Work Supervisors\u27Ratings of Social Behaviors Related to Employment Success

Conducted a survey with 60 front-line supervisors of employees in nonskilled jobs to investigate employment requirements for persons with handicaps. Ss rated 37 social behaviors on 4 dimensions: (1) frequency of occurrence; (2) importance to successful job performance; (3) satisfaction with entering employees; and (4) behaviors of most concern in deciding to hire, retain, and promote new employees. Results show that most items were rated as being at least moderately important. There was a greater spread in ratings of frequency and satisfaction. Behaviors rated relatively high in importance and low in satisfaction were of most concern. Social skills were reportedly given consideration in employment decisions, and social skills directly related to the performance of work tasks were rated high in importance. Implications for the development of employment training curriculum for persons with developmental disabilities are discussed