Annual Report 2021

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Pandemic leaves marks
Nursing staff under enormous stress
Prof. Arthur Posch

“Job and wage satisfaction trends clearly show that the second and third COVID-19 waves were much tougher on nursing staff than the first one.”

POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION

Burden rose over the course of the pandemic

The Institute for Managerial Accounting and Controlling of the University of Bern has been collaborating closely with Swiss hospitals since 2019 to examine the working environment of nursing staff as part of its Hospital Care Report. In 2021, they conducted two studies to measure the burden of the various COVID waves.

 

The results are clear: The overall strain on nursing staff increased enormously during the second and third waves of the pandemic. The heavier workload also meant that they were working under greater time pressure, with nursing staff in the emergency and intensive care units hit particularly hard.

Job satisfaction declines further

The greater workload also caused job satisfaction among nursing staff to decline substantially during the second and third COVID-19 waves compared to the first wave, with nurses’ satisfaction with their pay deteriorating even more sharply than during the first COVID-19 wave. What’s more, this lower level of satisfaction prompted more nursing staff to consider leaving their profession. On top of the high workload and time pressure, nurses additionally suffered enormous emotional stress and sleep disorders, which negatively impacted both their satisfaction and commitment to the profession they had learned.

Job satisfaction can be improved

Apart from the findings regarding the general job satisfaction trend, the study also reveals how hospitals can positively influence job satisfaction among their nursing staff. Some measures capable of having a particularly positive impact on this include giving them more say with respect to COVID-19 measures, letting them have greater leeway for decision-making at work and receiving explicit praise from their superiors. Nurturing a cooperative working environment between nursing and medical staff also has an extremely positive effect.

The Institute for Managerial Accounting and Controlling (IUC)

The teaching, research and consulting activities of the Institute for Managerial Accounting and Controlling are centered around topics related to financial and managerial accounting. The IUC’s research activities focus on the use and design of accounting and performance information for the purpose of corporate management and performance evaluations as well as for incentive management and management decision-making. Among other things, the IUC also investigates the role played by control systems in the areas of healthcare, public finance and risk management.

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