Eureka! Institutional Repository

Quality of life is a multidimensional concept that can be influenced by aspects of work, personal life, physical and mental health, along with social relationships and the environment in which a person lives. Although it is difficult to clarify its conceptual content, its theoretical models are based on either objective (physical health) and subjective indicators (psychosocial health) or a combined concept of both. In the past few decades, researchers have produced an increased international literature, studying the quality of life of healthcare professionals, focusing on the difficult and in particular stressful work environment of the healthcare field. Maintaining the quality of life of health professionals at a high level is vital for patient safety and quality of services provided to them. Subsequently, poor quality of life has been strongly associated with early retirement, reduced work performance of health-care professionals as well as the emergence of many physical and psychosocial problems. The aim of this retrospective literature review is to study the quality of life of employees in health services through the results of International and Greek research, and further describe the factors that positively and negatively influence it. The research data gathered could not only be used to improve the working environment of healthcare professionals and the prevailing conditions of it, but also implement measures to support the employees’ emotional enhancement, understanding the specific characteristics relating to those. Improving the physical and psychosocial well-being of health professionals will on the one hand improve their quality of life on a personal level and on the other hand will offer high added value to their therapeutic relationship with the patients they care for