The relationship between work group organization and job dimensions of administrative support jobs and the job satisfaction of administrative support workers

The purpose of this study was to investigate upper- and middle-level administrative support jobs to determine if enriching qualities were present in these jobs and if administrative support workers were satisfied with various aspects of their jobs.;The sample consisted of 254 members of the Minnesota-North Dakota division of Professional Secretaries International (PSI) who were sent a set of three questionnaires: the Administrative Support Information Questionnaire, the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS), and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire MSQ). A total of 179 (70.5%) sets of questionnaires were useable.;The following conclusions are based on the findings of the study (1) Higher levels of technology made it possible for one administrative support person to support a group of administrators. (2) Support personnel who participated in management teams used a higher level of technology than nonparticipants. (3) Of the four work groups that were examined, the one-to-one work group appeared to provide more opportunity for job enrichment than the other types of work-group organization. (4) Support workers who worked for one administrator appeared to be more satisfied with the selected job dimensions of growth satisfaction and social status than support personnel who worked for groups of administrators. (5) Administrative support personnel who participated in management teams perceived their jobs to be enriched. (6) Administrative support personnel who participated in management teams were more satisfied than nonparticipants with opportunities for personal growth and development, job security, supervision, the chance to work alone on the job, and the freedom to use one's own judgment.;From the findings, the following recommendations have been made. (1) Organizational leaders should (a) use the one-to-one type of work-group organization whenever possible, and (b) look for ways to increase job enrichment in administrative support jobs when support personnel work for multiple administrators. (2) Organizational leaders should include administrative support workers on management teams. (3) Business educators should continue to teach office technology skills, but should also teach decision-making skills to prepare students for enriched jobs. (4) Business educators should teach interpersonal skills to students so that they can become effective team members.