A Study of role conflict, role ambiguity, locus of control, job satisfaction and participation in decision making among front-line vocational service workers for mentally retarded adults

摘要

This study was an investigation of individual andorganizational factors, as perceived by front-line vocationalservice workers from Adult Rehabilitation Centres (ARCIndustries) for mentally retarded adults. The specificvariables which were measured included role conflict/roleambiguity (role factors), internal/external locus ofcontrol (individual differences), job satisfaction withwork and supervision (job attitudes) and participationin deci~ion making (organizational factor). The explorationof these constructs was conducted by means of self-reportquestionnaires which were completed by sixty-nine outof a total of ninety front-line employees. The surveyswere distributed in booklet form to nine distinct rehabilitationfacilities from St. Catharines, West Lincoln, GreaterNiagara, Port Colborne, WeIland, Fort Erie, Hamilton,Guelph and Brantford. The survey data was evaluatedby the statisti.cal Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)which used the Pearson Product Moment Correlation procedureand a compar~son of means test. A comparison of correlationcoefficients test was also conducted. This statisticalprocedure was calculated mathematically. The resultsobtained from the statistical evaluation confirmed theprediction that self-reported measures of participationin decision making and satisfaction (work and supervision)would be negatively correlated with role conflict androle ambiguity. As well, the speculation that perceived satisfaction (work and supervision) would be positivelycorrelated with participation in decision making wasempirically supported. Internal and external locus ofcontrol did not contribute to a significant differencein r~sponses to role perceptions (conflict and ambiguity) ,satisfaction (work and supervision) or the correlationalrelationship between participation in decision makingand satisfaction (work and supervision). Overall, thefindings from this study substantiated the importanceof examining employee perceptions in the workplace andthe interrelationships among individual and organizationalvariables. This research was considered a contributionto the general area of occupational stress and to thestudy of individuals in work organizations.