Chapter 8: Quality of Working Life and Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) Indicators: A Systemic View for Well-Being

The COVID-19 pandemic and the need for companies to assume a significant corporate social responsibility role led to growth in demands for quality of working life and for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. This study reviews the literature on the subject, starting with quality of working life, its dimensions and indicators, and then approaching sustainable development goals and ESG practices and indicators. Articles on quality of working life that have already highlighted the BSPSO-96 concept by Limongi- França (2003, p. 93) were selected, where quality of working life is addressed in four dimensions: biological, psychological, social, and organizational. As the term ESG is new, articles in the EBSCO database with the expression “ESG indicators” were selected. We conclude that ESG indicators do not allow for comparison between companies, but rather reflect a socio-environmental investment risk score and that many of the ESG practices can also be classified as quality of working life indicators. A limitation of this study is that articles published in the last 2 months were not used. We suggest that they are considered hereafter, and that practices listed in the “Best Companies to Work For” are compared with those of the best ESG companies.