Quality of work life as estimated by men and women (case study of the sociological survey in the Vologda oblast)

In order to intensify the economic growth, the quality of work life (QWL) taking into account age and gender peculiarities of the working population acquires a special role. The limited cross-section of researching QWL by applying the integrated approach and information asymmetry in the sphere of labor and employment towards the “female” topic has proved the relevance of the study. The article presents the results of studying population’s QWL in the Vologda Oblast based on the subjective assessments of men and women. The specific feature of the conducted research is the integrated assessment of QWL’s different components with the focus on the particularity of value-motivation orientations and age and gender peculiarities of the two social groups. The study of the federal statistical monitoring has allowed the authors to determine the low degree in well-being of the Vologda Oblast’s population in 2018 according to the living conditions in comparison with other regions of Russia (especially in terms of the salary satisfaction), except for the indicator of nervous tension and stress situations at the workplace. The results of the sociological survey of the Vologda Oblast’s working population, conducted in 2018 by Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, bring us to the conclusion that, firstly, there is a high level of satisfaction with various aspects of labor among women compared to men, and, secondly, there is a significant difference in subjective assessments of the two social groups in such areas as salary, hygiene and sanitary conditions, and professional mobility. The authors mark the existence of substantial difficulties among male respondents in terms of using subjectivistic approach. The practical significance of the study is defined by the necessity of elaborating certain measures, aimed at increasing labor productivity through raising the working population’s QWL and job satisfaction.