Recisions, Organizational Conditions and Job Satisfaction Among Black and White Human Service Workers: A Research Note

Despite the growing attention evident in the human services literature on the related topics of job satisfaction and burnout, virtually none of the empirical studies published to date have examined the possible influences of recent federal and state cutbacks in human service funding levels on the job satisfaction of human service workers. One outcome of these cutbacks has been the curtailment of services offered by county welfare departments, often achieved by reducing the number of public welfare workers through hiring freezes, attrition, layoffs, etc. The remaining public welfare workers often have then been placed in the unenviable position of trying to maintain, as best they can, previous levels of service with fewer staff and smaller budgets