Hostname: page-component-6d856f89d9-4thr5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T09:02:06.573Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The shared experience of caring: a study of care-workers' motivations and identifications at work

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2015

KIRSTIEN BJERREGAARD ,
S. ALEXANDER HASLAM ,
AVRIL MEWSE  and
THOMAS MORTON
KIRSTIEN BJERREGAARD*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Exeter, UK.
S. ALEXANDER HASLAM
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
AVRIL MEWSE
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Exeter, UK.
THOMAS MORTON
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Exeter, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Kirstien Bjerregaard, School of Psychology, The University of Exeter, Perry Road, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of long-term care-workers' work motivation that examines the way this is shaped by the social contexts in which they operate. We conducted a thematic analysis of 19 in-depth interviews with care-workers. Three core themes were identified as underpinning their motivation: those of ‘fulfilment’, ‘belonging’ and ‘valuing’, and together these contributed to a central theme of ‘pride’. We also found an overarching theme of ‘shared experience’ to be integral to the way in which care-workers made sense of their motivation and work experience. We draw on the social identity approach to provide a conceptual framework through which to understand how this shared experience shapes care-workers' motivation and the quality of care they deliver. In particular, we note the importance that care-workers' attach to their relationships with clients/patients and highlight the way in which this relational identification shapes their collective identification with their occupation and organisation and, through this, their motivation.

Keywords

motivationcare-workersthematic analysissocial identity approach
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 113 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, V. and Nelson, J. A. 2009. The economics of nursing: articulating care. Feminist Economics, 15, 4, 3–29.Google Scholar
Adamson, L., Dewar, B., Donaldson, J., Gentleman, M., Gray, M., Horsburgh, D., King, D., Kalorkoti, J., Maclean, J., McCrossan, G., McIntash, J., Ross, J., Pullin, S., Sloan, S., Smith, J., Smith, S., Toucher, R., and Waugh, A. 2012. Leadership in Compassionate Care Program. Edinburgh Napier University and NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK.Google Scholar
Allen, M., Bromley, A., Kuyken, W. and Sonnenberg, S. J. 2009. Participants’ experiences of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: ‘it changed me in just about every way possible’. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 37, 4, 413–430.Google Scholar
Ashforth, B. E., Harrison, S. H. and Corley, K. G. 2008. Identification in organizations: an examination of four fundamental questions. Journal of Management, 34, 3, 325–74.Google Scholar
Ashforth, B. E. and Kreiner, G. E. 1999. How can you do it? Dirty work and the challenge of constructing a positive identity. Academy of Management Review, 24, 3, 413–34.Google Scholar
Ashforth, B. E. and Mael, F. 1989. Social identity theory and the organization. Academy of Management Review, 14, 1, 20–39.Google Scholar
Atkinson, C. and Lucas, R. 2013. Worker responses to HR practice in adult social care in England. Human Resource Management Journal, 23, 3, 296–312.Google Scholar
Baumeister, R. F. and Leary, M. R. 1995. The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 3, 497–529.Google Scholar
Baumeister, R. F. and Newman, L. S. 1994. How stories make sense of personal experiences: motives that shape autobiographical narratives. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 6, 676–90.Google Scholar
Bjerregaard, K. 2015. The shared experience of caring: a social identity analysis of care workers' motivation. PhD thesis, University of Exeter, UK. Google Scholar
Bjerregaard, K., Haslam, S. A. and Morton, T. How identification facilitates effective learning: the evaluation of generic versus localised professionalization training, in press, International Journal of Training & Development (2016).Google Scholar
