Attention to nurses’ rewarding – an interview study of registered nurses working in primary and private healthcare in Finland

Aims and objectives To identify meaningful types of rewards and the consequences of rewards as expressed by Finnish registered nurses working in primary and private healthcare. Background Previous studies have found significant associations between nurses’ rewards and both their commitment and job satisfaction. Furthermore, appropriate rewards can have beneficial effects on factors including workforce stability and occupational satisfaction that are highly important in times of nurse shortages. Design A cross‐sectional, qualitative interview study. Methods Data were collected via individual semi‐structured interviews (n = 20) with registered nurses working in Finland's primary and private healthcare, and subjected to qualitative content analysis. Results Six meaningful types of rewards were identified by the registered nurses: Financial compensation and benefits, Work‐Life balance, Work content, Professional development, Recognition, and Supportive leadership. Rewards encouraged respondents to perform their work correctly and reinforced occupational satisfaction, but also caused feelings of envy and stress. Conclusions It is essential to pay attention to nurses’ preferences for particular rewards and to reward management. When designing effective reward systems for registered nurses, it is not sufficient to provide financial rewards alone, as various kinds of non‐financial rewards are both meaningful and necessary. Relevance to clinical practice When trying to improve registered nurses’ commitment and job satisfaction through reward management, it is important to listen to nurses’ opinions to create a reward system that integrates financial and non‐financial rewards and is fair from their perspective. Healthcare organisations that offer registered nurses a holistic reward system are more likely to retain satisfied and committed nurses at a time of increasing nursing shortages.