Aim: To discover what long-term care (LTC) staff working in self-managing teams consider necessary to remain sustainably employable.DesignQualitative study with semi-structured interviews.Methods: In 2020, semi-structured interviews were conducted one-on-one with 25 LTC workers from a medium-large Dutch organization providing long-term care. All interviews were audio-recorded, anonymously transcribed verbatim and analysed with thematic content analysis in the software program Atlas.ti.Results: LTC workers indicated a need for autonomy. They wanted their control and involvement in decisions to be strengthened. Furthermore, LTC workers indicated a need for relatedness, by experiencing support, a feeling of togetherness and more time to have attention for the residents. Lastly, LTC workers expressed a need for (assistance in) further developing their competence.Conclusion: In order to remain willing and able to work, LTC workers in self-managing teams want their needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence to be addressed. Working conditions are important to these LTC workers' sustainable employability since they can hinder or promote the satisfaction of their needs.Implications: It is important that management in LTC is aware of the importance of LTC workers' needs for sustainable employability. We recommend that management critically reflect on and invest in addressing these needs by enhancing indicators and limiting inhibitors of the needs.