Job Satisfaction: Management's Continuing Challenge

Job satisfaction concerns may be more strongly associated with management practice and organizational issues than with the individual characteristics of social workers. The author in the current study examined the impact of the job itself, work context, and individual characteristics on job satisfaction, using a systematic sample of 50 percent (n = 723) of the Virginia National Association of Social Workers membership. The results were analyzed for the full sample, for members with a private practice (30 percent, n = 121), and for those without a private practice. The variables significantly associated with job satisfaction for those social workers without a private practice were “work intensity,” “task significance,” “task variety,” “frequency career change considered,” and “difficulty finding current job.” “Task significance” and “supervision or administration as the method of practice” were the variables associated with job satisfaction for social workers with a private practice.