The impact of intrinsic motivation on satisfaction with extrinsic rewards in a nursing environment

Abstract

Nurses in a hospital located in Southern US were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the reward structures existent in their hospital. Reward structures were divided into two categories: extrinsic and intrinsic. The cluster analysis procedure partitioned the sample into two clusters based on their level of satisfaction with the hospital's reward structure. The analysis of variance procedure comparing scale responses on comfort, challenge, financial reward, relation with coworkers, resource adequacy, and promotion suggest nurses with a high degree of intrinsic motivation are more satisfied with extrinsic rewards.