Abstract:
This research aimed at exploring the happiness at work of nurses in an autonomous university hospital. The method of this study was the interpretative phenomenological approach. The participants included 12 nursing university officers who were selected by using purposive sampling and snowball sampling techniques. These were individuals who indicated willingness to participate in an interview and who had identified themselves or were recommended by the head nurse or colleagues as someone who experienced joy from their work. Data were collected through in-depth interviews. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim as well as analyzed by using the content analysis method of Van Manen (1990)The results of the research revealed two themes consisting of meaning of happiness at work and the working experiences of nursing university staffs. The meaning of happiness at work was identified through self-construals taking into account experience and a sense of work satisfaction, pleasant working environment and pride coming from work challenges. To develop working experience into professional skill requires patience, sacrifice and responsibility. Moreover, work value has been directly linked to ones own benefit and the benefit of patients of all ages who suffer from both treatable and untreatable diseases. For those who will not recover, nurses must be attentive, understanding and rely on their training to provide humanized health care that addresses body, mind and spirit. Six subthemes of the experiences of nursing work life resulting in a sense of happiness emerged from the study. They were: taking care of patients, adjusting to the work environment, having a safe and warm working atmosphere, working independently, receiving recognition from both patients and co-workers, and professional development.The findings reflect the levels of happiness of nursing university officers who experience joy through their work with implications for nursing administration to enhance nurses working environment.