This study develops and tests hypotheses to examine empirically how the perceived image ofa company's quality ofwork life will affect'its market and financial performances. Growth and profitability of two groups of publicly held companies were compared bused on sales growth, asset growth, return on equity, and return on assets. Thefirst group consisted ofjfty-eight companies identified as the best companies to workfor in the United States; the second group consisted of eighty-eight of Standard and Poor's top one hundred companies. Statistical evidencefound in this study supports a paradigm that aligns the interests of the investor managel; and employee stakeholders into a win-win situation. Findingsfrom this empirical study suggest that companies with high quality of work l$e can also enjoy exceptional growth and profi tabili ty.After many years of organizational restructuring and work reengineering, American companies are regaining their competitiveness in the global marketplace. In search of greater efficiency and higher productivity, many companies continue to redesign and automate a number of processes and operations, resulting in a reduction of their workforce. Although the restructuring processes have left many workers unemployed, management is, ironically, paying more attention than ever before to recruiting qualified people (Osterman, 1995; Vallario, 1997). Management recognizes that a productive workforce will provide a global, sustainable competitive advantage for business organizations (Bohl, Slocum, Luthans, and Hodgetts, 1996;Lau, 1993). As the composition of the workforce continues to change over the years, companies that offer better benefits and supportive working environments are expected to gain ieverage in hiring and retaining valuable people. Although both management and employees confront the issue of quality of work life (QWL), research to date has provided little empirical evidence of its effect on business performance. The reason for such a lack of research in this critical area may be the result of

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