With more than three-quarters of survey respondents believing their workload had increased since March 2020, the pressures are pushing the healthcare system and its people beyond capacity. Frontline clinicians are struggling with an administrative burden and most respondents want these duties to be streamlined, allocated elsewhere, or avoided entirely to create more time for higher-value tasks.

Workforce supply – or a lack thereof – is a critical issue that underpins system-wide concerns and diminishes the ability to provide high-quality care. Tellingly, a quarter of respondents are looking to leave the profession and change careers, while the majority have at least considered cutting hours, or opting for part-time roles.

Healthcare work is clearly taking its toll, with many survey respondents suffering physically and mentally because of high work demands and stressors. Those with less work experience, especially junior nurses, midwives and doctors, are affected to a greater extent in terms of their wellbeing and dissatisfaction.

A lack of consultation is a sticking point with clinicians, with almost two in three questioning executive leaders’ engagement on critical issues. To achieve purpose-led change, the healthcare sector must get the human factors right. For now, there is a lack of bespoke engagement and retention strategies that acknowledge the different motivators across generations, especially junior staff.

Clinicians also disagree that the executive leadership at their workplaces can be trusted to tell things the way they are, pointing to cultural and leadership alignment gaps that need to be addressed. This is crucial because good leadership, the culture of an organisation and the delivery of high-quality care are inextricably linked.