Is There Job Satisfaction in Community Mental Health?

ABSTRACT: After discussing the importance of job satisfaction, this paper pre-sents data concerning current levels and sources of job satisfaction in community mental health centers. Data came from a survey completed by 164 staff members working in 22 different programs located in Michigan. The return rate was 94%. Results indicated that compared to workers in other occupations, the staff were about average in satisfaction with co-workers and supervision, but low in satisfaction with the work itself. The two major sources of job satisfaction reported by staff were the level of accomplishment experienced in the work and the degree of clarity in organizational goals and policies. The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which job satisfaction in community mental health could be increased. At a recent national conference attended by community mental health staff from throughout the country, Seymour Sarason of Yale University gave a keynote address in which he focused on the nature of work in community mental health. The picture he painted was a grim one. Com-munity mental health staff begin with the usual expectations for professional work in a helping field: high autonomy, challenging and interesting work, and the sense that one has helped others in a significant way. Instead the