Participants were nine female and Six male nurses with LOP, nursing instructors, and nursing managers. The range of their age and work experience was 30–59 and 7–30 years, respectively. Four participants had master’s degree and the remaining ten participants had bachelor’s degree. Six participants were hospital nurses, two were head nurses, two were supervisors, two were nursing instructors, one was infection control staff, one was relief staff and one was manager. All of them had clinical work experience and four of them had the experience of teaching to nursing students. Table 1 shows participants’ characteristics.
Table 1
Participants’ demographic characteristics
Demographic characteristics | Frequency | Percent |
Gender | Male | 6 | 40% |
Female | 9 | 60% |
Age(year) | ˂35 years | 2 | 13.3% |
35- 45 years | 7 | 46/6% |
˃45 years | 6 | 40% |
Degree | Bachelor’s | 11 | 73/3% |
Master’s | 4 | 26/6% |
Work experience (Years) | ˂10 years | 2 | 13/3% |
10-15 years | 3 | 20% |
˃15 years | 10 | 66/6% |
| Total | 13 | 100% |
In total, 109 conceptual codes were generated during data analysis which were categorized into eight subcategories and three main categories. The main categories were The social context of the profession, family support, and organizational health (Table 2).
Table 2
The main categories and subcategories of organizational and environmental factors in love of profession development
Main Categories | Subcategories |
The social context of the profession | Historical context of the profession |
The evolving context |
Family support | Emotional family support |
Instrumental family support |
Organizational health | Quality of interpersonal relationships in theorganization |
level of organizational justice |
Level of authority delegation to nurses |
Level of organizational support |
3.1. The social context of the profession
The social context of the profession was one of the main environmental factors affecting LOP development. It reflects how the nursing appears to people and what mental idias or pictures the public have about it. The two subcategories of this category were historical context of the profession and the evolving context.
3.1.1. Historical context of the profession
The historical context of the profession refers to the common view of society in the nursing profession. This context and the quality of public respect for nursing can considerably affect nurses' LOP. Our participants noted that they felt deeper LOP whenever they were respected and valued for their profession. Contrarily, stereotypical or negative images of nursing negatively affected their LOP. They reported culture, religion, and tradition in the community as a compelling social context for creating and developing a profession's love.
People respected me whenever they found I am a nurse. This increased my interest in nursing (P. 10).
I had many good suitors. However, all of them changed their minds when I entered nursing. Why? Because they had a poor image of nursing. They believed that nurses are shameless. Such things cause me not to love nursing a lot (P. 14).
3.1.2. The evolving context
Participants noted that significant events such as war, earthquake, and the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have suddenly changed the public image and value of nursing. They noted that nurses' dedication to saving veterans' lives during the war, earthquake victims, and patients' lives during the COVID-19 pandemic had significant positive effects on society's view of the profession and has caused a sudden change in society towards the nursing profession.
Nurses’ attempt to save veterans’ lives changed public image of nursing and hence, people no longer have negative image or attitude towards nursing (P. 5).
Public mind-set towards us has considerably improved after the prevalence of the COVID-19. People’s respect for us has made me have better feelings towards nursing (P. 9).
3.2. Family support
The experiences of some participants showed that family had significant effects on their LOP. Family support for them caused them not to feel loneliness in the midst of their responsibilities. Strong family support fostered in participants the belief that their profession as well as themselves were accepted by family members and gave them sense of worthiness. Moreover, family support increased their success in professional and familial affairs and thereby, improved their work engagement. This category had two subcategories, namely emotional family support and instrumental family support.
3.2.1. Emotional family support
Nursing, particularly clinical nursing, is a difficult profession due to different work shifts, long work hours, and heavy workload. Therefore, nurses need strong support to be able to effectively perform their professional roles. The experiences of some participants showed that they had such support. Emotional support by family increased participants’ professional and familial success and thereby, improved their job motivation, professional self-image, professional interest, and LOP. The different aspects of emotional family support were feeling proud of a nurse family member, husband’s good attitude towards nursing, and family encouragement, acceptance, and understanding.
My husband has a very good attitude towards nursing. He is just like me. He says that nursing is your job, your duty, the thing that you was interested in and studied for it. He considers me important for society (P. 1).
