Minnesota hospitals have lost nearly 1,000 hospital beds since 2020, MPR News reported Dec. 20.

Hospitals are seeing more relief on the job front as wider labor conditions become less volatile, according to a Dec. 20 report from Fitch Ratings. 

Managers' attempts to quell quiet quitting may be having the opposite effect than they intended, Forbes reported Dec. 14. 

Five healthcare professions have made a new ranking of America's most stressful jobs. 

Hospitals and nurses in Texas have developed a toolkit to help facilities comply with two new state laws designed to better protect healthcare employees from workplace violence.

All promotions are not created equally — and if leaders do not handle them appropriately, they could have a negative effect on employee retention, according to a Dec. 7 article in SHRM. 

Most hospitals and health systems are bolstering pay and benefits to help attract and retain talent amid increasing employee turnover, which is expected to continue to challenge the healthcare industry in 2024, according to a Dec. 13 survey published by Aon.

The layoff process used to be abrupt: a worker learns their job has been cut and they leave the same day (sometimes with a security escort). Now, some companies are alerting employees that their roles will be eliminated months in advance, The Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 10. 

Specifics of the 2024 U.S. labor market remain to be seen. However, there have been some 2023 trends to note moving into next year, including higher labor force participation, wage gains and a strong healthcare industry.

Doing less at work can, indeed, yield better health outcomes, according to a Dec. 4 article from Cleveland Clinic. 

Healthcare/products companies and manufacturers, including hospitals, have announced the third-most job cuts year to date among 30 industries and sectors measured, according to new analysis shared with Becker's.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Dec. 6 that would increase fines for assaults on healthcare workers. 

U.S. job openings decreased to 8.7 million in October, the fewest since March 2021, led by healthcare and social assistance employers.

Tommy Ibrahim, MD, who is stepping down as president and CEO of Cooperstown, N.Y.-based Bassett Healthcare Network by the year's end, spoke on Sanford Health's podcast about bolstering the future rural healthcare workforce. 

The company culture and pay/promotion practices vary widely at the big four for-profit health systems, according to the most recent American Opportunity Index. 

Experts estimate that the arrivals of least 10,000 foreign nurses have been postponed indefinitely by the United States' mismatched demand and supply of immigrant visas, Bloomberg reports. 

Over the past decade, hospital jobs have grown in most major U.S. cities — but not all of them, according to a Dec. 1 analysis from Sechel Ventures. 

Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham said it will reduce its digital workforce, which represents the technology arm of the organization.

While staffing needs continue to evolve across hospitals and health systems, shortages aren't going anywhere for the foreseeable future — prompting healthcare leaders to hone their workforce strategies in ways that uphold quality patient care and drive volume, efficiency, and revenue.

As companies attempt to lure workers back into the office, they'll need to strike a delicate balance between rewarding on-site work and penalizing noncompliance — offering "carrots" and prodding with "sticks," as Glassdoor put it in a Nov. 15 report.