THE EFFECTS OF JOB SATISFACTION ON PRODUCTIVITY AMONG BEHAVIORAL CARE EMPLOYEES IN PRIVATE MENTAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS
In view of the unique pressures confronting behavioral care workers in mental health care provider organizations, the issue of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among such workers becomes and especially important factor for such organizations. Patient care quality and continued organizational viability are dependent in great part on the perceptions of job satisfaction or dissatisfaction by behavioral care workers. Within the context of this issue, the following research question was investigated:
What is the relationship between employee productivity and employee perceptions of job satisfaction or dissatisfaction among behavioral care workers in private mental health provider organizations?
The findings of this study were that behavioral care workers in private mental health care provider organizations generally were satisfied with their jobs and that job satisfaction was positively related to the productivity of behavioral care workers. The study also found, however, that sources of potential job dissatisfaction does exist in these organizations and that management should address these issues before job dissatisfaction develops.
Behavioral care workers in mental health care provider organizations frequently are required to care for patients who are acutely psychotic, aggressive, highly destructive, suicidal, or at risk of escape. Traditionally, "management strategies" for such patients have included the use of physical restraints, seclusion rooms, or constant one-to-one observation. These strategies have been criticized on grounds of ethics, economics, and efficacy (Montgomery & Johnson, 1996). The continued use of seclusion and restraint in psychiatric facilities "in the face of low confidence in such coercive interventions by health care professionals may be a sign both of the pers...