Aim and background: Satisfaction with the quality of work life reflects the inadequate distribution of the workforce in critical care units and is not enough; on many occasions, they work in precarious conditions and with high levels of physical, emotional, spiritual, and social demands, impacting the quality of care.Aim: To identify predictors of the quality of work life of healthcare workers in adult critical care units (ACCU).Materials and methods: Quantitative study, cross-sectional analytical design with stratified two-stage sampling; three instruments were applied to 209 healthcare professionals in adult critical care units in different sites in a region of Colombia, concerning Quality of Life at Work-GOHISALO, Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire-COPSOQ and Professional Quality of Life-ProQoL V. Multiple ordinal logistic regression was performed with exposure variables from the COPSOQ and ProQoL domains; the outcome variables were the dimensions of the Quality of Work Life instrument.Ethical standards for research involving human subjects were ensured.Results: According to the results of the multiple logistic models, quality of work life is predicted by job integration and predictability (OR = 6.93; 95% CI = 3.6-13.9),leisure time management and double presence (OR = 4.5; 95% CI = 1.22-8.79).Both job satisfaction and job security are related to leadership quality (OR=3.82;95% CI = 2.27-6.55 and OR = 3.18; 95% CI = 1.22-8.79),respectively.Conclusions: The quality of work life of healthcare workers in adult intensive care units is predicted by quantitative demands, double presence, emotional demands, work pace, predictability, vertical trust, and quality of leadership.