Table 5.

Categories, codes, and select quotations of theme 3: love and belonging needs

Categories	Codes	Quotations
Social support and network	Peer support Caring for co-workers	Break times are the only times we get to talk our hearts out with our colleagues, but now we don't’ even have that. We also feel lost and really isolated. I would appreciate if we could still sit and interact as how we used to be. (Nurse)
		I feel the isolation from social distancing most acutely. Perhaps we can have support groups via e-chat or video chat on weekly basis to talk, share, learn and cope together. (AHP)
		Staff can be divided into groups of buddies – within each group there is a person identified to boost morale, check-in on each other. (AHP)
Workplace camaraderie	Foster teamwork Support junior staff	I look forward to seeing a more united team. The conflicts or prejudice we (the isolation team) faced within our department from the non-isolation team are unnecessary stress on top of this pandemic crisis that we are already dealing with daily. (Nurse) Seniors should show the way and step up on the frontline, rather than sacrificing juniors whenever help is needed at the frontline. (Doctor)
Employee engagement	Regular engagement Listen to staff feedback	Proactive engagement by senior leadership to check-in on staff well-being or get feedback from staff. (Doctor) Management needs to be more sensitive and listen to staff on the ground working to better understand the actual situation staffs are facing during day to day work, especially when new directives/workflows are given. (AHP)