Research has documented important interplays between the diagnostic characteristics of residents in group care centers and the functioning of staff teams responsible for the delivery of services. Factors that impact on the quality of working life satisfactions and frustrations are variable over time and may originate from within the team, the resident group, the service organization, or the social policy environment external to the centre. Outcomes may draw team members together or promote destructive levels of turbulence, maladaptation, or anti-task behavior with significant consequences for all concerned. (Contains 1 note and 8 tables.)