Employee Benefit Trends

Fostering a Healthier Workforce in a New Era of Healthcare

3 min read
May 30, 2022

Healthcare is at the forefront of the labor shortage, and healthcare organizations are being called on to do more to support their workforce. Today, employers must care for the “whole” healthcare employee; an individual with an important life outside work, who requires strength in all four aspects of their holistic health — mental, financial, physical, and social — to thrive, both on and off the clock.

What You Will Learn

MetLife research uncovers that many healthcare employers struggle to cultivate a holistically healthy workforce — and employees’ job satisfaction and loyalty is falling as a result. In this report, we dive deep into the growing needs of the healthcare workforce today, how nurturing workers’ well-being can unlock greater outcomes across the organization, and 3 key steps employers can take to protect their talent now and in the future.

Want to learn more about today’s labor trends in healthcare? 

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Healthcare faces a labor crisis

The stressors of the pandemic accelerated trends that threatened an already-stressed workforce. Job satisfaction in healthcare has dropped at more than double the rate of other sectors since 2017 and, this year, nearly half (45%) of healthcare workers either moved or seriously considered moving employers in the past 12 months.

Just 2 in 3 healthcare employees intend to stay with their employer for the next 12 months.

Healthcare employee’s well-being continues to spiral

Healthcare remains the most stressed-out sector of the workforce, and employees’ mental and financial health, in particular, is in a tailspin. More than 4 in 10 healthcare workers (42%) reported feeling stressed in 2022, and mental health remains 10% lower than it was before the pandemic began. Increased workloads, difficulty managing work-life balance, and financial concerns all compound healthcare employees’ mental health woes — and negatively impact their employers, as well.

36
%

ofhealthcareemployees

85
%

of healthcare workers who say they’re holistically healthy 

Loyalty is especially low among younger healthcare employees, with Gen Z staff twice as likely to leave as their older colleagues.

Learn more about the trends affecting young talent in healthcare.

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Supporting employees’ holistic health is key to retaining talent

The worrying state of today’s healthcare workforce raises the stakes for employers, who must find ways to promote workers’ holistic wellbeing and boost productivity, satisfaction and loyalty. Here are 3 key areas in which healthcare employers can better support their workforce:

1. Flexibility for work-life balance: Remote working options, flexible hours and PTO help healthcare staff develop a work-life balance that supports their mental health.

2. Supportive workplace cultures: Sympathetic managers, leadership training, and organization-wide appreciation efforts help staff feel valued. 

3. Expanded benefits programs: 8 in 10 healthcare workers say having access to a wider range of benefits would make them more loyal to their employers. Well-rounded benefits programs and initiatives help healthcare staff nurture all aspects of their holistic health, bolstering job satisfaction and loyalty. 

Learnhowthesethreepillars

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20th Annual Employee Benefit Trends Study

The Rise of the Whole Employee: 20 Years of Change in Employer-Employee Dynamics