Correlates of nurses' motivation and their demographic characteristics

Motivation is a significant concern for workforce management in healthcare organizations as it is linked to many important factors, such as performance, staff retention, and satisfaction.

To assess motivation level, assess sources of motivation, and identify the difference in motivation level in relation to nurses' characteristics.

The study was carried out in one major tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

A total convenient sample of 550 nurses were recruited. All participants are working under the umbrella of executive nursing administration.

Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of 30 items that focused on assessing a nurse's motivation sources and level.

In general, 346 nurses (62%) fully completed the survey. The average motivation level of nurses is 3.6 ± 0.5. Additionally, internal self-concept motivation was identified as the most predominant source of motivation (4.1 ± 0.6). Instrumental and goal internalization motivations ranked second (3.7 ± 0.6), whereas external self-concept (3.4 ± 0.7) and intrinsic (3 ± 0.7) motivations are the lowest sources of motivation. There is a significant difference in the motivation mean between males and females (P = 0.034). Another significant difference was revealed with different years of experience ( P = 0.021).

The high percentage of internal self-concept motivation among nurses signified that nurses needed more than enjoyment of their work atmosphere, social acknowledgment, higher salary, and good rationale to give maximum effort. Although these should be taken into consideration, more attention should be given to practices that improve a nurse's challenge, autonomy, internal value, and competency.