A new report from Acacium Group provides significant insights into the stability of the UK’s health and care workforce.
Released today, ‘Confronting flexible workforce instability in health and social care’ by Acacium Group contains objective new insights derived from a survey of 14,000 professionals working in flexible roles across public and private organisations.
Each week, around 20,000 flexible professionals, working through Acacium Group’s businesses, deliver high-quality treatment and care within the UK healthcare sector. Worryingly 14% of those surveyed said they expect to leave their role or retire within the next two years, with a further 18% in the next five to ten years. 11% of flexible workers also say they are considering taking on a role outside of the health and social care workforce within the next two years.
Job satisfaction is key to retaining staff. The report highlights that overall working experience has the lowest satisfaction among doctors (74%), junior doctors (69%), and consultant doctors (64%).
There are many factors that could be influencing this dissatisfaction. A quarter (25%) of bank staff say they have experienced or witnessed discrimination, with 47% expressing concerns about inadequate reporting mechanisms or how concerns are managed.
The survey revealed that workload had the lowest satisfaction score of 69% among flexible workers in comparison to other areas of their role such as on-site support (78%) and access to required equipment (79%).
Nearly half (45%) of respondents are aged 50 and older, emphasising the essential role flexible working plays in keeping experienced professionals within the NHS. The report also highlights that 20% of bank workers cite skills development as a reason for working flexibly, underscoring the importance of continuous learning and professional growth for temporary workers who work shoulder-to-shoulder with full-time staff.
Kate Shoesmith, Deputy CEO at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, said: “In our recent survey for #TempWorkWorks, we found that nearly eight in ten temps (79%) work this way because it provides them with much needed flexibility. And there are hundreds of thousands of employers across the public, private and third sectors benefitting from the skills these individuals bring.
“We need to stop treating flexible workers as second-class citizens in the workplace. They are remarkable people, doing remarkable things. The NHS, like many services, will always need contingent staffing. A joined-up approach where the public sector works with labour market and talent experts, plus the workers choosing to work this way, is the only way to deliver on our long-term future workforce needs.”
Mike Barnard, Chief Executive Officer, Acacium Group said: “The health and social care workforce are the backbone of the NHS. Flexible workers are a key part of this, working shoulder-to-shoulder with full-time staff to deliver high-quality care, so it’s really concerning to see many are considering leaving the sector in the next few years.
“We know that flexible working allows many professionals to stay in the workforce, and provides additional opportunities for development which is key to job satisfaction. With clear challenges to address, we must all work together to ensure that those who choose to work flexibly have the same support as their full-time colleagues. Without this, the long-term sustainability of our workforce could be at risk.”
To read ‘Confronting flexible workforce instability in health and social care’ by Acacium Group visit: https://acaciumgroup.com/confronting-flexible-workforce-instability/
