The aim was to describe registered nurses’ perceptions of what the good work implies to them in municipal elderly care. A descriptive design and a structured questionnaire specifically designed for this study were used. Sixty housing units for older people and 213 nurses participated, with a response rate of 62%. The good work included the following aspects: intellectually stimulating without guilt feelings; freedom and independence with the possibility to influence; having appreciative and pleasant fellow workers and a fair and understanding manager; a good physical and risk-free environment; work security and a steady income with the possibility of improving salary through work effort; work effort should be beneficial to others; innovative thinking and initiative should be highly valued; and pride in work without compromising personal values. Employers must take this into consideration to retain those nurses already employed and recruit nurses to municipal elderly care.
Abrahamsson, L., & Johansson, J. ( 2008). Framtidsfabriken: Rapport 2 kunskapsöversikt: Det goda arbetet-igår, idag och imorgon [The factory of the future: Report 2: Knowledge overview: The good work-yesterday, today and tomorrow]. Luleå, Sweden: Luleå Technical University .
2.
Altman, D.G. ( 1997). Practical statistics for medical research. London, UK: Chapman & Hall.
3.
Armstrong-Stassen, M., & Cameron, S.J. ( 2005). Concerns, satisfaction, and retention of Canadian community health nurses. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 22, 181-194.
4.
Aronsson, G., Lantz, A., & Westlander, G. (1992). Akademiker under 1990-talet. En studie av SACO-medlemmarnas arbetsvillkor. Undersökningsinstrument och studiens bakgrund [Academics during 1990s. A study of members works conditions of The Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations. Instrument of investigation and background of the study]. Stockholm, Sweden: National Institute of Occupational Health.
5.
Dedering S. ( 2005). Bostadsutformning vid kollektiva boendeformer [Housing design in collective living]. Stockholm, Sweden: The National Board of Housing, Building and Planning.
6.
Evans, L. ( 2002). An exploration of district nurses’ perception of occupational stress. British Journal of Nursing, 11, 576-585.
7.
Fawcett, J. ( 2005). Contemporary nursing knowledge: analysis and evaluation nursing models and theories. Philadelphia, PA: Davis.
8.
Gardner, H., Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Damon, W. ( 2001). Good Work-When excellence and ethics meet. New York, NY: Basic Books.
9.
Glasberg, A.L., Eriksson, S., & Norberg, A. ( 2008). Factors associated with "stress of conscience" in healthcare . Scandinavian Journal of Caring Science, 22, 249-258.
10.
Hagström, T., Gamberale, F., & Sconfienza, C. (1996). Det goda arbetet: Ungdomars villkor nu och i framtiden. Beskrivning av frågeformulär [The good work: Present and future conditions for youths. Questionnaire description] . Stockholm, Sweden: Arbetslivsinstitutet .
11.
Hallin, K., & Danielson, E. ( 2007a). Registrered nurses’ experiences of daily work, a balance between strain and stimulation: A qualitative study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 44, 1221-1230.
12.
Hallin, K., & Danielsson, E. (2007b). Registrered nurses’ perceptions of their work and professional development. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 61, 62-70.
13.
Hasson, H., & Arnetz, J.E. ( 2008). Nursing staff competence, work strain, stress and satisfaction in elderly care: A comparison of home-based care and nursing homes. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17, 468-481.
14.
Josefsson, K. ( 2006). Municipal elderly care: Implications of registered nurses’ work situation, education, and competence (Doctoral dissertation). Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Retrieved from http://publications.ki.se/jspui/handle/10616/38842
15.
Josefsson, K., Sonde, L., Winblad, B., & Robins Wahlin, T.-B. (2007). Work situation of registered nurses in municipal elderly care in Sweden: A questionnaire survey . International Journal of Nursing Studies, 44, 71-82.
16.
Josefsson, K. ( 2009). Sjuksköterskan i kommunens äldrevård och äldreomsorg [The registered nurse in municipal elderly care and service] . Stockholm, Sweden: Gothia Förlag .
17.
Juthberg, C., & Sundin, K. ( 2010). Registered nurses’ and nurse assistants’ lived experience of troubled conscience in their work in elderly care-A phenomenological hermeneutic study. International Journal of Nursing Studies , 47, 20-29.
18.
Karasek, R., & Theorell, T. ( 1990). Healthy work: Stress, productivity, and the reconstruction of working life. New York, NY: Basic Books.
19.
Karlsson, I., Ekman, S.-L., & Fagerberg, I. ( 2009). A difficult mission to work as a nurse in a residential care home-Some registered nurses’ experiences of their work situation . Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 23, 265-273.
20.
Katz, D., & Kahn, R.L. ( 1980). The study of organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
21.
Kazdin, A.E. ( 2003). Research design in clinical psychology. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
22.
National Board of Health and Welfare. (2005 a). Folkhälsorapport 2005. Arbetsliv, arbetsmiljö och hälsa [Work, work environment and health]. Stockholm , Sweden: Author.
23.
National Board of Health and Welfare. (2005 b). Kompetensbeskrivning för legitimerad sjuksköterska [Competence description for registered nurse]. Stockholm , Sweden: Author.
24.
Polit, D.F., & Beck, C.T. ( 2008). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
25.
Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. ( 2008). Developments in elderly policy in Sweden. Stockholm, Sweden: Author.
26.
Swedish Society of Nursing. (2008). Strategier för att utveckla vården [Strategies for care development] . Stockholm, Sweden: Author.
27.
Theorell, T. ( 1993). Krav-kontroll-stöd: Ny modell i arbetsmiljöforskning [Demand-control-support: New model in work environment research]. Läkartidningen, 90, 3683-3686.
28.
The Swedish Association of Health Professionals. ( 2009). Helhetssyn för en säker vård forskning [Holistic vision for safe care research]. Stockholm, Sweden: Author.
29.
The Swedish National Institute of Public Health. ( 2009). Hälsa i arbetslivet [Health in work]. Stockholm, Sweden: Author.
30.
Weman, K., Kihlgren, M., & Fagerberg, I. ( 2004). Older people living in nursing homes or other community care facilities: Registered nurses’ views of their working situation and co-operation with family members. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 13, 617-626.
31.
Westlander, G. ( 1995). På väg mot det goda arbetet: Om akademikers arbetsvillkor forskning [Toward the good work: About academics’ working conditions research]. Solna, Sweden: Arbetslivsinstitutet.
