From Private- to Public-Sector Employment

In 1986 employees of a private rehabilitation service (n = 22) participated in a career development workshop given by the senior author. They completed the Life Roles Inventory (Fitzsimmons, Macnab, and Casserly, 1986), the Strong Vocational Interest Inventory (Strong, Campbell, and Hansen, 1981), and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss, Dawis, England, et al., 1967). Participants documented the characteristics of their “ideal job” and the positive and negative aspects of their present positions. The results of this evaluation, along with their career path, were then reviewed with each participant on an individual basis. Economic factors later led to closure of the organization, and the employees were forced to find alternative employment. In 1990 the original participants agreed to participate in a follow-up study where they completed the same inventories and interview process. Results of this comparison indicated that in 1986 these individuals scored lower than the normative sample on the Life Roles Inventory Values Scales of Advancement, Aesthetics, Economics, and Working Conditions; in 1990 they only scored lower on Advancement. In addition, intrinsic satisfaction levels did not change substantially in 1990, but the level of extrinsic satisfaction was significantly lower.