The nuanced nature of work quality: Evidence from rural Newfoundland and Ireland

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between job and work quality and argues that while it is important to examine job quality, to understand workers’ experiences fully, the focus should be on the broader concept of work quality, which places the job against its wider socio-economic context. Based on the experiences of 88 rural workers gathered via interviews in Newfoundland and Ireland, it appears that the same or similar jobs can be regarded very differently depending upon the context in which they are embedded, as people at different locations and/or stages of life have an individual set of aspirations, expectations and life experiences. The study found that the factors that affect work quality are moulded by broader aspects of life – family, friends, community, lifestyle and past experiences – that shape an individual.