STUDYING SATISFACTIONS IN HUMAN SERVICE ORGANISATIONS: AN EXPLORATION

Responses to open‐ended questions concerning sources of work satisfaction among social workers indicate that instruments and methodology which have been devised in industrial settings may create distortions when applied to human services. The most important sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction differ from those elicited in industry, a fact which points out the need to begin detailed research in the service sector using workers' own conceptions of their situation rather than preconceptions drawn from other areas of work.