As a goal, Quality of Work Life/Employee Involvement (QWL/EI) is the commitment of an organization to work improvement, more satisfying and effective jobs, and better work environments for people at all levels of the organization. It is a joint effort with the U.S. Postal Service and the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association being equal partners in the planning and implementation of the process. The principle of equal representation of both parties applies at all levels. As a process, QWL calls for organization.
Any
organization is a complicated structure and the Postal Service is no exception. The introduction of QWL/EI into the Postal Service affects
not only the employees of the USPS, but also its policies and procedures.
Delegation of authority, planning, personnel policies, job description
content, etc., may all be affected by the QWL/EI process.
Changes in management style, attitude and responsibility are necessary.
Through
their involvement, people can make a meaningful contribution to the organization
and at the same time experience greater feelings of satisfaction, pride of
accomplishment, and personal growth. QWL/EI
brings together the needs and development of people with the goals and
development of the organization.
A
QWL/EI process encourages a climate in which people respect one another, treat
each other fairly, and seek to solve problems cooperatively … helping one
another and the organization grow and develop together.
In
the past, some organizations have made the mistake of assuming that QWL/EI is
finished once a number of teams are in place and some changes have occurred.
However, experience has shown that the momentum of the process must be
maintained through conscious and deliberate periodic review and renewal, if the
process is to become a way of life and a way of doing business in the
organization.
QWL/EI
means dignity, trust, respect, participation and effectiveness.
It is joint union/management cooperation.
It is a process designed to tap the creative abilities of employees at
all levels of the organization in problem solving and decision-making.
It is an on-going process through which the abilities of our most
valuable resource, our people, can be utilized to improve the quality of the
organization and the quality of their work-life.
QWL/EI
is an organizational philosophy whose time has come.
QWL/EI is PROCESS, not a program.
It is a different way of doing business.
It cannot be ordered from the top, nor can it be implemented nationwide
as a package deal. QWL/EI must
evolve into a process that is owned by all postal employees.
Since
the inception of the QWL/EI process in the rural craft at Bowling Green,
Kentucky, in 1983 some of the major accomplishments include:
the introduction of the rural carrier associate position, the rural
training academy, the implementation of sector/segment mail and delivery point
sequence (DPS) mail.
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East New Market, MD 21631-0065