Community care workers in rural southern Illinois: job satisfaction and implications for employee retention

This study examined factors related to community care worker job satisfaction, as a method of assessing problems related to employee turnover, based on data collected from 393 community care workers who worked with elderly clients from the 13 southernmost rural counties in Illinois in 1987. Results suggested that the majority of workers were satisfied with their job; however, there was a difference in the mean scores of those employed for more than one year and those employed for less than one year (those employed for longer than one year had significantly lower satisfaction scores than those employed for less than one year). Although only 19 individuals indicated they were intending to quit within the year, 88 respondents answered "no opinion." Reasons given why new employees quit were: low wages, no benefits, no raises or promotions, cannot cope with the elderly, do not like the elderly, or not well-suited for this type of work. Also, many of the workers responded that people quit because the job was not what they expected, they did not give it a chance, they did not receive the proper training, and that the job was too stressful or frustrating. Recommendations made on the basis of these study data include the development of a new job hierarchy (which will increase the probability of being promoted) and more detailed pre-service training program which covers in detail what new employees can expect from the job. Health education training programs are recommended as a major tool for reducing the problem of employee turnover by helping the worker manage the high levels of stress experienced on the job.