The workload in the healthcare sector increased in the second quarter of 2022. On average, half of all healthcare workers thought the workload was too high, or even much too high, according to a report published on Thursday Numbers of Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Employees in childcare, where staff shortages are an increasing problem, experienced the highest workload of all healthcare sectors at 61 percent.
On Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives debated the plan to make childcare virtually free from 2025. The government wants to finance 96 percent of childcare costs for working parents. Overturning the childcare system would cost the government at least 2 billion euros.
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In the coming months, the cabinet will work out the plan, despite concerns expressed by the House on Wednesday. Members of parliament and those involved have doubts about the feasibility of the starting date and the implementation of the new system. In addition, the demand for childcare would increase if it is almost free, and the workload in the industry would likely increase even further.
Work pressure and stress
It is not only in childcare that care employees experienced an above-average workload in the first half of this year. Youth care staff (55 percent) and general practitioners (54 percent) also had a hard time. The perceived workload was also higher in that period than in the previous measurements by Statistics Netherlands. A year ago, the workload in the healthcare sector was still over 40 percent, compared to 50 percent in the second quarter of this year.
In addition to the workload, it was also measured how stressful care employees experienced their work. This includes the pace of work and the amount of work, but also the emotional burden of the care tasks. An average of 29 percent of healthcare workers said they had a stressful job at the end of last year. This was above average for employees in hospitals and medical specialist care (39 percent) and for general practitioners (38 percent).