How Goal Orientation Match Between Social Workers and Their Supervisors Impacts Social Workers' Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Social workers' perceptions of their supervisors' dispositional goal orientations towards learning and performing act as powerful situational influences—in interaction with their own goal orientations— to affect social workers' job satisfaction. Social workers perceiving their supervisors' goal orientation to align with their own will experience greater job satisfaction. Supervisors cognizant of supervisees' goal orientations are more able to provide individually motivating tasks, support, and rewards. Such inquiry offers a promising direction for improving the work conditions of social workers. An increase in job satisfaction should be correlated with an increase in improved client outcomes and reduction in social worker turnover.