Bjerregaard, K., Haslam, S. A., Morton, T. and Ryan, M. The motivation of care workers: clarifying the importance of social and relational identification, in press, Frontiers in Psychology.Google Scholar
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. 2006. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 2, 77–101.Google Scholar
Care Quality Commission 2012. State of Care Report. Care Quality Commission, London.Google Scholar
Centre for Workforce Intelligence 2011. The Adult Social Care Workforce in England – Key Facts. Centre for Workforce Intelligence, London.Google Scholar
Crouch, M. and McKenzie, H. 2006. The logic of small samples in interview-based qualitative research. Social science information, 45, 4, 483–499.Google Scholar
Deci, E. L. and Ryan, R. M. 2008. Self-determination theory: a macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 49, 3, 182–185.Google Scholar
Department of Health 2007. The Dignity Challenge. Available online at http://www.dignityincare.org. Accessed 2012.Google Scholar
Department of Health 2009. Putting People First: The Strategy for the Adult Social Care Workforce in England. Department of Health, London.Google Scholar
Department of Health 2012. Compassion in Practice: Nursing, Midwifery and Care Staff, Our Vision and Strategy. Department of Health, London.Google Scholar
Douglas, M. 1966. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.Google Scholar
Dukerich, J. M., Golden, B. R. and Shortell, S. M. 2002. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: The impact of organizational identification, identity, and image on the cooperative behaviors of physicians. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47, 3, 507–533.Google Scholar
Ellemers, N., De Gilder, D. and Haslam, S. A. 2004. Motivating individuals and groups at work: a social identity perspective on leadership and group performance. Academy of Management Review, 29, 3, 459–78.Google Scholar
Equality and Human Rights Commission 2012. Close to Home: An Inquiry into Older People and Human Rights in Home Cares. Equality and Human Rights Commission, London.Google Scholar
Folbre, N. 2012. For Love and Money: Care Provision in the United States. Russell Sage Foundation, New York.Google Scholar
Francis, R. Q. 2013. Independent Inquiry into Care Provided by Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust January 2005–March 2009. Crown Copy, webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107105354/…/DH_113018. Accessed 2013.Google Scholar
Gagné, M. and Deci, E. L. 2005. Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 4, 331–62.Google Scholar
Harquail, C. V. 1998. Organizational identification and the ‘whole person’: integrating affect, behaviour, and cognition. Pp. 223–231 In Whetten, D.A. & Godfrey, P.C. (eds) Identity in Organizations: Building Theory Through Conversations. Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Harquail, C. V. and King, A. W. 2010. Construing organizational identity: the role of embodied cognition. Organization Studies, 31, 12, 1619–48.Google Scholar
Haslam, S. A., Powell, C. and Turner, J. 2000. Social identity, self-categorisation & work motivation: rethinking the contribution of the group to positive and sustainable organisational outcomes. Applied Psychology, 49, 3, 319–339.Google Scholar
Haslam, S. A. 2004. Psychology in Organizations. Sage, London.Google Scholar
Haslam, S. A. and McGarty, C. 2014. Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology. Second edition, Sage, London.Google Scholar
Haslam, S. A., Postmes, T. and Ellemers, N. 2003. More than a metaphor: organizational identity makes organizational life possible. British Journal of Management, 14, 4, 357–69.Google Scholar
Health Service Ombudsman. 2011. Care and Compassion? Report of the Health Service Ombudsman. 10 Investigations into NHS Care of Older People. Prepared for H.M. House of Commons. London. The Stationary Office.Google Scholar
HelpAge International 2013. Global Agewatch Index 2013: An Insight Report. Available online at www.helpage.org/resources/publications/ [Accessed 10 November 2013].Google Scholar
Hesselink, G., Kuis, E., Pijnenburg, M. and Wollersheim, H. 2013. Measuring a caring culture in hospitals: a systematic review of instruments. BMJ Open, 3, 9, e003416.Google Scholar
