Work/Life Balance for Healthcare Professionals

Let’s face it, life can be hard. Especially when it comes to balancing work and family responsibilities. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen a lot of things happen in healthcare that have caused some of us to ask ourselves if we made the right career choice. While I believe the answer is yes for me personally, I know dozens of folks who have opted out of the profession for one reason or another. Without a doubt, the number one reason was stress and being unsatisfied with the direction of the industry. Burnout, bad management, excessive workload, and the overall feeling that the employer only cares about production and revenue, not the employee, is a common topic these days.

What Do Healthcare Professionals Want in a Job?

We wanted to know more about this, so we posted another LinkedIn survey to try and get a better idea about the common things us ordinary people want out of a job and career. We received more than 20,100 responses to the survey that simply asked, “what is the most important thing you consider when looking for a new job”? Well, most might think the number one thing would be better pay. That was actually number two. The number one thing that employees want is a good schedule. Of the healthcare providers who responded, 41% answered that a good schedule/hours were the most important to them when considering a new job, followed by compensation (29%), advancement opportunities (19%), and a better on-call rotation was fourth (11%). Surprised? I was not.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Staffing

The past two-years of Covid-19 related issues, vaccine mandates, an aging workforce, and the already short supply of workers created a perfect storm of chaos for many healthcare providers who chose to stay in the profession. It also created a lot of opportunities. Many who were able jumped into the travel sector to capitalize on money being offered for contract assignments. Others were able to move into a management role, and others into a better schedule.

The Importance of a Good Schedule in Work/Life Balance

However, the negative effects of this perfect storm far outweighed the positives. The main issue, at least from my perspective, being chronic staffing shortages that we all now face. In another survey we conducted last summer regarding departmental staffing, over 90% of the people we surveyed indicated they believed their departments were short-staffed. That’s a very big deal.

We have no doubt that these shortages are real, and are likely here to stay awhile. Our company had a 52% increase in job requisitions from 2021 to 2022, and in all honesty, it’s been very difficult to keep up with demand. This has further reaffirmed that this is an unusual time in healthcare. I’ve never seen the demand for healthcare workers so high in my 28-years of recruiting.

So, back to the “good schedule thing”. While we have not released our 2023 jobs and compensation data as of yet (see our 2022 report here), I can honestly confirm that these LinkedIn findings seem to be true, at least in my eyes. Right now, one of the things that managers have to do is accommodate their loyal employees and keep them happy. This might mean moving someone from nights and weekend shifts to days when a position comes available, and if requested. This leaves those seemingly less-desirable positions left to backfill. Again, in my opinion, this new survey is in direct correlation with our job requisitions. Many of the jobs we are asked to help with are nights and weekend roles. So yes, the schedule that someone is required to work can be directly related to their work/life balance.

Tips for Employers: Sweeten Shift Differentials to Keep Shifts Filled

So, if you are a healthcare provider trying to find a day shift, well you might just hang in there for a while until a position opens up. Employers are more willing to negotiate schedules and financial packages now more than ever. If your employer is not, then look elsewhere. There are no shortages of openings if you are willing to make a move. If you are an employer trying to fill those night and weekend roles, you might try to substantially sweeten your shift differentials. The norm has been around $2.00 to $5.00 per hour for many years. If you are an employer, you should make it $10.00 to $15.00 per hour in my opinion. First, it makes those shifts way more desirable. Second, it’s the cheapest way to keep those shifts filled. A differential of $2.00 is insignificant to most people who are looking for quality of life. Just ask them.