Hospital nurses' individual priorities, internal psychological states and work motivation

Predictors of nurse's happiness: a systematic review

Objective

An acute shortage of nurses exists all over the world. Part of this shortage appears to be due to nurses’ low job satisfaction, low retention, and high turnover. Happiness at work is identified as a contributing factor that determines the shortage of nurses across the world. This paper critically appraised the existing scientific articles that assessed the individual and organizational predictors of happiness among nurses.

Methods

The systematic review was conducted from August 2010 to August 2020 using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Scientific articles were searched in the electronic databases (Scopus, Medline, CINAHL, PsychINFO, and Pubmed Central) on the predictors of happiness among nurses.

Results

A total of 13 articles were selected following the literature search and a thematic analysis was done. This review provides updated evidence on the predictors of nurses’ happiness. Job-related predictors were identified as organizational predictors; and personal, psychological, family, social, and spiritual predictors were reported to be the individual predictors.

Conclusions

As both individual and organizational predictors determine the happiness of nurses, the authors recommend the need for future interventional studies to increase the nurses’ happiness, their mental health, and health-related quality of life.

Driving for the unique opportunity for work: a qualitative study of nurses' motivation to commute to work

Purpose

This study aims to investigate what motivates nurses who live in a rural region with many vacant positions to choose a longer commute to work in a more populous capital region.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative descriptive design was used for this study. Nineteen commuting nurses were recruited through purposeful and snowball sampling and interviewed over the telephone. The interviews were analyzed using a manifest and latent content analysis.

Findings

The findings showed how the participating nurses' motivations to work in the capital region far away from their home were grounded in reaching the unique opportunity for work as a part of the unique organizational conditions, the unique positions and the unique work environment. The analysis showed how the nurses believed in better possibilities for themselves regarding opportunities for careers, specialized positions, development and education, as well as a lower hierarchy in management.

Research limitations/implications

Studies of commuting among nurses are sparsely investigated in the literature and especially through the lens of motivation. The few existing studies report on cross-sectional data, and to the authors’ knowledge, no studies have been investigated using a qualitative design. For future research, it would therefore be relevant to investigate nurses' motivation to commute to work in other countries in a larger sample and perhaps with larger commuting distances. This could contribute to a broader and more nuanced understanding of the factors that motivate nurses to commute long distances to work, not just nationally but also internationally.

Practical implications

The authors have conceptualized which factors most affect nurses' motivation to commute to work from a rural to more populous capital region in Figure 2. Here, the findings of the study are presented alongside the two theoretical perspectives used to frame the study. The figure can be used as a benchmark for organizational leaders who are interested in recruitment and retention of nurses, and in particular whether they are interested in the specific factors affecting nurses' motivation to commute to work. Based on the study findings, the authors suggest that rural hospital organizations can benefit from focusing on building their reputation and including what factors make them unique and desirable. However, this is a balancing act for organizational leaders, as they must deliver on promises made to nurses when they are engaged in recruitment. If they fail to do so, as indicated in the findings, nurses are likely to leave the organization for other job opportunities.

Originality/value

This study contributes to new knowledge on why nurses decide to commute to work from rural areas to more populated areas. Looking at the nurses' reasons and perspective for commuting, the authors must acknowledge the difficulties in retaining nurses in rural regions. From a recruitment and retention perspective, nurse employers in rural regions must increase their offerings of unique work opportunities, including maintaining competitive pay and offering career, development and educational opportunities.

Nursing work environment, professional self-actualization and marketing of the nursing profession: Cross-sectional study

Aim

To explore associations between nurses' sense of professional self-actualization, nursing work environment and their involvement in promotion and marketing of the nursing profession.

Design

A descriptive cross-sectional study.

Methods

144 nurses from various clinical fields completed a promotion and marketing activity questionnaire, selected items from the Brief Index of Self-Actualization and a part of the Revised Nursing Work Index.

Results

Nurses' perception of their work environment and holding a master's degree in nursing were associated with their involvement in promotion activities [R2 = 0.27, F(4, 113) = 10.4, p < .001]. Nurses' perception of their work environment was associated with their sense of professional self-actualization [R2 = 0.21, F(2, 121) = 16.5, p < .001]. Nurses' sense of professional self-actualization did not contribute to the explanation of variance in their involvement in promotion of the nursing profession.

Factors influencing motivation of nurse leaders in a private hospital group in Gauteng, South Africa: A quantitative study

BACKGROUND

Nurse leadership is about aligning employees to a vision. This happens with buy-in, motivation and communication. When conducive environments are created by organisations, the motivation of nurse leaders will be enhanced, which will have a positive outcome on the organisation. Highly motivated nurse leaders accomplish more and are more productive. Nurse leadership is an essential source of support, mentorship and role modelling. These attributes tend to be more evident when nurse leaders are motivated.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to determine the factors that influence the motivation of nurse leaders.

