Prior Occupational Experience and Choice of Alcoholism Rehabilitation Counselors H. Paul Chalfant, Ph.D.* LeRoy O. A. Martinson, Ph.D. Daniel J. Crowe, M.S.W.
ABSTRACT: Although the use of recovering alcoholics as counselors in professional settings is increasing, there is little information on the factors important in selecting counselors. This study looks at previous occupational socialization as one such factor. On the basis of a study of alcoholism rehabilitation counselors and their supervisors in Indiana it has been concluded that such socialization is an important factor. It is recommended that prospective employers be wary off applicants without some experience in "'bureaucratic" types of zoork experience, that is, who have not had experience in work settings or with work requirements somewhat analogous to those in the professional setting.
At one time recovering alcoholics and mental health professionals appeared to be at complete odds with one another in regard to the treatment of the active alcoholic. Over the years, with broadening experience in working with the alcoholic, each has come to understand and respect the contribution of the other. Today these contributions are more and more frequently being combined in the treatment center, specifically in a variety of agencies having in common a professional orientation. Although the efficacy of the recovering alcoholic in dealing with the active alcoholic is well recognized, the recovering alcoholic counselor remains essentially a stranger in the world of the professional. This situation presents a problem for both the alcoholism counselor and the agency administration. How can the essential adaptation of the counselor to the professional orientation be made? Clearly programs of professional socialization for such counselors are one way to handle this problem. Even such a program, however, would require a counselor-prospect who could assimilate and make use of the training. Thus it becomes important to be able to select from the pool of potential counselors those who not only have had success with "12th-step work," but also give promise of making successful adaptation to the professional work place.
* Dr. Chalfant is affiliated with the Department of Sociology, Texas Tech University, (Lubbock, Texas 79409); Dr. Martinson is with the Department of Sociology, Valparaiso University, Indiana; and Mr. Crowe is with the Division of Addiction Services, Indiana Department of Mental Health. The research for this article was supported by a grant from the Division of Addiction Services, Indiana Department of Mental Health. 402
community Mental Health Journal, Vol. 11 (4), 1975
H. Paul Chalfant, LeRoy O.A. Martinson and Daniel J. Crowe
403
There are frequent references in the literature on treatment of alcoholics to the need for using recovering alcoholics as rehabilitation counselors. There is nothing, however, to indicate what factors might most usefully be considered in choosing among applicants. The research reported here aims at developing one set of criteria for making such choices, based on the previous occupational experience of the prospective counselor. We have worked from the general hypothesis that success in carrying out the complex organizational demands of the counselor job (apart from direct relationships with clients) as perceived by immediate supervisors may be predicted from the presence and complexity of the organizational requirements the counselor had to satisfy in the last or most significant previous full-time job. This generalized hypothesis is drawn from the "consistency tradition" in the sociology of occupations. This tradition began research on the relationship between patterns of behavior at " w o r k " and at "leisure." Blum (1953), for example, found a similarity between the type of work and the type of leisure experienced by the typical packing house worker in spite of a strong psychological fatigue and desire to get away from work and everything for which it stands. Similar evidence is found in the research of Parker (1971), who reported that two patterns of work and leisure experience were found. Persons in banking and those with less skilled types of manual work were less involved in their work than those whose work was more socially and intellectually oriented, and there was a similar contrast in their kind of involvement in leisure. The strongest foundation for our hypothesis in previous research is in the work of Kohn (1971) and Kohn and Schooler (1969, 1973). Using interview data from a sample of about 3,000 males, they found that occupational conditions conducive to developing self-direction in one's work were linked to valuing self-direction. In a latter stage of analysis Kohn (1971) showed that employees of bureaucratic organizations are more intellectually flexible, more open to new orientations or experience, and more self-directed in their values than are men who work in nonbureaucratic organizations. In their latest published analysis Kohn and Schooler (1973) have specified dimensions of occupations rather than dealing with constellations of characteristics; they have specified indices of psychological functioning and expanded the range to be considered; and by means of regression analysis they have estimated the direction and power of the relationship between occupational experience and psychological functioning. Their work made it possible for us to specify our hypothesis. Our ultimate interest in this study is focused on the effect that a previous job may have on the present one, that is, whether the previous job may carry over into performance of the present work. All of the studies have stopped short of this point, but the Kohn and Schooler model contains a relationship that is almost exactly of this kind, although the "effect" variable is actually substantive complexity of the present job rather than success in handling that substantive complexity. We believe that intellectual flexibility is an important contributor to the elements of successful counselor job performance that we emphasize in our
404
Community Mental Health Journal
hypothesis, although we do not deny that interpersonal orientations also contribute importantly to these and other elements. Thus our hypothesis, stated more explicitly, is that The presence of specific forms of substantive complexity in the last previous full-time job will be associated with greater success in performing analogous aspects of the job in the agency.
