Race And Job Satisfaction In The Us Army

The nature of racial differences or similarities in job satisfaction within a military context is an enduring research and policy issue. Studies of the American Soldier during World War II found patterns of service-related attitudes among black soldiers that anticipated contemporary concerns. Black soldiers, on the average, expressed a greater sense of pride in their units, a greater sense of importance of their Army jobs, and more interest in their Army jobs, than did white soldiers. Black soldiers were also more likely than whites to feel that their Army training would help them get better civilian jobs. However, in terms of their physical condition and general well-being, black soldiers during World War II gave more negative responses than did white soldiers. Regarding all of these variables as indicators of job satisfaction, Stouffer and his colleagues concluded that 'there is no evidence that Negroes' general level of job satisfaction was higher than that of whites ... No conclusion can safely be drawn as to the comparative general level of job satisfaction, although there would seem to be little doubt that the Negro was somewhat more prone to regard his job as important and interesting. (Author).