Table 2 Results of the qualitative content analysis
Categories | Sub-categories | Quotations |
|---|---|---|
Categories positively affecting work motivation | ||
Work environment | Satisfaction with colleagues | “being with coworkers [makes me feel good]” “wonderful workmates and the cooperation we have” “good and supportive work team” |
Satisfaction with leadership and organizational resources | “have influence over own work, can affect” “to have a good supervisor, who listens etc.” | |
Significance of the work | Meaningful work | “experience that the work is important” “the feeling that you make a difference in the elderly’s everyday life” |
Enriching client meetings | “to get to work with elderly people” “get so much back from the clients” | |
Stimulating challenges | Multifaceted work | “it isn’t monotonous work, something happens all the time” “work independently, must make own decisions” “challenging, requires physical and mental fitness as well as social skills” |
Competence and desire to develop | “I feel I can do my job” “opportunity to develop, learn new things” | |
External response | Recognition from clients and relatives | “gratitude from clients and relatives” “when a client thanks [you] for the help and is satisfied with the care” |
Recognition from colleagues and management | “positive feedback from coworkers” “appreciation from superiors” | |
Categories negatively affecting work motivation | ||
Organizational work environment | Lacking resources | “not equipment to get the job done” “one should constantly take in so many darn new things” “existing knowledge is not utilized” |
Unsatisfactory leadership | “if superiors don’t listen or don’t care” “unappreciative head nurse, only hear how bad we are” “poor management – don’t understand our job” | |
Time constraints | Significant rush and stress | “hurry, tight work schedules that others plan” “not knowing whether you have time to eat during the work day” “lack of time [with] the clients, just in a hurry all the time” |
Negative consequences of time pressure | “the lack of time - not having the time to perform one’s tasks” “things that are left unfinished” | |
Job characteristics | A challenging work | “change of clients, that you are not allowed to care for the same clients but are instead forced to change daily = IRRITATING” “home care clients are becoming more and more complex, and everything should be documented” “wintertime when the roads are icy, poorly plowed, and early spring with poor road conditions” |
Job discontentment | “would like to continue to educate myself at regular intervals but it’s difficult to manage with full-time job” “little possibility to influence decisions, even though I, for example, know something better than those who decide” “It is not always so fun” | |
Work community | Negative atmosphere | “bad atmosphere among the personnel” “gossip, mean talk behind your back” |
Poor engagement | “poor work ethic among colleagues” “if you can't trust your workmates (that the work has been done)” | |
Categories positively affecting occupational self-efficacy belief to continue working until expected retirement age | ||
Own health | A resource and a challenge | “if [my] health stays the same as now, it will be ok” “you don’t know whether you are capable until retirement because of the workload” |
Health supporting activities | “I must take care of myself so that I am capable” “hope to be able to improve [my] work ability” | |
Workplace resources | Satisfactory organizational resources | “support and encouragement from my supervisor” “that the employer recognizes age in a positive way” |
Strong workplace community | “the support from work colleagues” “our fine sense of community in the work team” | |
Meaning of the work | Intrinsic motivation | “[I] like to help people” “the feeling of making a difference” “love for my own work” |
Satisfaction from work | “successful client meetings” “[I] enjoy my work tasks” | |
Profession in demand | Continuous need of home care | “there are always sick people” “home care is also needed in the future” |
Skilled in demanding work | “I don't feel old, I still want to learn new things” “master different situations” “that the work pace shouldn’t be pushed to the breaking point” | |
Categories negatively affecting occupational self-efficacy belief to continue working until expected retirement age | ||
Health-related decline | Current life and health | “there is no such thing, unless [my] health fails” “the pain that is getting worse” |
Future health challenges | “that [my] body is not capable of the work” “I don't know if I am capable of ‘running’ to the end, probably not” | |
Multifaceted work | Demanding work | “shift work, heavy shifts on the weekends” “the importance of anything else but patient contact” “ever-increasing demands on knowledge” |
Imbalance between individual resources and demands | “elderly people should live at home longer... But less personnel who should manage to get more done” “if the workload increases more” “too unvaried tasks without challenges” | |
Organizational resources | Consequences of lack of resources | “too few personnel, not competent personnel” “permanent fixed-term employment contracts” “that we don’t get more personnel when the number of clients increases |
Unsatisfying leadership | “constant changes, which have often not been considered to the very end either, you can’t trust things” “the worker is of less and less importance” “[they] don't listen to the workers” “unfair distribution of work, does not apply to everyone” | |
Work-related strain | Constantly present rush | “stress/always a rush during work” “too much of a rush with the clients” |
Imminent threat of stress | “sometimes sleep poorly; the job is in [my] thoughts...” “if… the stress increases more…” | |