In specifying the dimensions of this hypothesis, we have identified the following elements of counselor performance within an organization that are marked by substantive complexity and which we believe are crucial for performance: (1) guiding one's own activities by complete job description, (2) confining activities to those that are assigned, (3) distribution of attention over the complete list of clients, (4) keeping superiors informed of activities through reports, and (5) attempting to learn new approaches to counseling when requested. Three intervening orientations were also identified: (1) the recognition and acceptance of specific limitations in one's own ability when compared to the complete job description, (2) recognition of and respect for the full range of the organization's goals, and (3) understanding of and respect for formal rationality in a special purpose organization. PROCEDURES The hypothesis was tested by means of separate interview schedules administered, respectively, to a sample of alcoholism rehabilitation counselors and to a sample of their immediate supervisors. For the purpose of this study the term, "alcoholism rehabilitation counselor" has a specific meaning: An individual who is a recovering alcoholic, without a traditional "professional" degree, who works in an agency having as part of its objective the referral and treatment of alcoholics. In addition the counselor, as defined for the purpose of this study, must have a supervisor who acts in more than an administrative capacity toward him or her, so that performance evaluations are available. The counselor sample numbered 38 and represented all the counselors fitting the definition made for the purpose of this study who were actively working in the State of Indiana at the time of the study. Although a number of other recovering alcoholics were doing counseling as an occupation, only the 38 counselors met all of the requirements. The sample of supervisors, obviously, consisted of the immediate supervisors of all individuals making up the counselor sample. As some supervisors were responsible for more than one counselor, their total number was less than the number of counselors; but a total of 38 responses, one for each counselor, was obtained. Responses for both samples were solicited by means of interviews conducted by the principle investigators and one research assistant. In order to analyze the counselor responses we combined the details into four aspects of prior experience which could be classified reliably and, by simple addition, formed a single measure of experience. In this measure the highest value, four, approaches the more rational, bureaucratic model. The minimum requirement for each potential point was as follows: 1. Scheduling demands: Required to make appointments or had a schedule made by a superior 2. Requirement of outside contacts: Required to deal with all eligible "others," whether pleasant or not 3. Experience in role boundary maintenance: Some possibility of overlapping existed and had to make a decision whether to cross boundaries 4. Requirement of reports: Complex judgment of the decision maker's need-to-know necessary There is almost no way in which the basic character of one of these requirements overlaps the basic character of another, and there is no clear tendency for certain requirements to be found
H. Paul Chaifant, LeRoy O.A. Martinson and Daniel J. Crowe
405
together in the same jobs among our respondents. Thus the simple procedure of adding the scores is justifiable. The summed experience score was compared with six measures of success. FINDINGS We f o u n d that these s u m m e d e x p e r i e n c e scores had effects on all p e r f o r m a n c e ratings, b u t not of the simple r a n k - o r d e r k i n d in w h i c h the group w i t h the highest experience score w o u l d tend to do better than those with the next lower score, and so forth d o w n the line. Rather, those w i t h the highest score almost always received the highest possible current ratings for performance, whereas those w i t h the lowest score seldom received good current p e r f o r m a n c e ratings. W h e n c o m p a r i n g s u m m e d experience score w i t h the t e n d e n c y to fulfill the complete job description (see Table 1), those scoring h i g h (three and four) on s u m m e d experience were all rated h i g h (four) in fulfillment of the complete job description. O n l y 36% of those rated v e r y low (zero) in terms of s u m m e d experience were rated high on p e r f o r m a n c e , w h e r e a s 27% of t h e m were r a n k e d at the v e r y lowest level of such performance. Similarly, w h e n the variable of b o u n d a r y utilization (in effect, c o n s e r v a t i o n of energies for essential tasks) is c o n s i d e r e d (see Table 2), those w i t h the highest s u m m e d experience score all rated h i g h on this factor. In this instance only 27% of those ranked lowest on the m e a s u r e of s u m m e d experience w e r e rated h i g h and 36% fell into the v e r y lowest category on success rating. C o n s i d e r i n g b o u n d a r y respect in relationship to the m e a s u r e of s u m m e d experience (Table 3), practically the same situation is f o u n d again. All those with h i g h experience ratings were seen as respecting the b o u n d a r i e s set in the agency p r o c e d u r e s as o p p o s e d to less than half (44%) of those w h o were r a n k e d lowest on s u m m e d experience. In this case the greatest difference came b e t w e e n those scoring zero on the m e a s u r e of expeience and those w i t h all TABLE 1
Job Description Fulfillment by Summed-Up Experience Score Job Des,crip,tion Fulfillment Eatin a
Summed-Up E x p e r i e n c e Score (3-4 i s h i g h e s t ) 3-4
2
1
0
I00%
56%
82%
36%
Most of time
Ii
18
18
Seldoa
22
18
Never
ii
27
Regularly
TOTAL CASES
6
9
11
11
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Community Mental Health Journal
TABLE 2
Boundary Utilization Rating by Summed-Up Experience Score Boundary
Sutured-Up E x p e r i e n c e
Otilization Rating
3-4
2
i
0
100%
33%
82%
27Z
Chiefly confines self
33
18
9
Goes b e y o n d rather often
22
27
Goes beyond frequently
Ii
36
Confines self strictly
TOTAL CASES
* The r a t i n g spondent.
