Pharmacists’ Sense of Meaning, Autonomy, and Pride Correlate With High Self-Evaluations of Pharmaceutical Services

Recent research has found that pharmacists’ sense of meaning and autonomy was the quality of work-life (QWL) domain most strongly associated with high self-evaluation of pharmaceutical services. The pride in work domain, which encompassed pharmacists’ pride in their work and their drive for growth and professional development, also correlated significantly with high self-evaluation of services.

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The study, published in Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy, examined the association between QWL and the caliber of their pharmaceutical services. A total of 1962 community pharmacists in Japan, from 20 different companies, completed voluntary, anonymous surveys. QWL measures included the influence of work on mind and body, colleague and manager relationships, meaning and autonomy in the workplace, and pharmacist’s pride in their work. Pharmacists also evaluated themselves on the quality of their pharmaceutical services, considering such factors as patient consultation, prescription processing, and collaboration with prescribers.

In this study, the working conditions, work-life balance, and employee relationship QWL domains were not predictive of self-evaluation results. The authors note that these findings do not align with previous studies, which have found that difficult working conditions (frequent interruptions, pressure to rush, etc.) have a negative impact on pharmacists’ work outcomes. Based on their literature review, the study authors had also expected suboptimal employee relationships to limit productivity.

To explain some of these findings, the study authors note that younger workers reported both better work-life balance and lower self-evaluations of services than did older employees. Younger employees may have fewer obligations outside of work and may prioritize career advancement over work-life balance, resulting in higher QWL ratings. They may also have less experience in the field, resulting in lower self-evaluations of services. The study sample was skewed toward younger employees, with 67% younger than age 40. The authors hypothesize that this led to an underestimation of working conditions’ impact on service quality.

One notable limitation of this study is that the authors used a subjective self-evaluation rather than a more objective outcome to assess pharmaceutical services. The authors suggest that measures such as sales and patient satisfaction scores could be incorporated in future studies. Another limitation is that the study was skewed towards pharmacists working for large corporations, and the effect of company size could not be evaluated.

The authors conclude that community pharmacy leaders should focus on improving QWL for their employees. Promoting a work environment where pharmacists feel a sense of meaning and autonomy and have opportunities for professional growth could enhance the quality of a pharmacy’s services.

Reference

Kato Y, Sekiya T, Ishii R, Hirako Y, Satoh H, Kimura H. Quality of work life (QWL) of community pharmacists and its association with subjective evaluations of pharmaceutical services. Explor Res Clin Soc Pharm. 2024;14:100458. Published 2024 May 31. doi:10.1016/j.rcsop.2024.100458