Mentally retarded workers' reactions to their jobs.

Reactions of 34 mentally retarded employees to their jobs were examined in a field study conducted at a sheltered workshop. Three experienced social workers observed a group of retarded employees whose job was assembling toys. The workers were then interviewed on their perceptions of and reactions to their job characteristics and supervision, and these were related to performance data that included performance time, productivity, and effort ratings. Results showed that performance measures were related to perceived job characteristics and that growth-need strength (people's needs for personal development and achievement) affected these relationships. On the basis of these results, we discussed the feasibility of using motivation models for retarded workers that were designed for nonretarded workers.