However, the experiences of some participants showed that their families not only had no good attitude towards nursing, but also encouraged them to quit the profession.
My family members don’t accept nursing at all and recommend me to quit it (P. 14).
3.2.2. Instrumental family support
Multiple familial and professional responsibilities, particularly among female nurses, together with others’ expectations exert significant physical and mental effects on nurses. Our participants’ experiences showed that instrumental support by family reduced their role conflicts, fatigue, and strain, improved their energy for professional activities, increased their professional success, and thereby, fostered greater LOP among them. The different types of instrumental support by family members were help in childrearing, help in children’s school affairs, and help in performing household activities.
My husband has arranged his work hours according to my work hours so that he takes care of children when I’m at work. Therefore, I have no concern over children and do my job with greater concentration (P. 7).
3.3. Organizational health
Organizational health and suitability can also affect LOP among nurses. Participants’ experiences showed that interpersonal relationships in the organization, organizational justice, personal power and autonomy in organization, and organizational support for staff had significant roles in developing their LOP. The four subcategories of this category were the quality of interpersonal relationships in the organization, level of organizational justice, level of authority delegation to nurses, and level of organizational support.
3.3.1. Quality of interpersonal relationships in the organization
Some participants highlighted that a friendly organizational atmosphere and appropriate interpersonal communications at work provide nurses with better feelings and greater peace.
The work atmosphere in our setting was very friendly when I started my work. For example, our head nurse had a very good conduct. This increased my interest (P. 3).
On the other hand, paternalistic approach of authorities can reduce positive emotions in theworkplace and thereby, reduce nurses’ interest in work.
Some authorities treat nurses, particularly novice nurses, as they are soldiers at a military base. Instead of a rigid conduct from the very beginning, we need to make novice nurses interested in work (P. 8).
3.3.2. Level of organizational justice
Most participants reported organizational justice as an influential factor on LOP. Fair payments, competence-based appointments, and no discrimination among nurses can bring nurses senses of peace, security, and justice, gain nurses’ trust in organization, promote their professional and organizational commitment, and foster their LOP.
Justice, non-discrimination, and competence-based career advancement in theorganization increase our professional interest (P. 10).
Injustice is the most disturbing thing for nurses. For example, during this COVID-19 pandemic, a doctor visits a patient just for half an hour and receives the salary of twelve hours work of a nurse for such visit. Such injustice reduces nurses’ motivation (P. 6).
3.3.3. Level of authority delegation to nurses
The level of authority delegation to nurses was another organizational factor affecting LOP. By authority delegation, participants meant autonomy at work, decision making power, latitude, and the right to freely share ideas. Participants noted that based on their professional knowledge and skills, nurses need autonomy and latitude at work and highlighted that autonomy and latitude give nurses sense of power and self-confidence and increase their motivation for professional practice.
Greater autonomy and latitude for nurses reduce their dependence on physicians, give them sense of power, and help them work more independently, which in turn improve their interest and motivation (P. 9).
Contrarily, authorities’ paternalistic behaviors and nurses’ limited perceived autonomy and power give nurses sense of oppression and reduce their job motivation and interest in profession and organization.
The approach of the Ministry of Health is paternalistic, in which power is with physicians. Violation of nurses’ rights in this system reduces their motivation (P. 6).
3.3.4. Level of organizational support
According to the participants, organizational support can also affect nurses’ LOP. They noted that as staff of an organization establish emotional relationship with their organization, the level of tangible and intangible support by their organization and managers can affect their LOP and professional interest.
I was on a long evening-night shift. We had a critically-ill patient and were involved with the patient up to 06:00. I was extremely tired. My colleagues suggested me to take a rest. I took a rest from 06:00 to 06:30. This is not a legal time for rest in our hospital. When I returned the ward at 06:30, my colleagues said that the matron of hospital had been in the ward and considered a reward for me for that busy shift. Such value attachment to my work was very important to me. My manager did not criticize me for being on rest in an illegal time. This motivates staff and increases their belongingness to work (P. 4).
On the other hand, lack of organizational support can reduce LOP.
When they assigned me night shifts, I told them I couldn’t work at night and asked them to reduce the number of my night shifts. However, they refused. Nobody understood me (P. 14).