The career ladder is an incentive plan widely considered in response to perceptions of decline in teaching effectiveness and as a method of employment retention. Organizational research demonstrates the importance of meaningful work and authority relationship factors in determining employee attitudes. This study examines effects of career ladders on teachers' work, careers, and relationships with principals. Field data were gathered in the Provo school district (Utah) after the first year of a career ladder plan. A survey instrument tested attitude interaction patterns emerging during implementation. Teachers were asked open ended questions. The final survey includes 51 declarative statements to which teachers responded by a Likert scale. Survey results indicate that teachers feel basically, but not overwhelmingly, positive about most aspects of career ladders. Groups of teachers differ in attitudes about job redesign features; for example, teachers able to make experiential comparisons feel the new process promotes collegiality. Plan implementation is a crucial stage because traditional egalitarian work norms and authority relationships are affected. Teachers, nonetheless, respond favorably to career ladder effects on their work. Because these data are pertinent to national debates about quality of work life policies, longitudinal and qualitative research methodologies are recommended. Eight tables summarize survey results. Forty references are included. (CJH)