…

So with my example

I would have changed my family and my job

With your inspiration and encouragement, I could have improved my country…

And who knows, maybe it could have changed

even the world!

And that is a high personal ideal: That each person leaves his mark on this world loving it is to be what he loves, loving what he does, to do what he loves and loving what he has to have what he loves and what he does, to do what he loves

4. Bibliography