istence of traditional practices which have not been closely examined, as well as by the use of these traditional practices to shield the staff of such facilities against fear of mental illness, violence and loss of control" (Goren & Curtis, 1996, p. 7). Under such conditions, the stress placed on behavioral care workers becomes intense. Even when the needs of patients are less demanding than those described above, pressures and stress on behavioral care givers can reach damaging levels when accompanied by unsatisfactory organizational or working conditions (Wells, Astrachan, Tischler, & Unutzer, 1995).
Behavioral care staff members in mental health care provider organizations must function within team environment to provide optimal care for patients. Thus, in addition to the stresses and pressures associate with caring for patients, behavioral care staff members also are confronted with the pressures associated with delivering care through the functioning of multi-skilled teams. Care coordination and cooperation, as well as skill and efficiency, must be exercised by staff members within such an environment if optimal patient care is to be delivered.
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 an 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.
One research question was investigated in this study. This research question was as follows:
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 results of the research conducted for this study are reported in ...