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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]
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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 

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