By Pamela Williams, Partner, Fisher Phillips
The ongoing pandemic has undoubtedly (and understandably) taken a toll on healthcare workers, many of whom have worked tirelessly in challenging conditions for almost two years as the COVID-19 crisis continues to impact the world in an unexpected manner. As a result of an unfortunate combination of factors, including unprecedented levels of stress and burnout related to the pandemic, healthcare employers are facing severe staffing shortages resulting from workers either changing jobs, retiring, or leaving the healthcare field entirely.
Fisher Phillips LLP recently conducted a flash survey with over 600 respondents in various industries providing their thoughts regarding workplace shortages. Significantly, a staggering 94% of employers reported that they have experienced more difficulty than normal in retaining and recruiting workers in 2021, with more than half (53%) reporting “severe” difficulty compared to normal times. Not surprisingly, 92% of respondents in the healthcare industry reported experiencing moderate to severe difficulty finding and retaining workers.
In addition to the general worker shortages, many healthcare employers (like those in other industries), reported that they have seen more women than men leave their organizations. When asked to identify factors that they believed contributed to the overall workforce shortage in 2021, employers cited reasons such as higher-paying jobs, stress or burnout, family care obligations, better work-life balance, and retirement from the workforce. Interestingly, however, only 12% reported that an employer vaccine mandate has led to workforce shortage problems at their organizations – perhaps demonstrating that the fear of vaccine mandates driving workers from their jobs could be a bit overblown.
The results of our firm’s flash survey appear to be consistent with recent data regarding the shortage of healthcare workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”), employment in healthcare is down by 450,000 since February of 2020. The BLS further reports that nursing and residential care facilities account for nearly all of the loss.
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What Can Employers Do to Navigate the Healthcare Staffing Crisis?
In light of these sobering statistics, healthcare employers must develop creative strategies to recruit and retain talent. The following information can be used as a starting point when tackling the issue of worker shortages.
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Consider monetary increases and incentives. The current employment situation is a “buyer’s market”. As such, many workers are demanding (and receiving) increased wages. While many employers have raised employee wage rates, some are also using other monetary incentives to attract workers, including hiring and retention bonuses. Although such options may be costly, the burden to an employer can be mitigated somewhat by tying the bonus to the length of tenure, for instance, including a repayment obligation for a hiring bonus if an employee voluntarily leaves employment before a specified time period.
Enhance employee perks and benefits. During the pandemic, employees have started to demand more flexibility in their jobs and work environments. Accordingly, some employers have realized that it is necessary to relax or modify some work rules including dress code, flexible scheduling, and remote work options.
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Reimagine recruiting and hiring practices. In addition to financial incentives, the current job market requires employers to think outside the box in order to elicit interest from prospective applicants. This may include advertising and recruiting via social media, online marketplaces focused on healthcare workers and jobs and offering employee referral bonuses. Additionally, given challenges associated with the pandemic, including the recommendations for social distancing and wearing masks, consideration should be given to conducting virtual employment interviews. Employers should also consider expanding the applicant pool, including outreach to students and candidates at the traditional retirement age.
Reduce burdens on direct care workers. Workers performing direct patient care services have unfortunately been forced to bear significant burdens during the pandemic, including long hours dealing with often dire, and extremely stressful, situations. In an effort to reduce the workload and stress on workers, some healthcare employers have taken measures to reassign non-clinical duties (for instance, discharge-related tasks), thereby attempting to lessen the burden on direct care employees.
Prioritize employee health and safety. It goes without saying that many healthcare workers have experienced extreme cases of stress and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to adequately address and improve staffing levels, employers should not only recognize this fact but also take measures to provide assistance to employees during this extremely difficult period. Even if an organization currently provides benefits (and/or EAP programs) to assist with mental health issues, consideration should be given to implementing additional measures that provide daily support to staff in need, including easy access to mental health professionals who are either on-site or available for a virtual consultation. Additionally, healthcare employers should revisit current workplace safety initiatives, and ensure that employees are aware of existing safety measures.
Address family care issues. Even though many workplaces have seen more women than men leave their organizations in 2021 as a result of family care responsibilities, only a very small number (4%) of employers who participated in our recent flash survey indicated that they have attempted to create better family care opportunities to attract and retain workers. When addressing family care issues, employers may need to reconsider performance standards. The pandemic has demonstrated that many caregiving employees will require a job structure that necessitates a reevaluation as to what constitutes success within a role and organization, thereby resulting in a need for employers to reset goals and expectations. Finally, it may be necessary for employers to adjust policies to support working caregivers. While it may not be financially feasible to offer on-site childcare or subsidies for childcare, employers should consider working with various agencies to offer employees the benefit of pre-screened backup childcare providers, set up nanny-share opportunities, or offer paid family leave. Another option is to offer flexible working arrangements such as job-sharing or reduced hours to accommodate caregiving responsibilities.
Take measures to stem the departure of women from the workforce. There has been a dramatic exodus of women from the workforce since the start of the pandemic. This phenomenon is referred to as the “she-cession” and has particularly impacted high-contact industries (including healthcare) which continue to see women leave the workforce to a larger extent than men. Employers should act quickly and decisively to implement efforts to curb the damage of “she-cession”, including creating programs that empower women and allow female workers to connect with female leaders within an organization. This can be also be accomplished by creating a forum for women leaders and employees to support each other’s efforts or developing an on-ramp path for women returning to the workforce.
Final Thoughts: Immediate Action is Necessary to Address the Worker Shortage
While there is no magic remedy or one-size-fits-all solution for addressing the current worker shortage, one key to successfully navigating this challenge is to take immediate action to review and modify recruiting and hiring processes in accordance with organizational needs. This is a necessary starting point to turning the tide and stemming the loss of healthcare workers.