Half of all healthcare workers believe their workload is too high, according to new figures released Thursday by Statistics Netherlands. A year ago that was still 42 percent.
The figures from the Dutch Statistics Office relate to the second quarter of this year. People who work in childcare are subject to the greatest work stress. But staff in youth care and GP practices also consider their workload to be above average.
In addition to the high workload, employees in the care sector also find the work stressful. This relates to the speed of work, the amount of work, and the possibility of making decisions regarding the implementation of the work.
According to Statistics Netherlands, 26 percent of healthcare workers have had to deal with stressful work throughout 2021. This is much higher than the average for all Dutch employees, which is 18 percent. Only in the hospitality industry have employees faced more pressure.
The number of vacancies in the healthcare sector continues to increase. In the second quarter of this year, 65,000 vacancies were opened in the healthcare sector. In the third quarter there were already 68,000. According to research by the Department of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), the number of vacancies will almost double by 2031.
Statistics Netherlands is unable to say whether the high workload is related to a shortage of staff in this sector. “We don’t have figures on that,” says a spokesman for the Census Bureau. “But we can imagine.”
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