By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
A critical care director shared the following story:
Our CEO had a virtual town hall last week. I guess it was his version of a pep rally. He was talking about the plans of our health system for 2022 and how important it is to “get back on track.” He thanked the staff for what they had done during COVID and seemed very ready to just move on with his plans. I was amazed we were both leaders in the same building. Our critical care team is exhausted, angry, and depressed. We are losing staff every day to travel positions. The unit staffing is being held together by rubber bands and paper clips. He may be ready to “move on,” but the staff sure isn’t. I worry about executive leaders who are so out of touch with their workforce. It is not surprising that we see so much union activity right now.
This nurse leader is not alone in her concerns. Many nurse leaders have told me that some on their executive team are tone-deaf. They don’t seem to understand that the workforce today is different than it was in 2019 and business is unlikely to return to normal in the way they are framing it. A leader told an interesting story on a recent webinar. At her hospital, staff was asked to place all their 2022 vacation requests by the end of November 2021. When she talked with her staff about this, her younger nurses told her that they had no idea when they would plan their 2022 vacations. She advised them that requests might not be honored if they did not come in by the deadline. The nurses just looked at her and said, – fine, we will quit if we can’t get the vacation we want.
The world of work is shifting in dramatic ways. Not all leaders are paying attention. Some think they will be able to exercise the same kind of control that they did in 2019. In a recent McKinsey report, workforce experts warn leaders to change their leadership styles – focusing less on control and more on wellbeing, culture, and connections. Bill Schaninger notes in the report, “We are all humans in a rather crazy environment, trying to figure out how work fits in. If you don’t accommodate that, the employees are going to make it simple for you because they are not going to be your employees anymore.”
McKinsey notes that accommodation to the changing needs of the workforce will be critical. The employee experience will need to move beyond engagement and satisfaction. Creating environments with psychological safety and a willingness to take small bets will be essential. Many leaders use old employment paradigms that they grew up with and find comfortable, but these norms may not work with the current and future workforce.
The most recent ANA pulse survey clarifies that we have a nursing workforce (especially in acute care environments) that are not in a good place with their mental health and wellbeing. 42% of the more than 9000 nurses surveyed report feeling traumatized by COVID – in critical care; it is 68%. Press Gainey’s research tells us that 30% of nurses are “flight risks” and likely leave their organizations. There should be no town meetings today in healthcare where staff wellbeing is not discussed as a top organizational priority. Leaders who do otherwise are very tone-deaf and put all their future strategic initiatives in jeopardy. At the core, healthcare is a people business, and we should not forget that.
References
McKinsey & Company (November 2021).McKinsey Great Attrition to Adaption
ANA Pulse Survey (October 2021). Available at https://www.nursingworld.org/~4aa484/globalassets/docs/ancc/magnet/mh3-written-report-final.pdf
Press Gainey (September 2021). Health Leaders Media Interview available at https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/nursing/nearly-30-rns-are-risk-leaving-their-organization-new-analysis-reveals
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