Should I Stay or Should I Go?
How the workplace answers how employees respond
BY CHERYL CARRON
Medical and health services workers face unique emotional, psychological and time pressures that make jobs in the health care sector especially demanding. In fact, a survey by the National Institutes of Health found that caregivers experience stress and burnout at rates of up to 70 percent.
When it comes to addressing this stress, health care organizations have to walk a fine line between the well-being of workers and the needs of patients. For example, worsening labor shortages have left health systems with no choice but to ask many of their employees to work long and irregular hours. Profitability in the sector has also been under pressure, forcing companies to choose between enhancing employee pay and benefits and improving patient experience.
Balancing these competing priorities can make talent acquisition and retention in health care a challenge. But a recent JLL survey of 1,000 caregivers, administrators and support teams highlights how facility managers may have technology, tools and simple strategies to overcome them.
Employee turnover & the factors that influence it
According to the JLL report, nearly
of health care employees are considering leaving their current position in the next 12 months,
AND
are planning to leave the industry altogether.
While some of this turnover stems from the unique stressors of working in health care, the report details other factors impacting job satisfaction, including pay and benefits, work hour flexibility and the ability to focus on a specific role. Of greatest interest to facility managers, however, are how employee perceptions of the workplace can influence how they feel about their job.
Generally speaking, people want a workplace that is in a convenient and safe location, close to amenities and housing they can afford. Workplace culture and reputation of excellence also rank high in importance. Finally, employees are sensitive to the quality of facilities, including the condition of spaces meant for them, as well as those intended for use by customers. In the health care sector, the former includes office space and break rooms, while the latter encompasses patient care spaces.
The results of the JLL survey clearly show that those health care employees with low job satisfaction — those the survey report calls “detractors” — have an added negative perception of their facility and its patient care and employee spaces. Meanwhile, “promoters” — respondents who are satisfied in their job — are more likely to report that break rooms and offices are clean and well-maintained, sound privacy in patient spaces is adequate, and they feel safe in their workplace.
Change the workplace, not the location
The results of the JLL survey show that the largest gaps in employee experience between promoters and detractors are in the perceived safety and convenience of their workplace. Meanwhile, only
of respondents whose workplace is far from housing they could afford would recommend their employer to a friend or colleague.
While there is nothing health care organizations and facility managers can do about where existing facilities are located, they can address some of the underlying concerns that make location a major factor in health care employee turnover. For instance, FMs can help workers feel better about their workplace by ensuring that their experience upon arrival at the property feels as safe, convenient and streamlined as possible.
For FMs, step one in improving employee perceptions of safety is to ensure parking lots and structures are properly maintained and incorporate features like security cameras, panic buttons and reserved employee parking with access control. In addition, parking areas should be well lit, and malfunctioning lights should be fixed quickly. Implementing or increasing security patrols around the exterior of a facility can also be reassuring for employees concerned about safety.
Parking lot maintenance also plays a big role in convenience — specifically, how easy it is for workers to get from their car to their workspace. For someone who has already spent an hour commuting in traffic to get to work, there is nothing more frustrating than dealing with a malfunctioning entry gate or finding that the parking spaces closest to the employee entrance are occupied by a roll-off dumpster. Ensuring unimpeded and optimized employee access can go a long way toward reducing the stress of a long commute.
Out of sight, but not out of mind
For health care workers, a break room is more than just a place to grab a cup of coffee. It is an oasis of peace and quiet in a noisy, frenetic and emotionally draining environment. Being able to rest and relax in a space optimized for that purpose improves mental and physical well-being, productivity and performance.
Yet, respondents to the JLL survey rated employee spaces lower than patient care areas in terms of newness, maintenance and sound privacy. Facility managers can help health care organizations address shortfalls in this area by ensuring that break rooms are clean and well-maintained. Something as simple as a fresh coat of paint or new, more comfortable chairs can make a big difference in how employees perceive these spaces.
The survey also found that sound privacy in employee areas was a top concern for respondents. According to a 2021 systematic review published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research, indoor noise levels in hospitals worldwide range from 37 to 88.6 decibels (dB). A blender produces about 85 dB. FMs can improve the sound privacy of employee and patient areas by deploying sound masking technology and taking other steps to absorb, block and cover noise.
A lack of privacy in common break areas can also cause issues and division between employees, as each employee seeks a break in their own way. With room and desk booking software, workers can reserve nap pods, meditation rooms and other break areas ahead of time, further reducing stress and enabling them to maximize opportunities for rest and relaxation alongside their colleagues. This technology can also provide FMs and health care organizations with data to help optimize utilization and inform future plans for renovations or repurposing of space.
Improving employee experience by catering to generational preferences
While the list of workplace factors impacting job satisfaction was consistent across the different types of survey respondents, the importance they represented varied by age. For example, baby boomers prioritize flexibility, with
ranking it as their top factor, while members of Gen Z value workplace culture. Meeting the diverse needs of their multigenerational workforce requires a nuanced approach to workplace strategy driven by data.
By implementing occupancy sensors or other workplace management technologies, FMs can help organizations facilitate flexible work models while streamlining the process of tracking employee adherence to attendance policies and productivity goals. Room and desk booking software can strengthen workplace culture by reducing the potential for friction among team members and encouraging collaboration.
While these technologies can deliver substantial benefits in terms of increased efficiency, reduced costs and improved productivity, the mere presence of technology solutions can be a major draw for younger workers. Multiple studies have shown that members of Gen Z, having grown up surrounded by technology, strongly prefer workplaces that leverage tech to streamline every aspect of their work.
The power of proactive maintenance
In the JLL survey, nearly nine out of 10 respondents
who said they intend to stay in their job reported that their workplace was designed to work efficiently, enabled them to care for patients to the best of their ability, and supported their well-being. On the other hand, those who were considering leaving were less likely to report that their workplace enabled them to work productively.
For organizations aiming to improve productivity and efficiency, simply streamlining workflows is not enough; they also have to minimize disruptions. Ramping up efforts to identify and service equipment that is operating suboptimally can keep an isolated issue from becoming a big problem that interrupts workplace operations and requires costly repairs and remediation. While many of the steps FMs can take to improve employees’ experience represent costs with an indirect ROI, adopting proactive maintenance strategies can directly reduce expenses.
Another fortunate by-product of improving equipment and system maintenance is the positive impact it can have on the well-being of building occupants. A malfunctioning HVAC system, for example, can leave a workplace too warm, cold or humid and potentially lead to mold growth and increased particulates due to inadequate filtration.
When participants in the survey were asked if their workplace or patient care spaces were too hot or too cold, their responses indicated a significant correlation between comfort and intent to stay. Those respondents who were considering leaving their job in the next year were far more likely to report that these spaces were “too cold.” While it is impossible to meet every individual’s temperature preference, identifying and addressing anomalies in indoor air quality can keep conditions within acceptable norms throughout a workplace.
A workplace that keeps caregivers, administrators & support teams happy
There is broad agreement that high stress is a major cause of employee turnover in health care, and it is also well understood that organizations are limited in how they can alleviate that stress for employees. Fortunately, there are ways that facility managers can positively influence job satisfaction and talent acquisition and retention in the industry. With improvements and enhancements to the workplace — many of which are relatively inexpensive and simple to implement — FMs can help health care organizations improve employee experience and satisfaction and address concerns that lead to attrition. The result: caregivers can comfortably support the organization’s mission while providing the best patient care and support to those in need.