Tensions between health workers and employers to remain high

After nearly two years of working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers continue to demand extra protections and pay from their employers. But employers say rising healthcare costs and decreasing demand from delayed care make it difficult to shoulder higher labor costs.

Experts say this will continue to put pressure on the relationship between providers and staff as workers battle burnout and employers try to balance their budgets and find ways to serve patients.

The situation is further complicated by the number of workers who have taken travel contracts that can pay three times their normal salary. This workforce shift puts greater financial strain on employers trying to find workers and inflates labor costs.

Throughout the pandemic, health systems have increasingly been turning to hiring incentives and retention bonuses, often tied to time commitments, to attract and retain workers. In some cases, these bonuses have been as high as $25,000. Experts expect this to continue as systems become more desperate for workers, some clinicians leave the field, others turn to travel contracts and some retire early. Employers are rolling out new hiring programs directed at recent graduates, hoping to tap into the pipeline of new workers.

This disconnect has led to a series of union actions and organizing campaigns by healthcare workers, with large strikes planned in California and elsewhere, demanding better wages, staffing and infection-control safeguards.

Experts don’t see any indication these trends will stop, as new virus variants emerge, COVID-19 cases rise and the pandemic remains a part of daily life. Instead, they expect it to be another tumultuous year for employers and staff, as they continue to butt heads over wages, safety and patient care.