The quest for rural child welfare workers: How different are they from their urban counterparts in demographics, organizational climate, and work attitudes?

Recruiting and retaining child welfare workers in rural communities have been noted as major problems. Although there has been research on organizational culture and climate in child welfare, little is known about organizational climate and work attitudes in rural child welfare agencies and how these may differ from urban agencies. Using Glisson's theoretical framework, the purpose of this study is to explore the differences in organizational climate between rural and urban areas. Results showed that rural workers reported lower levels of job stress and higher growth and advancement, role clarity, and organizational commitment than urban workers. The results of multiple regression analysis showed different factors were associated with urban and rural child welfare workers' work attitudes. Compared with their urban counterparts, rural child welfare workers appear to value cooperation and collaboration with coworkers more highly, have clearer expectations and adequate resources, and opportunities for professional growth and promotion. The findings suggest that different managerial strategies may be needed to enhance the organizational climate depending on whether the work setting is rural or urban.