The effect of a human resource development program on the attitudes and behavior of bank employees

The effects of participation in a structured course of human resource development on the attitudes and behavior of bank employees were examined. Pre- and Post-Intervention attitudes were determined using the Job Descriptive Index (JDI), Job in General Scales (JIG) and Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI). Pre- and Post-Intervention behavior were determined using a Productivity Rating Scale (PRS) designed for this study.; Subjects were 99 men and women aged 23-62 currently employed by one of three community banks in Northeast Mississippi. Employees were randomly assigned to either an intervention or no-intervention control group in each of the three banks with equal numbers from each department of the bank. Independent variables were status within the organization (officer/nonofficer) and gender.; Intervention consisted of participation in eight weekly sessions designed for this study with the purpose of facilitating the acquisition of self-leadership skills. Each session was structured to focus on one pre-determined theme. The aim of sessions was providing members with increased awareness of some life problem and the tools with which to better cope.; A repeated measures design was utilized to examine the dependent variables of job satisfaction rating, stress level rating, and productivity rating as well as independent variables of gender and status in the bank. First, t tests were computed to determine main effect of intervention status. A two-way analysis of variance was computed to determine interaction effects. Significant gains ({dollar}le{dollar}.05) were found in the areas of Satisfaction with Pay, Satisfaction with Promotions, and Satisfaction with Job in General. Significant losses were found on measures of subjective stress and psychological strain levels of participants. Significant gains were found on measures of post-intervention coping resources. Behavior, as assessed by the PRS, showed no significant changes.