Seven hundred and seventy-six general practitioners (GPs) sampled randomly from the list of GPs in Denmark were asked about job satisfaction and professional attitudes by questionnaire. The majority (four-fifth) felt that they would decide to become GPs if they were to choose again. On the other hand, two-thirds complained about a workload which had negative effects on their family life. Low job satisfaction was associated with a preference for public employment instead of the current system of private practice. Dissatisfied GPs tended to believe that patients have too great expectations and present problems that they ought to solve themselves. They, also, felt that daily work didn't leave time for preventive medicine and they felt anxiety because of the risk of overlooking serious diseases.