Blame,Complacency,and Pessimism

Abstract

Social service employees work in potentially frustrating conditions. Yet their reactions to job stress may differ. Survey data organized by a typology (anti-client, anti-system, pessimist, and complacent) suggest that personal characteristics are an important intervening variable between job stress and employee reaction. However, agencies do not appear equally receptive to all reactions. Instead, social agencies seem to reward complacency. Speculatively, we conclude that employees who define or redefine their work objectives as attaining extrinsic rewards will be satisfied and remain with their agencies, while those who define their work objectives as attaining intrinsic rewards will be frustrated and leave their agencies.

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