This study examined the role of perceived control in mediating the effects of job stress on personal and occupational outcomes, and on enhancing the positive effects of stress on personal and organizational outcomes. Civil service employees working in Child Protective Services in Upstate New York (N=129) completed questionnaires measuring their perceptions of three types of job stress (ambiguity, conflict, and overload) and read three scenarios of job stress relevant to their own jobs, reporting how stressful such a situation was for them when it occurred and the extent to which they felt that they could control the source of stress. Job satisfaction, occupational self-esteem, and psychological adjustment were also assessed. The results indicated that subjects perceived their jobs to be moderately high in stress and low in control. The sample reported overload situations to be the most stressful type of job stress and also seemed to feel the least amount of control over overload situations. In general, the findings indicated that stress from certain categories of job experiences was related to and predictive of the development of some competencies and not others. In all cases where stress was predictive of the development of a competency, perceived control served to mediate the negative effects of stress. Other findings showed that stress was not always associated with a negative outcome and may in certain cases be beneficial. (NB)