Organizational and Individual Factors Influencing the Quality of Working Life Among Brazilian University Professors during COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic suddenly impacted professors’ work demands and their adaptation to new technologies and work organization, namely, working from home. These changes urged us to know its impact on their quality of working life (QWL). This study aimed at characterizing the main determinants of the quality of working life in Brazilian university professors during the COVID-19 pandemic. It integrated two cross-sectional analyses, through a questionnaire applied in 2020–2021 and 2021–2022, at universities in central-western Brazil. The sample included 220 professors at the first moment and 180 at the second. The main tool used was the Quality of Working Life Questionnaire. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify the significant predictors of the QWL. In 2020–2021, “Sleep quality” was the main predictor with a 15.8% contribution to explaining the QWL variability, followed by “Satisfaction with supervisors”, “Depression”, “Work–family conflict” and “Difficulties with materials or physical resources”. In 2021–2022, the predictors that contributed most to explain the QWL variability were “Work–family conflict” and “Sleep quality” with contributions of 13.9% and 12.2%, respectively, to the coefficient of determination. “Satisfaction with students”, “Difficulties in interpersonal relationships with supervisors”, “Noise”, “Smoking habits” and “Biological sex” had lower contributions. The knowledge of the predictors of QWL among university professors is essential to defining strategies to prevent occupational risks and promoting workers’ health and sustainable quality of working life.