Work Satisfaction and Absenteeism Among Social Workers: The role of altruistic values

This study partially tests the argument that in occupations where internalized altruistic values dominate performance considerations, employee dissatisfaction at work may not necessarily lead to withdrawal behavior. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) was used to measure satisfaction with both intrinsic and extrinsic facets of work in a sample of 139 social workers. Data on duration and frequency of absence were obtained from personnel files. The absence of a relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism supported the research hypothesis. Avenues for further investigation on professional commitment are suggested.