Half of employees in healthcare and welfare feel their workload is unsustainable, according to a report by the Social-Economic Council of Flanders (SERV) published on Wednesday.
Of the almost 5,000 employees who participated in the survey, the vast majority of respondents reported physical and mental fatigue at the end of the working day. The Association of Employees, Technicians and Managers (BBTK) trade union is calling for a collective reduction of working hours to make the work feasible and the sector more attractive.
"The figures are alarming for a sector that has been drowning since the Covid-19 crisis," said SERV's federal secretary Evert Persoon, adding that the report confirmed the results of an earlier workload survey by the BBTK.
Strikingly, half (49.5%) of employees in healthcare and welfare feel their job is unsustainable, according to the SERV report. Almost 40% experience work stress complaints – up 10% compared to the survey in 2004 and well above the Flemish average.
'Heroes' with human worries
Over one in six (16%) staff struggle with motivation and find their job increasingly less interesting and attractive. 12.7% also indicated that they don't have enough learning opportunities, despite politicians often stressing the need for "lifelong learning".
44% of employees reported that their work is emotionally taxing and that they experience high work pressure (38.2%). Over four in ten (42.2%) "do not consider it feasible" to continue in their current job until retirement.
"Employees in the sector are sometimes called 'Heroes' but we must not forget that these are ordinary people like you and me who also want to be stimulated and want to work under good pay and employment conditions,” said Persoon.
Credit: Dirk Waem / Belga
The BBTK organised a social-profit sector conference in 2023 where the participants resolutely opted for a collective reduction of working hours as a spearhead. "We note that less than half of healthcare and welfare employees work full-time. Part-time working has become the norm in the sector to allow employees to combine work and private life or to cope with the workload."
Now, the BBTK proposes a step-by-step collective reduction in working hours for everyone in the sector, which they call "a modern vision of labour organisation."
Next year, the union wants to start negotiations for new social agreements in the sector and stressed that it is therefore crucial to continue to work on measures to sustainably improve wages and employment conditions in the sector. "We call on the future government to provide the necessary budgets for this. Healthcare and welfare concern everyone."