5"
categories
9
11
Score
(3-4 is highest)
11
in Table 2 are not applicable
t o one r e -
other ratings. It was only those without experience who were ranked low to any substantial degree, the others very seldom being low in performance. The effect of the measure of summed experience on a counselor's openness to innovations in treatment methods was not as strong as in the previous three cases (see Table 4). The respondents with the highest summed experience score, however, were most frequently rated as having the highest measure of success. Although 83% of those with three or four experience scores were given the highest ranking for openness to innovation (three), only 27% of those rated zero in experience were thus rated on performance. Further, no counselors who were rated high in experience were given the lowest performance rating (one), whereas more than half of those in the lowest experience grouping were given this performance ranking (55%.) The three counselor orientations that we proposed as intervening variables largely lived up to our expectations. Let them be called briefly (1) "realism" (that is, freedom from exaggeration of own abilities), (2) "respect for goals," and (3) "planning sense." The first was strongly related to the experience score; the second, very strongly; and the third, moderately. In turn the three orientations affected all the performance ratings in the expected manner, with "realism" having the most consistently important and statistically significant effects, respect for goals coming next, and planning sense--a relatively rare quality in the counselors--having, in general, only moderate effects.
H. Paul Chalfant, LeRoy O.A. Martinson and Daniel J. Crowe
407
A series of three-variable analyses, too complicated to r e p r e s e n t here, shows that two p r o p o s e d i n t e r v e n i n g variables did i n d e e d serve as vehicles t h r o u g h w h i c h part of the effect of " b u r e a u c r a t i c " experience was carried into the rehabilitation work. Respect for goals served as such a vehicle in accounting for the effect on respect for b o u n d a r i e s and impartiality. Realism, a p p a r e n t l y the most i m p o r t a n t vehicle in the careers of our r e s p o n d e n t s , carried prior experience into every k i n d of current p e r f o r m a n c e except a d e q u a c y of reporting. Planning sense p r o v e d to be an alternative source of success in e v e r y k i n d of p e r f o r m a n c e except o p e n n e s s to i n n o v a t i o n ( t h r o u g h p r o v i d i n g only a w e a k link to impartiality). O n e final finding is of special interest. A d e q u a c y in r e p o r t i n g a p p e a r e d to be either carried over directly from a p r e v i o u s job w i t h complex r e p o r t i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s or learned in good agencies b y counselors w i t h no p r e v i o u s r e p o r t - w r i t i n g experience. Those w h o s e p r e v i o u s w o r k r e q u i r e d superficial reports t e n d e d to have a h a r d e r time d e v e l o p i n g the skill. C O N C L U S I O N S AND R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S O n the basis of our findings, we believe that w e can make several r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g factors to be taken into account w h e n c o n s i d e r i n g recovering alcoholics for the position of alcoholism rehabilitation counselor. P r o s p e c t i v e employers should be w a r y of applicants w h o s e p r e v i o u s work experience contains n o n e of the fehtures w e have loosely referred to as " b u r e a u c r a t i c , " that is, 1. Having a schedule that takes account of the specific time requirements of others 2. Having to decide whether to avoid doing normally permitted tasks that also fall within the boundaries of someone's else's job description TABLE 3
Boundary Respect Rating by Summed-Up Experience Score Bolmdary
Sutured-Up E x p e r i e m c e S c o r e
( 3 - 4 I s hiKhesC_)
Ru~, ct Ra t i n R
Respecr~
3-4
2
1
0
100Z
89Z
9]~
44Z
11
9
55
9
11
11
Does J o t
TOTAL CASKS
* The r a t i n g c a t e s o r i u respondent.
59
i n T a b l e 3 are n o t a p p l i c a b l e
t o one
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Community Mental Health Journal
TABLE 4
Openness to Innovation Rating by Summed-up Experience Score Openness to Innovation Rat:in8
.S.u~ed--Up Experience Score ( 3 - 4 i s h i g h e s t )
3.-4
2
1
0
Yea
83Z
44I
73Z
27Z
So=-tl,--a
17
33
27
18
Never
TOTAL L~S~$
22
6
9
55
11
11
3. Having to submit reports of information, based on complexjudgment, that other people in an organization must consider in making a decision 4. Being required to make outside contacts with all the persons who are eligible for attention regardless of whether or not the contacts are unpleasant The chances are great that p e r s o n s lacking such experience will create p r o b l e m s in their relationships with other a g e n c y personnel, even t h o u g h a b o u t t w o - t h i r d s of t h e m in our sample were said to "fit in q u i c k l y " with the agency. Persons h a v i n g three or four such features in their experience should be preferred, since they can be c o u n t e d on almost u n i f o r m l y to adjust to the organizational structure of the w o r k in every w a y we have i n q u i r e d about. Since it is i m p o s s i b l e to confine r e c r u i t m e n t to p e r s o n s w h o have had the m a x i m u m exposure to such features in their p r e v i o u s work, special care s h o u l d be taken to select t h e m at times w h e