METHOD

A quantitative, descriptive design and stratified sampling was used. Participants comprised unit managers (n = 49) from five hospitals in a private hospital group in South Africa. A self-administered questionnaire, namely, the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale, was used to collect the data. Data were analysed using the IBM SPSS 22.0 program.

RESULTS

The results indicated that the nurse leaders in this study were intrinsically motivated. Their motivation was influenced by support, relatedness, autonomy and competence. No relationships were found between motivation and age, years in a management position, gender, qualifications and staff-reporting structure.

CONCLUSION

By implication, to understand what motivates nurse leaders and to keep them motivated, recommendations were proposed to nursing and human resources management. It is expected that the implementation of the recommendations will have a positive influence on patient outcomes, organisational success and the motivation and satisfaction of nurse leaders.

Pediatric Staff Nurses' Conceptualizations of Professional Development

PURPOSE

Despite professional developments' (PD) multiple benefits, many nurses grapple with its meaning. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively examine what PD means to nurses working in a pediatric hospital.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A correlational study design was used. A 33 item survey was used to collect data.

RESULTS

A total of 74 pediatric nurses completed the survey. The average age and years of experience were 33.5 and 8.3 respectively. Continuing nursing education was the highest ranked component while professional organization membership was lowest. The top ranked motivator was to increase patient care knowledge base while salary was lowest. Highest barrier to pursing PD opportunities was family commitments and lowest was PD knowledge. Younger nurses placed more importance on seeking degrees for their PD compared with older nurses. Continuing education was more important to nurses with bachelor's and master's degrees versus those with A.D.N. or diplomas. Younger nurses placed greater importance on PD to expand job opportunities than their older counterparts.

CONCLUSION

Study findings suggested that most nurses' main motivation to seek PD opportunities was to provide safe, quality care. The fact that committee involvement, research, and professional organization membership were the lowest ranked components suggested that many nurses may need encouragement and education regarding how these too are important components of PD.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Findings may help nurses to further embrace this concept and grow professionally. Approaches for encouraging nurses to seek PD opportunities may need to vary depending upon the nurse's age and education level.

The role of the psychological contract in the motivation of nurses

Purpose Although private health care is regarded as providing a premium quality experience for both patients and staff alike, it is not without its daily challenges for health professionals. This study aims to explore the psychological contract of nurses to develop a greater understanding of how employee-employer interaction impacts motivation levels. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with thirteen nurses at a private hospital in South Africa. Five nursing managers were interviewed to provide a management perspective. Thematic analysis was used to identify the salient elements of the psychological contract and to establish connections with motivational features. Findings The psychological contract of nurses was balanced in nature, contained predominantly relational elements and was characterized by the need for manager support, leadership and autonomy. Motivation was a by-product of fulfilment and was enhanced by a combination of tangible and intangible rewards. Practical implications Nursing managers should recognize their role in caring for the wellbeing of their staff and should be trained accordingly. Equipping nurses with the necessary tools to work autonomously, as well as acknowledging their skills, will stimulate confidence and improve motivation. Originality/value This study makes an important contribution to the existing literature on the psychological contract of nurses within the health-care system. It provides insight into relationship-based mechanisms that can be used to improve the motivation of nurses and thus impact the overall quality of patient care.

Work motivation in health care: a scoping literature review

AIM

The aim of this scoping literature review was to examine and summarize the factors, context, and processes that influence work motivation of health care workers.

METHODS

A scoping literature review was done to answer the question: What is known from the existing empirical literature about factors, context, and processes that influence work motivation of health care workers? This scoping review used the Arksey and O'Malley framework to describe and summarize findings. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed to screen studies. Relevant studies published between January 2005 and May 2016 were identified using five electronic databases. Study abstracts were screened for eligibility by two reviewers. Following this screening process, full-text articles were reviewed to determine the eligibility of the studies. Eligible studies were then evaluated by coding findings with descriptive labels to distinguish elements that appeared pertinent to this review. Coding was used to form groups, and these groups led to the development of themes.

RESULTS

Twenty-five studies met the eligibility criteria for this literature review. The themes identified were work performance, organizational justice, pay, status, personal characteristics, work relationships (including bullying), autonomy, organizational identification, training, and meaningfulness of work.

CONCLUSION

Most of the research involved the use of surveys. There is a need for more qualitative research and for the use of case studies to examine work motivation in health care organizations. All of the studies were cross-sectional. Longitudinal research would provide insight into how work motivation changes, and how it can be influenced and shaped. Several implications for practice were identified. There is a need to ensure that health care workers have access to training opportunities, and that autonomy is optimized. To improve work motivation, there is a need to address bullying and hostile behaviours in the workplace. Addressing the factors that influence work motivation in health care settings has the potential to influence the care that patients receive.