Demographic change is making it increasingly difficult to hire employees, particularly in the health and care sector. To counteract this, we need to make workplaces more attractive.

Text: Dietmar Schobel (b. 1962)

The facts have been known for years: in the rich countries of the world, the proportion of people aged over 65 is increasing, while that of younger age groups is shrinking. By 2050, in the EU countries there will be fewer than two people of working age (15-64) for every person aged 65 and over. This is shown in a recent study by the Research Service of the European Parliament. The effects of demographic change have long been noticeable on the labour market. However, some sectors are especially affected by the growing shortage of skilled labour. These specifically include the health and care sector, where the supply of staff is falling while the demand for health and care services is rising.

According to a number of sociological and economic studies, many members of the younger Generations Y and Z – who are aged between 15 and 43 today – are more likely than previous generations to prioritise a healthy work-life balance. Rather than “living to work”, which characterises many Baby Boomers and quite a few members of Generation X, they prefer part-time working and flexible hours. In the future, will it still be possible to find enough staff for a high-quality public health and care system?

No need for complicated strategies

“Yes, it will certainly be possible – and without any need for complicated strategies,” says political scientist Scott Greer (b. 1976), who is a professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and author of the publication “Ageing and Health: The Politics of Better Policies“ from 2021. “The main thing here is to make jobs in the health sector attractive again, for example through better training, better working conditions and better pay. This might mean that there are no staff left over for other sectors and especially for badly paid ‘McJobs’ in the service industry. However, I’m sure the damage to society would not be too great.”

German psychologist and generation researcher Rüdiger Maas (b. 1979) is also confident that more young people can be recruited to work in the health and care sector: “The crises of our time and the growing use of digital media have left many young people feeling unsettled, isolated and in need of human contact, which the health and care sector can offer. Carers often find it very rewarding to care for and interact with people, and those who work in these areas are usually viewed in a very positive light by society. As well as this, it is important not to focus exclusively on the stressful and demanding aspects of this kind of work. Rather, we should show the many benefits it offers.”

Stopping the downward spiral

“Working conditions in the health and care sector must be improved – there’s no way around it,” agrees Urška Erklavec (b. 1991) of the National Institute of Public Health of Slovenia (NIJZ), who is leading a service for non-governmental organisations and advocates for implementation of social participation, particularly focussing on young people. A qualified pharmacist, she believes that a vicious circle has been set in motion: “The growing strain on people working in the areas of health and care has led many of them to leave the profession, worsening conditions for those who remain. We must break this negative cycle.” As Scott Greer emphasises, the first step is to analyse the current working environment in detail: “The fact is that many people working in the health and care sector are 80 or 90 percent satisfied with how things are. So, we don’t have to change everything.”

Workplace health promotion can also make an important contribution towards bringing about positive changes, particularly in hospitals and other health and care facilities. As Klaus Ropin (b. 1966), head of the Austrian health promotion fund Fonds Gesundes Österreich (FGÖ), explains: “The aim here is to reduce the organisational stress and strain of work, which in turn will of course enable people to work for longer”. In practice, quality-assured workplace health promotion is implemented through participative processes. In “health circles”, all employees are invited to make suggestions about what – from a health perspective – should be improved with regard to companies’ processes, services and infrastructure. This concept is also implemented globally through the International Network of Health-Promoting Hospitals and Health Services (HPH), which was initiated by the World Health Organization. At present, this includes 19 national and regional networks and around 60 individual members representing some 600 health facilities on four continents.

Young people are looking for meaningful work

Workplace health promotion adds to employer branding and attractiveness. Hence, companies that pay more attention to employee health are also likely to have an advantage when it comes to recruiting and retaining young people to work in the health and care sector. Marie Nabbe (b. 1996), EU Affairs Officer at the European Hospital and Healthcare Federation (HOPE), points to another important aspect: “For my generation, the Millennials, work no longer has the central status in life that it had for our parents and their generation. Many of us have moved away from seeing work as an end in itself. This means that it’s even more important to find meaning in the work you do – for example by protecting the environment, helping other people or contributing to social cohesion in general. There are many types of work that correspond to this, especially in the health and care sector.”

THE GENERATIONS AT A GLANCE

It is not really possible to draw a distinct dividing line between the various “generations” based on the year they were born – and there are plenty of people who do not identify with any particular generation. At the same time, it is still true to say that many members of a certain generation have often grown up in similar living and working environments with similar consumption habits, and they share similar experiences. Healthy Europe has compiled an overview of the attitudes to work that are often ascribed to certain generations by sociological and economic studies, as these characteristics may be of interest to employers in the health and care sector as well.

From 1950: Baby Boomers

* Very motivated

* Optimistic outlook

From 1965: Generation X

* Good salary and security are very important

* Work is a means to an end

From 1980: Generation Y

* Work should be meaningful and working hours should be flexible

* Work-life balance must be healthy

From 1995: Generation Z

* Greater need for security than the previous generation

* Work and private life are more strictly separated

From 2010: Generation α

* According to initial studies, Alphas have a good aptitude for new technology and intercultural cooperation

* Importance placed on flexibility, interpersonal relationships and a good work-life balance.