Bridging the Gaps in Work Quality Research: A Multi-Level Interdisciplinary Review

Abstract

Experiences of work and employment continue to change but the concepts of job quality, job satisfaction and quality of working life remain compartmentalised and contextually disconnected due to entrenched disciplinary divisions, which hinder multi-level work quality theorisation. This article contributes to research on the sociology of work by integrating divergent streams of literature on these concepts with labour process theory to offer a more holistic and integrated perspective on work quality. Our multidisciplinary systematic review ( n = 345) reveals the conceptual challenges and dynamics work quality researchers face within and between analytical levels, which we synthesise in this article in Figure 1. Three interrelated research agendas are proposed to bridge the gaps between different disciplines, work quality models and contexts. We argue that research combining objective and subjective features of work quality with wider labour process considerations can lead to richer interdisciplinary understandings and support improvements to working lives.