Institutional reform, adaptive functioning of mentally retarded persons, and staff quality of work life.

In a previously reported, one-year field experiment of institutional reform, higher adaptive behavior among residents who lived in more normalizing residences was found (MacEachron, 1983). The main hypothesis of the present study was that staff quality of work life (job design, influence in decision-making, and leadership style of the immediate supervisor) may explain the effectiveness of institutional reform as well as staff satisfaction and motivation to perform effectively. Only greater staff influence in decision-making could explain the effectiveness of institutional reform, although all quality-of-work-life perspectives were associated with staff satisfaction and motivation to perform effectively.