"Counseling" of employees by work supervisors: Concepts, attitudes, and practices in a white-collar organization

In 2 offices of a government agency, managers, supervisors, and technical employees were surveyed to determine concepts and attitudes associated with the counseling in work settings of subordinates by their superiors. As between organizational subgroups, differences were found concerning counseling definitions, applications, and capabilities within the worker-supervisor relation. Counseling, defined paternalistically, was accepted as applicable and desirable in conception and performance of supervisory roles.