Administration and Policy in Mental Health, Vol. 30, No. 5, May 2003 ( 2003) JOB SATISFACTION OF PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES: A NEW MEASURE OF AN OLD CONCERN Keith R. Aronson, Nicholas Sieveking, Jean-Phillipe Laurenceau, and William Bellet ABSTRACT: The authors report on the factor structure of an employee satisfaction ques- tionnaire designed for use with psychiatric hospital employees. The actions and attitudes of management were, by far, the single most prominent factor. This factor captures the extent to which management respects workers, operates with honesty and integrity, pro- motes efficiency, and has open lines of communication with employees. By surveying em- ployees about the 15 items of this factor, psychiatric hospital managers can obtain a sense of their employees’ overall satisfaction. Hospitals must hire and train managers who can convey the qualities represented in this satisfaction factor. It is also important for hospital managers to recognize that employee satisfaction is strongly related to how employee com- plaints are handled, how employees perceive the quality of patient care, and the extent to which employees believe the hospital serves the greater community. KEY WORDS: employee relations; psychiatric hospital management; human relations; job satisfaction; mental health workers. Managing hospitals requires attention to a complex set of consumer needs and expectations, technology, and the interface of ethics and eco- nomics. Hospital managers must lead and motivate employees, ensure that Keith R. Aronson, Ph.D., is Assistant Director of the Children, Youth, and Families Consortium at The Pennsylvania State University. Nicholas Sieveking, Ph.D., is Director of the Vanderbilt University Counseling and Psychological Services in Nashville, Tennessee. Jean-Phillipe Laurenceau, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor at the University of Miami. William Bellet, Ph.D., is the Principal of Bellet, Sievek- ing, and Associates in Nashville, Tennessee. The authors wish to thank Jack Smithwick, Laura Parswell, Katie Stewart, and Melanie Miller of Behavioral Healthcare Corporation for their assistance with this project. Address for correspondence: Keith R. Aronson, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Children, Youth, and Families Consortium, The Pennsylvania State University, 105 Health and Human Development East Building, University Park, PA 16802–6500. E-mail: kra105@psu.edu.  2003 Human Sciences Press, Inc. 437