n recovering alcoholics are first b e i n g i n t r o d u c e d into a p r o g r a m as counselors, w h e n the character of a n e w p r o g r a m is b e i n g established, or w h e n a p r o g r a m is in trouble on account of e m p l o y e e s w h o lack such characteristics. N o one characteristic of the p r e v i o u s w o r k can b e used to predict general p e r f o r m a n c e in the a g e n c y work. The c o m b i n a t i o n of characteristics is decisive. We are aware that there are exceptions. A v e r y small n u m b e r of counselors with no " b u r e a u c r a t i c " experience at all received very favorable ratings from their supervisors. We c a n n o t therefore advise against the e m p l o y m e n t of such persons, b u t we can advise that such e m p l o y m e n t be a v o i d e d unless there is strong and detailed e v i d e n c e that such p r o s p e c t i v e counselors have in other w a y s achieved the social k n o w - h o w to participate successfully with others in s e m i b u r e a u c r a t i c c o u n s e l i n g organizations. A note a b o u t the term " b u r e a u c r a t i c " seems to be in order. This term refers to characteristics that are f r e q u e n t l y f o u n d t o g e t h e r in jobs w i t h i n bureaucrat-
H. Paul Chalfant, LeRoy O.A. Martinson and Daniel J. Crowe
409
ic o r g a n i z a t i o n s . There is no r e a s o n w h y s o m e of the i n d i v i d u a l characteristics c a n n o t occur in n o n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l jobs, a n d s o m e jobs that do not outw a r d l y a p p e a r " b u r e a u c r a t i c " at all m a y p r o v i d e all the features w e h a v e specified. T h u s it is i m p o r t a n t to ask w h a t w a s n e c e s s a r y in the w o r k , in t e r m s of our list of features, a n d not s i m p l y to ask w h e t h e r the p r o s p e c t w o r k e d in a "bureaucratic" organization. There are t w o other basic k i n d s of c o m m e n t s w e w o u l d m a k e . First, w e t h i n k it is a p p r o p r i a t e to reaffirm c o n f i d e n c e in the job a l c o h o l i s m r e h a b i l i t a tion counselors are doing. Certainly as w e h a v e i n t e r v i e w e d a n d v i e w e d these counselors in the s e m i b u r e a u c r a t i c setting of the social w o r k agency, w e h a v e b e e n i m p r e s s e d w i t h the w o r k t h e y are doing. T h e r e f o r e w e w a n t to m a k e clear that a n y s u g g e s t i o n in the p a p e r a b o u t failures of counselors or c o u n s e l o r s d o i n g less t h a n perfect w o r k are not m e a n t to d i s p a r g e such p e r s o n n e l or d i s c o u r a g e agencies f r o m e m p l o y i n g t h e m . It is q u i t e e v i d e n t that the e m p l o y m e n t of a r e c o v e r i n g alcoholic as a c o u n s e l o r in a social w o r k a g e n c y or a social w o r k l i k e agency is e x t r e m e l y v a l u a b l e in the task of h e l p i n g o t h e r alcoholics recover. O u r s t u d y has not r e v e a l e d a n y serious p r o b l e m s w i t h the practice a n d w e heartily r e c o m m e n d that it be c o n t i n u e d a n d that the use of such counselors b e extended. Of course w e also feel that this w o r k will be i m p r o v e d as the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s w e h a v e m a d e are followed a n d e v e n m o r e a p p r o p r i a t e selection of p e r s o n n e l is m a d e . The o t h e r c o m m e n t that w e m a k e deals w i t h the i m p o r t a n c e of the structure of the a g e n c y itself. T h e r e are three p o s s i b l e sources of v a r i a t i o n in the p e r f o r m a n c e of alcoholism r e h a b i l i t a t i o n counselors: (1) the o c c u p a t i o n a l socialization of the counselor, (2) the p e r s o n a l i t y of the counselor, a n d (3) the structure of the agency. W e h a v e b e e n p e r s u a d e d that p e r s o n a l i t y is p r o b a b l y the least i m p o r t a n t of these three, unless one takes the p o s i t i o n that the o c c u p a t i o n a l socialization has s h a p e d the personality. We do feel, h o w e v e r , that the structure of the agency is an equally i m p o r t a n t factor for the successful m a r r i a g e of s u b p r o f e s s i o n a l w i t h p r o f e s s i o n a l in the field of alcoholism c o u n seling. In i n d i c a t i n g the i m p o r t a n c e of structure w e are r e p o r t i n g o u r feelings that w h e r e the agency is well structured, the r e h a b i l i t a t i o n c o u n s e l o r w o r k s best. In short, w h e r e there is a g o o d " b u r e a u c r a t i c " structure for the a g e n c y ' s task, the s u b p r o f e s s i o n a l c o u n s e l o r takes s o m e e n c o u r a g e m e n t a n d gains s o m e strength. Rather t h a n alienating a p e r s o n not a c c u s t o m e d to such s t r u c t u r i n g , a g o o d s t r u c t u r i n g of the agency a p p e a r s to give the g u i d a n c e that is n e e d e d . REFERENCES Blum, F. H. Toward a democratic work process: The Hormel packinghouse workers' experiment. New York: Harper, 1953. Kohn, M. L. Bureaucratic man: A portrait and an interpretation. American Sociological Review, 1971,, 36, 461-474. Kohn, M. L., & Schooler, K, Class, occupation, and orientation. American Sociological Review, 1969, 34, 659-678. Kohn, M. L., & Schooler, K. Occupational experience and psychological functioning: An assessment of reciprocal effects. American Sociological Review, 1973, 39, 97-118. Parker, S. R. The Future of Work and Leisure. New York: Praeger, 1971.
