Health workers are stressed – but staying put
People employed in healthcare experience more stress than other workers but are less likely to leave their job in the near future, a new survey says.
High stress levels affect people working in the health sector more than other workers, according to a new survey from SEEK.
Almost a third (31 per cent) of healthcare workers who participated in the satisfaction and motivation survey said stress was the thing they disliked most about their job, well above the national average of just 25 per cent.
The survey found that stress levels in the workplace are rising but the increase is more pronounced among healthcare workers.
The results suggested that people in the health workforce places a greater importance on values and ethical issues than employees in other industries.
Factors like quality of management, workplace environment and hours of work were more important to them than general survey participants.
“The importance of these factors is perhaps also demonstrated by the fact that salary isn’t the over-riding factor it is in other professions,” said SEEK spokesperson, David Waite.
Less than half (49 per cent) of the survey’s healthcare participants said a pay increase would encourage them to stay in their current position, compared to three quarters of the general workforce.
Another promising finding from the survey was that healthcare workers were more inclined to stay with their current employer than workers.
Forty-four per cent intended to stay in the same position for a year or more, compared to a national average of just 33 per cent.
Overall, about 10,000 people participated in the Australia-wide survey. Almost 500 of them worked in the healthcare sector.
