Professional Quality of Life among academics at a private university in Chillán, Chile, 2023

Abstract

Introduction: The quality of professional life (QPL) is crucial in the workplace and reflects job satisfaction according to the employee’s skills and experience throughout their professional career. Therefore, the objective of this research was to determine the quality of professional life among academics at a private university in Chillán, Chile, in 2023.

Method: A quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a total sample of 120 academics from the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Education, using a demographic and work-related questionnaire, as well as the validated Professional Quality of Life (Professional Quality of Life - 35) questionnaire. Ethical criteria included informed consent and authorization from the Ethics Committee of the Adventist University of Chile.

Results: The PQL of academics is at a regular level, with a higher presence of females at 61.2 %, the age range is between 25-35 years at 47.8 %, 76.1 % have a partner, 94.0 % work more than 22 hours, 70.1 % have more than 30 students per class, and 61.2 % have less than 5 years of teaching experience within the university.

Conclusions: Academics showed a PQL at a regular level; therefore, it is important to implement strategies that maintain a good level of satisfaction and well-being among teachers to positively impact the quality of education provided.