Abstract
Despite the belief that agreement with ideals of work ethic has positive effects on life
satisfaction, empirical linkage of the association is sparse. Using a disproportionate stratified
sample of 194 social workers in Massachusetts, results suggest that being female, being married,
being employed full time, and being satisfied with one’s job were associated with life
satisfaction. Gender moderated the effects of work ethic on life satisfaction: For women, high
levels of work ethic were associated with high levels of life satisfaction; for men, there was a
much smaller correlation. Implications for practice, human service organizations, and research
were discussed.