ABSTRACT: Although the use of recovering alcoholics as counselors in professional settings is increasing, there is little information on the factors important in selecting counselors. This study looks at previous occupational socialization as one such factor. On the basis of a study of alcoholism rehabilitation counselors and their supervisors in Indiana it has been concluded that such socialization is an important factor. It is recommended that prospective employers be wary off applicants without some experience in "'bureaucratic" types of zoork experience, that is, who have not had experience in work settings or with work requirements somewhat analogous to those in the professional setting.
At one time recovering alcoholics and mental health professionals appeared to be at complete odds with one another in regard to the treatment of the active alcoholic. Over the years, with broadening experience in working with the alcoholic, each has come to understand and respect the contribution of the other. Today these contributions are more and more frequently being combined in the treatment center, specifically in a variety of agencies having in common a professional orientation. Although the efficacy of the recovering alcoholic in dealing with the active alcoholic is well recognized, the recovering alcoholic counselor remains essentially a stranger in the world of the professional. This situation presents a problem for both the alcoholism counselor and the agency administration. How can the essential adaptation of the counselor to the professional orientation be made? Clearly programs of professional socialization for such counselors are one way to handle this problem. Even such a program, however, would require a counselor-prospect who could assimilate and make use of the training. Thus it becomes important to be able to select from the pool of potential counselors those who not only have had success with "12th-step work," but also give promise of making successful adaptation to the professional work place.
* Dr. Chalfant is affiliated with the Department of Sociology, Texas Tech University, (Lubbock, Texas 79409); Dr. Martinson is with the Department of Sociology, Valparaiso University, Indiana; and Mr. Crowe is with the Division of Addiction Services, Indiana Department of Mental Health. The research for this article was supported by a grant from the Division of Addiction Services, Indiana Department of Mental Health. 402
community Mental Health Journal, Vol. 11 (4), 1975
H. Paul Chalfant, LeRoy O.A. Martinson and Daniel J. Crowe
403
There are frequent references in the literature on treatment of alcoholics to the need for using recovering alcoholics as rehabilitation counselors. There is nothing, however, to indicate what factors might most usefully be considered in choosing among applicants. The research reported here aims at developing one set of criteria for making such choices, based on the previous occupational experience of the prospective counselor. We have worked from the general hypothesis that success in carrying out the complex organizational demands of the counselor job (apart from direct relationships with clients) as perceived by immediate supervisors may be predicted from the presence and complexity of the organizational requirements the counselor had to satisfy in the last or most significant previous full-time job. This generalized hypothesis is drawn from the "consistency tradition" in the sociology of occupations. This tradition began research on the relationship between patterns of behavior at " w o r k " and at "leisure." Blum (1953), for example, found a similarity between the type of work and the type of leisure experienced by the typical packing house worker in spite of a strong psychological fatigue and desire to get away from work and everything for which it stands. Similar evidence is found in the research of Parker (1971), who reported that two patterns of work and leisure experience were found. Persons in banking and those with less skilled types of manual work were less involved in their work than those whose work was more socially and intellectually oriented, and there was a similar contrast in their kind of involvement in leisure. The strongest foundation for our hypothesis in previous research is in the work of Kohn (1971) and Kohn and Schooler (1969, 1973). Using interview data from a sample of about 3,000 males, they found that occupational conditions conducive to developing self-direction in one's work were linked to valuing self-direction. In a latter stage of analysis Kohn (1971) showed that employees of bureaucratic organizations are more intellectually flexible, more open to new orientations or experience, and more self-directed in their values than are men who work in nonbureaucratic organizations. In their latest published analysis Kohn and Schooler (1973) have specified dimensions of occupations rather than dealing with constellations of characteristics; they have specified indices of psychological functioning and expanded the range to be considered; and by means of regression analysis they have estimated the direction and power of the relationship between occupational experience and psychological functioning. Their work made it possible for us to specify our hypothesis. Our ultimate interest in this study is focused on the effect that a previous job may have on the present one, that is, whether the previous job may carry over into performance of the present work. All of the studies have stopped short of this point, but the Kohn and Schooler model contains a relationship that is almost exactly of this kind, although the "effect" variable is actually substantive complexity of the present job rather than success in handling that substantive complexity. We believe that intellectual flexibility is an important contributor to the elements of successful counselor job performance that we emphasize in our
404
Community Mental Health Journal
hypothesis, although we do not deny that interpersonal orientations also contribute importantly to these and other elements. Thus our hypothesis, stated more explicitly, is that The presence of specific forms of substantive complexity in the last previous full-time job will be associated with greater success in performing analogous aspects of the job in the agency.