Heyes, A. 2005. The economics of vocation: ‘why is a badly paid nurse a good nurse’? Journal of Health Economics, 24, 3, 561–9.Google Scholar
Himmelweit, S. 2007. The prospects for caring: economic theory and policy analysis. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 31, 4, 581–99.Google Scholar
Hochschild, A. R. 1983. The managed heart. Berkeley. CA: University of California Press. International Labour Organization (2001). Executive summary: The role of trade unions in promoting gender equality and protecting vulnerable workers: First report of the ILO-ICFTU survey. Retrieved March, 31, 2006.Google Scholar
Hogg, M. A. and Terry, D. I. 2000. Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational contexts. Academy of Management Review, 25, 1, 121–40.Google Scholar
Hussein, S., Manthorpe, J. and Stevens, M. 2010. People in places: a qualitative exploration of recruitment agencies’ perspectives on the employment of international social workers in the UK. British Journal of Social Work, 40, 3, 1000–16.Google Scholar
Ibarra, H. and Barbulescu, R. 2010. Identity as narrative: prevalence, effectiveness, and consequences of narrative identity work in macro work role transitions. Academy of Management Review, 35, 1, 135–54.Google Scholar
James, N. 1989. Emotional labour: skill and work in the social regulation of feelings. The sociological review, 37, 1, 15–42.Google Scholar
James, N. 1992. Care = organisation + physical labour + emotional labour. Sociology of Health & Illness, 14, 4, 488–509.Google Scholar
Jetten, J., Haslam, C. and Haslam, S. A. 2012. The Social Cure: Identity, Health and Well-being. Psychology Press, UK.Google Scholar
Lepore, M. J. 2008. Care Workers’ Motivations for Employment in Long-term care, Assisted Living, and Particular Facilities: Reconciling Inconsistent Values. Georgia State University. Available online at http://scholarworks.gsu.edu. Accessed 2013.Google Scholar
Levine, M., Prosser, A., Evans, D. and Reicher, S. 2005. Identity and emergency intervention: how social group membership and inclusiveness of group boundaries shape helping behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 4, 443–53.Google Scholar
Lucas, R., Atkinson, C. and Godden, J. 2008. Employment practices and performance: rewards, incentives and their relationship to recruitment, retention and quality of service in adult social care in England. Phase 1 Literature review summary. In Skills for Care (ed.), Research Report on Rewards and Incentives. Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, Manchester, UK. 1–9.Google Scholar
Lucas, R., Atkinson, C. and Godden, J. 2009. Rewards and incentives research. Phase 2 Case studies: nursing homes, residential homes and domiciliary care establishments. In Skills for Care (ed.), Research Report on Rewards and Incentives. Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK. 1–89.Google Scholar
Maslow, A. H. 1943. A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 4, 370–396.Google Scholar
Mason, M. 2010. Sample size and saturation in PhD studies using qualitative interviews. Qualitative Social Research, 11, 3, (63 paragraphs).Google Scholar
Moyle, W. 2003. Nurse–patient relationship: a dichotomy of expectations. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 12, 2, 103–9.Google Scholar
Nelson, H. W. 2000. Injustice and conflict in nursing homes: toward advocacy and exchange. Journal of Aging Studies, 14, 1, 39–61.Google Scholar
Nelson, J. A. and Folbre, N. 2006. Why a well-paid nurse is a better nurse. Nursing Economics, 24, 3, 127–130.Google Scholar
Nelson, S. and Gordon, S. 2007. The Complexities of Care: Nursing Reconsidered. Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Nolan, M., Davies, S. and Brown, J. 2006. Transitions in care homes: towards relationship-centred care using the ‘Senses Framework’. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 7, 3, 5–14.Google Scholar
Oakes, P. J., Haslam, S. A. and Turner, J. C. 1994. Stereotyping and Social Reality. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.Google Scholar
Ousey, K. and Johnson, M. 2007. Being a real nurse – concepts of caring and culture in the clinical areas. Nurse Education in Practice, 7, 3, 150–5.Google Scholar
