Development of a Quality of Work Life scale for community pharmacists in Japan: A questionnaire survey

Abstract

Abstract Background: Human resource management may be difficult for community pharmacists because of recent drastic changes in work volume and content. In Japan, few studies have been conducted on job satisfaction, well-being, and quality of work life (QWL) among community pharmacists. Focusing on QWL, a more comprehensive concept than job satisfaction, this study aimed to develop a multi-trait-based QWL scale for Japanese community pharmacists (QWLS for JCP) and test its reliability and validity. Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted among 2027 pharmacists working in pharmacies, with the cooperation of 20 corporations running pharmacies. The collected data were subjected to principal component factor analysis with Promax rotation using SPSS28. Results: The following five significant components were identified based on factor analysis using data from 1966 pharmacists. These form the basis of the QWLS for JCP: “Influence of work on mind and body,” “Relationships with colleagues,” “Relationship with the boss,” “Meaning of existence in the workplace,” and “Pride in work.” Cronbach’s alpha, which expresses reliability, was between 0.585 and 0.854 for these subscales. Conclusions: The QWLS for JCP significantly explained the concept of QWL, which means that its validity was sufficient.