Objective: In this work, a questionnaire was designed and perceptions of motivation and demotivation of middle managers in three hospitals in the Region del Maule, Chile were measured.
Material and methods: The fieldwork was carried out between September and October, 2006. A questionnaire that included 57 statements to measure attitude was administered and qualified according to a five-point Likert-type scale. The population studied included l25 professionals that supervise roughly 3 800 employees.
Results: Ten variables were identified, 5 motivational and 5 demotivational. Notable among the motivational variables are vocation and service-oriented spirit; among the demotivational variables are lack of recognition and commitment.
Discussion: It is affirmed that both motivational variables as well as demotivational variables are essentially qualitative and that economic and salary variables are less relevant and less hierarchical.