Professional isolation and perceived quality of work life in flexible-employment settings: a cross-sectional study.
- 1Qu Qiubai School of Government, Changzhou University, Changzhou, China.
- 2School of Business, Changzhou University, Changzhou, China.
Abstract
Introduction
This study examines whether professional-isolation scores are associated with perceived quality of work life (QWL) beyond an archived social-isolation index in workers recruited from flexible-employment settings. Perceived career-development constraints are examined as a secondary concurrent correlate.Methods
Retained questionnaire responses from 237 workers recruited in China were reanalyzed using ordinal measurement assessment, covariate-adjusted composite-score regression, and 5,000 case-resampling bootstrap replications.Results
Higher professional-isolation scores were associated with lower QWL scores after adjustment for the retained five-item social-isolation index and demographic characteristics (b = -0.307, 95% CI [-0.430, -0.185]). A negative statistical indirect association involving perceived career-development constraints was also observed. Estimates were similar under record-matching and response-pattern sensitivity checks.Discussion
The study identifies a work-related score association not fully accounted for by the retained social-isolation index. This finding supports examining professional guidance and development opportunities in occupation-specific research. Poor measurement fit and incomplete occupational and eligibility records restrict interpretation to observed-score associations; composite regression establishes neither construct validity nor causal mediation.
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BibTeX
@article{xu2026professional,
title = {{Professional isolation and perceived quality of work life in flexible-employment settings: a cross-sectional study.}},
author = {Xingqiang Xu and Rungang Liu},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1965599},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908522},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Professional isolation and perceived quality of work life in flexible-employment settings: a cross-sectional study.
AU - Xingqiang Xu
AU - Rungang Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Frontiers in psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1965599
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908522
AB - Introduction This study examines whether professional-isolation scores are associated with perceived quality of work life (QWL) beyond an archived social-isolation index in workers recruited from flexible-employment settings. Perceived career-development constraints are examined as a secondary concurrent correlate.Methods Retained questionnaire responses from 237 workers recruited in China were reanalyzed using ordinal measurement assessment, covariate-adjusted composite-score regression, and 5,000 case-resampling bootstrap replications.Results Higher professional-isolation scores were associated with lower QWL scores after adjustment for the retained five-item social-isolation index and demographic characteristics (b = -0.307, 95% CI [-0.430, -0.185]). A negative statistical indirect association involving perceived career-development constraints was also observed. Estimates were similar under record-matching and response-pattern sensitivity checks.Discussion The study identifies a work-related score association not fully accounted for by the retained social-isolation index. This finding supports examining professional guidance and development opportunities in occupation-specific research. Poor measurement fit and incomplete occupational and eligibility records restrict interpretation to observed-score associations; composite regression establishes neither construct validity nor causal mediation.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -