COMPONENTS OF JOB-SATISFACTION IN PSYCHIATRIC SOCIAL-WORKERS

A survey of 188 psychiatric social workers indicated an overall positi ve level of job satisfaction. overall job satisfaction was found to be primarily determined by position satisfaction. The major correlate of position satisfaction was the professional respect received from othe r disciplines and not the specific tasks performed. These findings wer e interpreted as reflecting the obfuscating effect of hospital team in teractions on job satisfaction. In these settings, the social workers were often so dependent on the quality of these team interactions to d erive the variety, autonomy, and value in their work that it was diffi cult for them to keep subjectively clear the actual level of satisfact ion with the work itself Social work supervisors need to focus on deve loping a stronger sense of practice excellence and forging a subjectiv e separation between task-derived achievement and interpersonal enjoym ent. Results also showed the importance of educational and professiona l development opportunities in maintaining overall job satisfaction.