How can we ensure our health and social care workers get the support they so rightly deserve?
)
A study exploring the attitudes and behaviours of 1,500 deskless workers in the UK, has found over half (59%) of health and social care staff surveyed have considered quitting because of an unhappy working environment and over two thirds (68%) say this is because they believe they are merely a ‘temporary or disposable resource’ in the eyes of their employers.
The health and social care study by the Workforce Management Solutions Provider also revealed:
- Just 55% of health and social care workers feel valued in 2021, falling sharply from 72% during the height of the pandemic.
- 64% have gone to work sick because they couldn’t afford to take time off.
- 71% have experienced understaffing at work.
- 58% have missed out on social events or holiday celebrations due to work schedules or an employer request.
Respondents complained of a high-pressure environment, with last minute changes to work schedules and difficulty in swapping shifts if they felt sick or unwell:
- Nearly three quarters (74%) say they are contacted by bosses by call or text out of hours.
- Half cited feeling pressured into taking a shift they didn’t want.
- 53% complained they did not have access to a tool or mobile app to make swapping shifts easier.
Quinyx found that over 1 in 3 (37%) have left a job because their employer did not provide schedules with enough advance notice – making it impossible for them to balance work and personal life.
With pay a hotly debated topic, interestingly 30% state they would prefer a flexible schedule over higher pay.
Toma Pagojute, Chief HR Officer at Quinyx, explains: “This report is an SOS signal from health and social care workers. They are telling us they feel side-lined and that they need flexibility, improved dialogue with managers and control over their schedules, so they can achieve the work-life balance and job satisfaction that they so deserve - highlighting a clear requirement for much better systems to manage resources and demand.
“Not only do inflexible schedules cause headaches for healthcare workers, but last-minute changes have a huge impact on job satisfaction, affecting stress levels and morale."
“The good news is that help is available for businesses and there are immediate steps that can be taken. Employee engagement can be improved by respecting workers, understanding them, and showing a duty of care. They deserve to benefit from effective management, flexible working schedules and a good work-life balance. Managers can do this by giving them the right tools for smooth shift swapping and the autonomy to make their own decisions. It's increasingly important to make staff satisfaction a priority."
“Autonomous solutions that deliver and maintain transparent lines of communication within teams, alongside an effective scheduling tool for seamlessly swapping shifts, will help firms effectively navigate some of these challenges."
“We hope the study provides useful insight for businesses operating in these sectors – so they can take steps to turn these negatives into positives.”
Quinyx’s study examines the current employment environment of UK health and social care workers, including to what extent they feel valued, their skills and progression, health and wellbeing, issues around swapping shifts and flexibility and pay and working conditions.
The State of the Deskless Report surveyed over 10,000 people across the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands.
To find out more about how Quinyx can help your business visit www.quinyx.com