Being motivated primarily by the desire to help others may not always be a good thing, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the University of Akron found that nurses who are driven mainly by a desire to help others, rather than by enjoyment of the work itself or the lifestyle it makes possible, are more likely to burn out on the job.

Nursing is still a female-dominated occupation, and being female is associated with being caring, nurturing, and altruistic. Therefore, the desire to help others is often assumed to be the "right" motivation for entering the field.

"We expect women to go into these jobs because they love the people that they're caring for, and this is their primary motivator," Janette Dill, study author and an assistant professor of sociology, said in a statement.

Dill added that if that cultural assumption can be changed, she says, more men might be attracted to nursing and "might not necessarily feel that their whole self has to be devoted to their patients -- that they can value their job for other reasons as well."

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed survey data from more than 7000 registered nurses in Northeast Ohio. About 90 percent were white females.

They found that nurses who pursue their career for reasons other than or in addition to the desire to help others find the job to be less stressful. That results in less burnout, better personal health, and high job commitment.

The researchers also found that nurses who are highly motivated by both the lifestyle the job provides and the ability to interact personally with patients are more satisfied with their employer and less inclined to leave their current job.

The findings were recently presented at the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.