In specifying the dimensions of this hypothesis, we have identified the following elements of counselor performance within an organization that are marked by substantive complexity and which we believe are crucial for performance: (1) guiding one's own activities by complete job description, (2) confining activities to those that are assigned, (3) distribution of attention over the complete list of clients, (4) keeping superiors informed of activities through reports, and (5) attempting to learn new approaches to counseling when requested. Three intervening orientations were also identified: (1) the recognition and acceptance of specific limitations in one's own ability when compared to the complete job description, (2) recognition of and respect for the full range of the organization's goals, and (3) understanding of and respect for formal rationality in a special purpose organization. PROCEDURES The hypothesis was tested by means of separate interview schedules administered, respectively, to a sample of alcoholism rehabilitation counselors and to a sample of their immediate supervisors. For the purpose of this study the term, "alcoholism rehabilitation counselor" has a specific meaning: An individual who is a recovering alcoholic, without a traditional "professional" degree, who works in an agency having as part of its objective the referral and treatment of alcoholics. In addition the counselor, as defined for the purpose of this study, must have a supervisor who acts in more than an administrative capacity toward him or her, so that performance evaluations are available. The counselor sample numbered 38 and represented all the counselors fitting the definition made for the purpose of this study who were actively working in the State of Indiana at the time of the study. Although a number of other recovering alcoholics were doing counseling as an occupation, only the 38 counselors met all of the requirements. The sample of supervisors, obviously, consisted of the immediate supervisors of all individuals making up the counselor sample. As some supervisors were responsible for more than one counselor, their total number was less than the number of counselors; but a total of 38 responses, one for each counselor, was obtained. Responses for both samples were solicited by means of interviews conducted by the principle investigators and one research assistant. In order to analyze the counselor responses we combined the details into four aspects of prior experience which could be classified reliably and, by simple addition, formed a single measure of experience. In this measure the highest value, four, approaches the more rational, bureaucratic model. The minimum requirement for each potential point was as follows: 1. Scheduling demands: Required to make appointments or had a schedule made by a superior 2. Requirement of outside contacts: Required to deal with all eligible "others," whether pleasant or not 3. Experience in role boundary maintenance: Some possibility of overlapping existed and had to make a decision whether to cross boundaries 4. Requirement of reports: Complex judgment of the decision maker's need-to-know necessary There is almost no way in which the basic character of one of these requirements overlaps the basic character of another, and there is no clear tendency for certain requirements to be found
H. Paul Chaifant, LeRoy O.A. Martinson and Daniel J. Crowe
405
together in the same jobs among our respondents. Thus the simple procedure of adding the scores is justifiable. The summed experience score was compared with six measures of success. FINDINGS We f o u n d that these s u m m e d e x p e r i e n c e scores had effects on all p e r f o r m a n c e ratings, b u t not of the simple r a n k - o r d e r k i n d in w h i c h the group w i t h the highest experience score w o u l d tend to do better than those with the next lower score, and so forth d o w n the line. Rather, those w i t h the highest score almost always received the highest possible current ratings for performance, whereas those w i t h the lowest score seldom received good current p e r f o r m a n c e ratings. W h e n c o m p a r i n g s u m m e d experience score w i t h the t e n d e n c y to fulfill the complete job description (see Table 1), those scoring h i g h (three and four) on s u m m e d experience were all rated h i g h (four) in fulfillment of the complete job description. O n l y 36% of those rated v e r y low (zero) in terms of s u m m e d experience were rated high on p e r f o r m a n c e , w h e r e a s 27% of t h e m were r a n k e d at the v e r y lowest level of such performance. Similarly, w h e n the variable of b o u n d a r y utilization (in effect, c o n s e r v a t i o n of energies for essential tasks) is c o n s i d e r e d (see Table 2), those w i t h the highest s u m m e d experience score all rated h i g h on this factor. In this instance only 27% of those ranked lowest on the m e a s u r e of s u m m e d experience w e r e rated h i g h and 36% fell into the v e r y lowest category on success rating. C o n s i d e r i n g b o u n d a r y respect in relationship to the m e a s u r e of s u m m e d experience (Table 3), practically the same situation is f o u n d again. All those with h i g h experience ratings were seen as respecting the b o u n d a r i e s set in the agency p r o c e d u r e s as o p p o s e d to less than half (44%) of those w h o were r a n k e d lowest on s u m m e d experience. In this case the greatest difference came b e t w e e n those scoring zero on the m e a s u r e of expeience and those w i t h all TABLE 1
Job Description Fulfillment by Summed-Up Experience Score Job Des,crip,tion Fulfillment Eatin a
Summed-Up E x p e r i e n c e Score (3-4 i s h i g h e s t ) 3-4
2
1
0
I00%
56%
82%
36%
Most of time
Ii
18
18
Seldoa
22
18
Never
ii
27
Regularly
TOTAL CASES
6
9
11
11
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TABLE 2
Boundary Utilization Rating by Summed-Up Experience Score Boundary
Sutured-Up E x p e r i e n c e
Otilization Rating
3-4
2
i
0
100%
33%
82%
27Z
Chiefly confines self
33
18
9
Goes b e y o n d rather often
22
27
Goes beyond frequently
Ii
36
Confines self strictly
TOTAL CASES
* The r a t i n g spondent.
