Job satisfaction in a stable state child welfare workforce: Implications for staff retention

Abstract

The findings of this study build on and extend previous research on factors that contribute to job satisfaction in public child welfare agencies. Because the study agency has stabilized its workforce, it provides a unique opportunity to examine other organizational and environmental factors that may make a more subtle, yet just as deleterious contribution to staff dissatisfaction. Based on survey responses from 927 respondents, five research questions were addressed: 1) How does job satisfaction compare to staff in other human service organizations nationally? 2. Are differences in staff characteristics related to job satisfaction? 3. Are there particular areas of job difficulty that predict job satisfaction? 4. Are there differences by job category in job satisfaction? 5. What staff or job-related factors predict job satisfaction overall? Study findings were consistent with others that have examined organizational dynamics, particularly role stressors, supervision, and performance recognition and rewards. Results indicate that length of employment, being a supervisor, and experiencing difficulties with working conditions, supervision, and the lack of external client resources predict the highest levels of job dissatisfaction. Implications for public child welfare organizations are discussed, including strategies for attending to those organizational factors that negatively affect employees' perceptions of organizational support.Child welfare Retention Workforce issues