Palmer, E. and Eveline, J. 2012. Sustaining low pay in aged care work. Gender, Work & Organization, 19, 3, 254–75.Google Scholar
Pidgeon, N. and Henwood, K. 1997. Using grounded theory in psychological research. In Hayes, N. (ed) (pp. 245–273) Doing qualitative analysis in psychology, Hove, England, Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Postmes, T., Haslam, S. A. and Swaab, R. 2005. Social influence in small groups: an interactive model of identity formation. European Review of Social Psychology, 16, 1, 1–42.Google Scholar
Ryan, R. M. and Deci, E. L. 2000. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 1, 68–78.Google Scholar
Rytterström, P., Cedersund, E. and Arman, M. 2009. Care and caring culture as experienced by nurses working in different care environments: a phenomenological–hermeneutic study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46, 5, 689–98.Google Scholar
Scott, C. R., Corman, S. R. and Cheney, G. 1998. Development of a structurational model of identification in the organization. Communication Theory, 8, 3, 298–336.Google Scholar
Skills for Care 2007. National Survey of Care Workers. Prepared by L. Hall and S. Wreyford. Skills for Care, Leeds, UK.Google Scholar
Sluss, D. M., Ployhart, R. E., Cobb, M. G. and Ashforth, B. E. 2012. Generalizing newcomers’ relational and organizational identifications: processes and prototypicality. Academy of Management Journal, 55, 4, 949–75.Google Scholar
Sluss, D. M. and Ashforth, B. E. 2008. How relational and organizational identification converge: processes and conditions. Organization Science, 19, 6, 807–23.Google Scholar
Smith, J. A. and Osborne, M. 2008. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis in Smith, JA (Ed.) Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. (pp. 53–79).Google Scholar
Stürmer, S. and Snyder, M. 2010. Helping ‘us’ versus ‘them’. In Stürmer, S. and Snyder, M. (eds) The Psychology of Prosocial Behavior: Group Processes, Intergroup Relations, and Helping. Wiley, Chichester, UK, 33–58.Google Scholar
Swann, W. B. Jr 1990. To be adored or to be known. The interplay of self-enhancement & self verification in R.M., Sorrentino & E.T., Higgins (eds) Foundations of Social Behaviours, 2, pp. 408–448, New York.Google Scholar
Tajfel, H. and Turner, J. C. 1979. An Integrative theory of intergroup conflict. The Social psychology of Intergroup Relations 33, 47, 74.Google Scholar
Taylor, G. W. and Ussher, J. M. 2001. Making sense of S&M: A discourse analytic account. Sexualities, 4, 3, 293–314.Google Scholar
Turner, J. C. 1985. Social categorization and the self-concept: a social cognitive theory of group behavior. Advances in Group Processes: Theory and Research, 2, 77–122.Google Scholar
Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D. and Wetherell, M. S. 1987. Basil, Blackwell Rediscovering the social group: a self-categorization theory. Contemporary Sociology.Google Scholar
Tyler, T. R. 1999. Why people cooperate with organizations: an identity-based perspective. psycnet.apa.org. Accessed 2012.Google Scholar
Van Knippenberg, D. 2000. Work motivation and performance: a social identity perspective. Applied Psychology, 49, 3, 357–71.Google Scholar
Van Leeuwen, E. and Tauber, S. 2010. The strategic side of outgroup helping. In Stürmer, S. and Snyder, M. (eds), The Psychology of Prosocial Behaviour: Group Processes, Intergroup Relations and Helping. Wiley, Chichester, UK, 81–99.Google Scholar
Weicht, B. 2010. Caring as a moral practice: an analysis of the construction of care for elderly people in Austria and the UK. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. Google Scholar
Wilson, C. B. and Davies, S. 2009. Developing relationships in long term care environments: the contribution of staff. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18, 12, 1746–55.Google Scholar
Wilson, C. B., Davies, S. and Nolan, M. 2009. Developing personal relationships in care homes: realising the contributions of staff, residents and family members. Ageing & Society, 29, 7, 1041–1063.Google Scholar
Woodward, V. M. 1997. Professional caring: a contradiction in terms? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 26, 5, 999–1004.Google Scholar