5"
categories
9
11
Score
(3-4 is highest)
11
in Table 2 are not applicable
t o one r e -
other ratings. It was only those without experience who were ranked low to any substantial degree, the others very seldom being low in performance. The effect of the measure of summed experience on a counselor's openness to innovations in treatment methods was not as strong as in the previous three cases (see Table 4). The respondents with the highest summed experience score, however, were most frequently rated as having the highest measure of success. Although 83% of those with three or four experience scores were given the highest ranking for openness to innovation (three), only 27% of those rated zero in experience were thus rated on performance. Further, no counselors who were rated high in experience were given the lowest performance rating (one), whereas more than half of those in the lowest experience grouping were given this performance ranking (55%.) The three counselor orientations that we proposed as intervening variables largely lived up to our expectations. Let them be called briefly (1) "realism" (that is, freedom from exaggeration of own abilities), (2) "respect for goals," and (3) "planning sense." The first was strongly related to the experience score; the second, very strongly; and the third, moderately. In turn the three orientations affected all the performance ratings in the expected manner, with "realism" having the most consistently important and statistically significant effects, respect for goals coming next, and planning sense--a relatively rare quality in the counselors--having, in general, only moderate effects.
H. Paul Chalfant, LeRoy O.A. Martinson and Daniel J. Crowe
407
A series of three-variable analyses, too complicated to r e p r e s e n t here, shows that two p r o p o s e d i n t e r v e n i n g variables did i n d e e d serve as vehicles t h r o u g h w h i c h part of the effect of " b u r e a u c r a t i c " experience was carried into the rehabilitation work. Respect for goals served as such a vehicle in accounting for the effect on respect for b o u n d a r i e s and impartiality. Realism, a p p a r e n t l y the most i m p o r t a n t vehicle in the careers of our r e s p o n d e n t s , carried prior experience into every k i n d of current p e r f o r m a n c e except a d e q u a c y of reporting. Planning sense p r o v e d to be an alternative source of success in e v e r y k i n d of p e r f o r m a n c e except o p e n n e s s to i n n o v a t i o n ( t h r o u g h p r o v i d i n g only a w e a k link to impartiality). O n e final finding is of special interest. A d e q u a c y in r e p o r t i n g a p p e a r e d to be either carried over directly from a p r e v i o u s job w i t h complex r e p o r t i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s or learned in good agencies b y counselors w i t h no p r e v i o u s r e p o r t - w r i t i n g experience. Those w h o s e p r e v i o u s w o r k r e q u i r e d superficial reports t e n d e d to have a h a r d e r time d e v e l o p i n g the skill. C O N C L U S I O N S AND R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S O n the basis of our findings, we believe that w e can make several r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g factors to be taken into account w h e n c o n s i d e r i n g recovering alcoholics for the position of alcoholism rehabilitation counselor. P r o s p e c t i v e employers should be w a r y of applicants w h o s e p r e v i o u s work experience contains n o n e of the fehtures w e have loosely referred to as " b u r e a u c r a t i c , " that is, 1. Having a schedule that takes account of the specific time requirements of others 2. Having to decide whether to avoid doing normally permitted tasks that also fall within the boundaries of someone's else's job description TABLE 3
Boundary Respect Rating by Summed-Up Experience Score Bolmdary
Sutured-Up E x p e r i e m c e S c o r e
( 3 - 4 I s hiKhesC_)
Ru~, ct Ra t i n R
Respecr~
3-4
2
1
0
100Z
89Z
9]~
44Z
11
9
55
9
11
11
Does J o t
TOTAL CASKS
* The r a t i n g c a t e s o r i u respondent.
59
i n T a b l e 3 are n o t a p p l i c a b l e
t o one
408
Community Mental Health Journal
TABLE 4
Openness to Innovation Rating by Summed-up Experience Score Openness to Innovation Rat:in8
.S.u~ed--Up Experience Score ( 3 - 4 i s h i g h e s t )
3.-4
2
1
0
Yea
83Z
44I
73Z
27Z
So=-tl,--a
17
33
27
18
Never
TOTAL L~S~$
22
6
9
55
11
11
3. Having to submit reports of information, based on complexjudgment, that other people in an organization must consider in making a decision 4. Being required to make outside contacts with all the persons who are eligible for attention regardless of whether or not the contacts are unpleasant The chances are great that p e r s o n s lacking such experience will create p r o b l e m s in their relationships with other a g e n c y personnel, even t h o u g h a b o u t t w o - t h i r d s of t h e m in our sample were said to "fit in q u i c k l y " with the agency. Persons h a v i n g three or four such features in their experience should be preferred, since they can be c o u n t e d on almost u n i f o r m l y to adjust to the organizational structure of the w o r k in every w a y we have i n q u i r e d about. Since it is i m p o s s i b l e to confine r e c r u i t m e n t to p e r s o n s w h o have had the m a x i m u m exposure to such features in their p r e v i o u s work, special care s h o u l d be taken to select t h e m at times w h e n recovering alcoholics