Exploring and Measuring Quality of Life Determinants of Wage Workers in Egypt: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Abstract

AbstractThis paper aims to identify the major significant dimensions that contribute to the overall quality of life (QOL) of wage workers in Egypt. As the QOL is a complex, multidimensional, and interdisciplinary concept, forty-seven indicators under five domains were chosen to investigate the QOL determinants of wage workers in Egypt, namely job characteristics, job satisfaction, ICT access, gender equality and women empowerment, and neighborhood services and utilities. Using data from the 2018 wave of the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey, the paper employed structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to investigate the impact of proposed dimensions on the overall QOL. In addition, multi-group SEM analysis was implemented to measure how people differ in the way they assess their QOL on the basis of various moderating variables such as the geographical region of residence, age group, and years of schooling. The findings showed the significant impact of the chosen dimensions on the overall QOL. Moreover, the multi-group models showed a significant variation among compared groups, in which the weights of dimensions vary due to the differences in socio-cultural characteristics and the surrounding environment, confirming the complexity of such a concept. As people usually differ in the way they assess their QOL, which is affected by their characteristics and priorities.