The Effect of Organisational Factors in Motivating Healthcare Employees: A Systematic Review

Healthcare employee motivation is a key concept in the achievement of efficient,effective and good quality healthcare delivery. In this paper a systematic review of primary data from the UK, Europe, Africa and Asia was conducted to consolidate the available evidence on the effect of organisational factors on healthcare employee motivation. Because healthcare delivery is highly labour intensive, it must be acknowledged that human resources are extremely critical in the drive for healthcare organisations to deliver on their organisational goals. The organisational factors which were identified as having a great effect on healthcare employee motivation can be divided into financial and non-financial factors. Remuneration was identified as a strong extrinsic factor, while conducive working conditions, increased responsibilities and appreciation from the communities in which they serve were identified as strong intrinsic factors. Even though there is a cultural aspect to motivation, remuneration, managerial support and career advancement are core factors that affect all healthcare professionals irrespective of country. Many of the factors that were observed in the literature as affecting motivation can be addressed by an overhaul of the reward strategy of healthcare organisations.