This study was conducted in the headquarters of a major local government in Western Australia. The emphasis of the study was to measure any differences that may exist between managers and non‐managers concerning their desire for different motivators, levels of job satisfaction and areas of job stressors. It was discovered that the non‐managers preferred extrinsic motivators whereas the managers preferred intrinsic ones. These findings support many of the ideas of the much‐maligned human relations theorists of the 1950s and 1960s. The level of job satisfaction was not significantly different between the groups. However, when consideration was given to the question of whether the respondents would choose the same type of work if they had their choice over again, then managers would significantly more often choose their present occupation, suggesting, at least, that the managerial occupation is more satisfying than a non‐managerial position, but the firm itself may not be the receiver of this satisfaction. The final point is that the managerial group perceived that they were asked to cope more often with unreasonable deadlines and excessive work demands. This finding suggests there is a need for a work‐analysis and an exhaustive job description and specification for all managerial and non‐managerial jobs. This would allow the organisations to identify those members from both groups who are overworked.