Managerial Leadership and Staff OTR Job Satisfaction

Abstract

The primary objective of this investigation was to explore the effects of the managerial leadership of hospital-based occupational therapy directors on their registered occupational therapy (OTR) staff members' job satisfaction. Leadership behaviors, power and influence factors, skills, and overall managerial leadership effectiveness were tested for their correlation with staff job satisfaction. In order to test the conceptualizations, mailed questionnaires were completed by 93 occupational therapy department directors and 348 staff OTRs who were employed in hospitals throughout the United States. The managerial leadership styles of hospital-based occupational therapy directors influenced staff job satisfaction much more than had been found in similar studies done with samples from some other fields. Also, directors and their staff members demonstrated major differences in their ratings of the directors' leadership styles. The findings suggested a need for further research and indicated some potentially beneficial management practices.