Almost all (96%) of the healthcare professionals who responded to a recent survey by digital workplace technology company ShiftKey said that their jobs have required “significant personal sacrifices.”
Workers said they had missed major holidays, birthdays, vacations, anniversaries, weddings and graduations. A third of the respondents who noted sacrifices said they even had missed funerals because of work responsibilities.
Despite the personal sacrifices, 79% of the healthcare professionals who participated in the survey said they wouldn’t trade their careers for other work. The No. 1 complaint by a vast majority of respondents (95%) was that they are misunderstood; they don’t believe that people outside of the profession appreciate the challenges they face.
“Quality time with family and schedule flexibility are critical to solving healthcare worker burnout,” according to the report authors. Participants noted that they would like to have balance between their work lives and personal lives so that they are able to spend more quality time with family.
In fact, 82% of the respondents said that they manage stress best when spending quality time with family.
Ninety-three percent of the participants opined that they could benefit from the flexibility provided by independent contractor work.
More than half of respondents (52%) offered that they care for dependent children; 39% care for parents; and 21% care for extended family members.
