A PERSPECTIVE ON OCCUPATIONAL CONCERNS OF REHABILITATION SERVICE PROVIDERS

While the roles, functions and personality characteristics of rehabilt ation service providers have been widely researched, much less is know n about the correlates and consequences of occupational stress in thes e groups. In the present study measures of occupational stress, job te nsion, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and affective well-being w ere completed by 52 rehabilitation service providers drawn from a rang e of agencies in New Zealand. Respondents also completed two open-ende d questions assessing significant stresses in their work and strategie s whereby stress could be reduced. There were consistently high negati ve correlations between job stress and job satisfaction. The correlati ons of job tension with overall life satisfaction and affect were gene rally significant. Surprisingly there was no significant relationship between job satisfaction and general life satisfaction. There were som e significant associations between job satisfaction and ratings of aff ect, but the pattern of results was inconsistent. Open-ended stresses identified by subjects include time pressure/workload problems, interp ersonal issues, agency-created problems, and problems keeping up with the implications, for rehabilitation, of rapidly changing Government p olicy. Strategies for stress reduction that were identified involved m ore resources, training and skills; intra-agency reorganization and mo re effective management and communication; more networking with other professionals; and more stable, realistic and caring Government policy . Limitations of the study and future research directions were identif ied.