Work values and job satisfaction of practitioners working with persons with disabilities: the role of psychological flexibility

Abstract

Various research found that values related to work are associated with job satisfaction, while psychological flexibility was found to be significantly related to well-being and satisfaction in various aspects of life and activity. The current article summarizes the results of a research study that had as its main objective to investigate the association between psychological flexibility with work values and job satisfaction, in Romanian professionals working with persons with disabilities, a challenging activity, marked by chronic stress at work, and thus exposed to the risk of burnout. A number of 42 professionals completed measures of psychological flexibility, work values, and job satisfaction that were adapted to the Romanian language. Our results showed that those professionals who tended to value external rewards in their work with persons with disabilities, such as salary and other material benefits, status, prestige, and flexible hours tended to have lower satisfaction in their work. Psychological flexibility, especially the ability to live in the present moment, cognitive defusion, and contact with own values, was associated with higher job satisfaction, while psychological inflexibility tended to be associated with lower satisfaction in working with persons with disabilities.