are first b e i n g i n t r o d u c e d into a p r o g r a m as counselors, w h e n the character of a n e w p r o g r a m is b e i n g established, or w h e n a p r o g r a m is in trouble on account of e m p l o y e e s w h o lack such characteristics. N o one characteristic of the p r e v i o u s w o r k can b e used to predict general p e r f o r m a n c e in the a g e n c y work. The c o m b i n a t i o n of characteristics is decisive. We are aware that there are exceptions. A v e r y small n u m b e r of counselors with no " b u r e a u c r a t i c " experience at all received very favorable ratings from their supervisors. We c a n n o t therefore advise against the e m p l o y m e n t of such persons, b u t we can advise that such e m p l o y m e n t be a v o i d e d unless there is strong and detailed e v i d e n c e that such p r o s p e c t i v e counselors have in other w a y s achieved the social k n o w - h o w to participate successfully with others in s e m i b u r e a u c r a t i c c o u n s e l i n g organizations. A note a b o u t the term " b u r e a u c r a t i c " seems to be in order. This term refers to characteristics that are f r e q u e n t l y f o u n d t o g e t h e r in jobs w i t h i n bureaucrat-
H. Paul Chalfant, LeRoy O.A. Martinson and Daniel J. Crowe
409
ic o r g a n i z a t i o n s . There is no r e a s o n w h y s o m e of the i n d i v i d u a l characteristics c a n n o t occur in n o n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l jobs, a n d s o m e jobs that do not outw a r d l y a p p e a r " b u r e a u c r a t i c " at all m a y p r o v i d e all the features w e h a v e specified. T h u s it is i m p o r t a n t to ask w h a t w a s n e c e s s a r y in the w o r k , in t e r m s of our list of features, a n d not s i m p l y to ask w h e t h e r the p r o s p e c t w o r k e d in a "bureaucratic" organization. There are t w o other basic k i n d s of c o m m e n t s w e w o u l d m a k e . First, w e t h i n k it is a p p r o p r i a t e to reaffirm c o n f i d e n c e in the job a l c o h o l i s m r e h a b i l i t a tion counselors are doing. Certainly as w e h a v e i n t e r v i e w e d a n d v i e w e d these counselors in the s e m i b u r e a u c r a t i c setting of the social w o r k agency, w e h a v e b e e n i m p r e s s e d w i t h the w o r k t h e y are doing. T h e r e f o r e w e w a n t to m a k e clear that a n y s u g g e s t i o n in the p a p e r a b o u t failures of counselors or c o u n s e l o r s d o i n g less t h a n perfect w o r k are not m e a n t to d i s p a r g e such p e r s o n n e l or d i s c o u r a g e agencies f r o m e m p l o y i n g t h e m . It is q u i t e e v i d e n t that the e m p l o y m e n t of a r e c o v e r i n g alcoholic as a c o u n s e l o r in a social w o r k a g e n c y or a social w o r k l i k e agency is e x t r e m e l y v a l u a b l e in the task of h e l p i n g o t h e r alcoholics recover. O u r s t u d y has not r e v e a l e d a n y serious p r o b l e m s w i t h the practice a n d w e heartily r e c o m m e n d that it be c o n t i n u e d a n d that the use of such counselors b e extended. Of course w e also feel that this w o r k will be i m p r o v e d as the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s w e h a v e m a d e are followed a n d e v e n m o r e a p p r o p r i a t e selection of p e r s o n n e l is m a d e . The o t h e r c o m m e n t that w e m a k e deals w i t h the i m p o r t a n c e of the structure of the a g e n c y itself. T h e r e are three p o s s i b l e sources of v a r i a t i o n in the p e r f o r m a n c e of alcoholism r e h a b i l i t a t i o n counselors: (1) the o c c u p a t i o n a l socialization of the counselor, (2) the p e r s o n a l i t y of the counselor, a n d (3) the structure of the agency. W e h a v e b e e n p e r s u a d e d that p e r s o n a l i t y is p r o b a b l y the least i m p o r t a n t of these three, unless one takes the p o s i t i o n that the o c c u p a t i o n a l socialization has s h a p e d the personality. We do feel, h o w e v e r , that the structure of the agency is an equally i m p o r t a n t factor for the successful m a r r i a g e of s u b p r o f e s s i o n a l w i t h p r o f e s s i o n a l in the field of alcoholism c o u n seling. In i n d i c a t i n g the i m p o r t a n c e of structure w e are r e p o r t i n g o u r feelings that w h e r e the agency is well structured, the r e h a b i l i t a t i o n c o u n s e l o r w o r k s best. In short, w h e r e there is a g o o d " b u r e a u c r a t i c " structure for the a g e n c y ' s task, the s u b p r o f e s s i o n a l c o u n s e l o r takes s o m e e n c o u r a g e m e n t a n d gains s o m e strength. Rather t h a n alienating a p e r s o n not a c c u s t o m e d to such s t r u c t u r i n g , a g o o d s t r u c t u r i n g of the agency a p p e a r s to give the g u i d a n c e that is n e e d e d . REFERENCES Blum, F. H. Toward a democratic work process: The Hormel packinghouse workers' experiment. New York: Harper, 1953. Kohn, M. L. Bureaucratic man: A portrait and an interpretation. American Sociological Review, 1971,, 36, 461-474. Kohn, M. L., & Schooler, K, Class, occupation, and orientation. American Sociological Review, 1969, 34, 659-678. Kohn, M. L., & Schooler, K. Occupational experience and psychological functioning: An assessment of reciprocal effects. American Sociological Review, 1973, 39, 97-118. Parker, S. R. The Future of Work and Leisure. New York: Praeger, 1971.
