Job satisfaction and other indices of "followers" and "non-followers" of vocational counselling.

This study was conducted to determine whether individuals who followed plans developed in collaboration with vocational counsellors would later reveal greater job satisfaction than would individuals who did not act upon these plans. These two sub-populations are referred to as Group I and Group II, respectively. A structured interview schedule, together with the Brayfield-Rothe Index of Job Satisfaction, was administered to a random sample of 48 males who resided in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and who had, in 1964, received counselling from the Vocational Counselling Service for British Columbia. Of the 48 ex-clients, 28 were allocated to Group I by a panel of experts, while 20 were allocated to Group II. It was hypothesized that six years following counselling, Group I individuals would reveal greater satisfaction with their jobs that would Group II individuals. It was also hypothesized that Group I individuals would have experienced fewer periods of unemployment, fewer changes of employers, a greater number of promotions, and higher incomes in 1969, and that these individuals would rate themselves more capable in their work than would individuals in Group II. Non-parametric statistical techniques were employed to assess the significance of the relationships between individuals in Group I and Individuals in Group II with respect to the six variables referred to above. In no instance could the null hypothesis be rejected at the .05 level. The results of the study imply that individuals who followed plans developed in concert with counsellors at the Vocational Counselling Service were no more satisfied with their jobs six years following counselling than were individuals who did not act upon these plans. Likewise, those who had acted upon plans developed in collaboration with counselors had no greater vocational success, as measured by number of changes of employers, number of promotions, income, and their self-ratings of ability for their present jobs than had individuals who had chosen careers different from those planned in collaboration with counsellors. On the other hand, individuals working in occupations similar to those planned in collaboration with counsellors in 1964 experienced fewer periods of unemployment than did individuals in occupations different from those planned with counsellors. The study offers little support for the contention that vocational counselling as conducted by the Vocational Counselling Service leads to improved vocational adjustment. Indeed, the evidence suggests that many more follow-up studies which incorporate sound research methodology and include a job satisfaction measure are required before the worth of vocational counselling can be accurately assessed. Findings observed, but not directly related to the hypotheses, are outlined in Appendix C. These included a high correlation between the relatively long Brayfield-Rothe Index and one multiple-answer question incorporated in the interview schedule. This observation suggested the feasibility of employing a short, but valid measure to assess job satisfaction. Also, a moderate correlation between a question concerning occupational satisfaction and scores on the Brayfield-Rothe Index was indicated. This finding implied an additional problem in evaluating the results of counselling, for it is the general occupation, and not the particular job that the counsellor considers in "predicting" suitable vocations. Further, more individuals in the sample indicated that they would prefer some other job than would choose their present one if they could start out over again in the world of work. Finally, correlation analysis was employed to investigate relationships between scores on the Brayfield-Rothe Index and seventeen variables including age, IQ, and marital status. Of these seventeen variables, three showed significant relationships with the Index. Two of these (income and the obtaining of promotions) were positively related to the job satisfaction scores, while the third (number of years with present employer) showed a negative relationship.Education, Faculty ofEducational Studies (EDST), Department ofGraduat