Indonesian Academia Health Sciences Journal
Vol 7 No 1 (2026): INDONESIAN ACADEMIA HEALTH SCIENCES JOURNAL

Nurses’ Work Motivation Based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in the Inpatient Wards of a Psychiatric Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Mundakir Mundakir (Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, Indonesia)
Dwi Nurcahyono (Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, Indonesia)
Siswanto Agung Siswanto Agung (Unknown)
Reliani Reliani (Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, Indonesia)
Diah Priyantini (Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
14 Jul 2026

Abstract

Background: Nurses working in psychiatric inpatient settings provide continuous care in environments characterized by complex patient needs, safety concerns, emotional demands, and shift-based work. Work motivation is therefore important for sustaining nursing performance and service quality. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs offers a multidimensional framework for examining whether nurses’ physiological, safety, affiliation, esteem, and self-actualization needs are being met. Objective: To describe nurses’ work motivation according to the five domains of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in the inpatient wards of a psychiatric hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 79 inpatient staff nurses selected from a population of 98 nurses using purposive sampling. Eligible participants were civil-service or public-service-agency staff nurses, had worked for more than one year, and held a diploma or professional nursing qualification. Data were collected using a Likert-type questionnaire adapted from a previous work-motivation instrument. Domain scores were classified as good (76%–100%), moderate (56%–75%), or poor (<56%). Data were summarized using frequencies and percentages. Results: The sample was almost evenly divided by sex (50.6% women), and 40.5% were aged 41–50 years. Most nurses held a diploma in nursing (81.0%), and 39.2% had worked for more than 10 years. The proportion classified as having good motivation was 62.0% for physiological needs, 64.6% for safety and security needs, 87.3% for affiliation and acceptance needs, 91.1% for esteem and status needs, and 68.4% for self-actualization needs. Esteem and status represented the strongest domain, whereas physiological needs had the lowest proportion in the good category. Conclusion: Most inpatient psychiatric nurses reported good motivation across all five Maslow domains, particularly in esteem and affiliation. Nevertheless, approximately one-third of nurses did not reach the good category for physiological, safety, or self-actualization needs. Hospital managers should maintain recognition and supportive relationships while strengthening compensation adequacy, workplace safety, career development, and opportunities for professional growth.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

IAHS

Publisher

Subject

Health Professions

Description

Indonesian Academia Health Sciences Journal merupakan junal ilmiah berkala enam bulanan yang memuat berbagai artikel/naskah berupa hasil penelitian, studi kasus, hasil pemikiran, maupun karya tulis ilmiah oleh seluruh kalangan dalam bidang kesehatan. Karya ilmiah dapat berbentuk jurnal tugas akhir, ...