Hospitals and health systems are implementing various strategies as they look to drive efficiency and plan for short-term and long-term growth. One strategy seen at several systems in recent months: offering buyouts and voluntary separation to workers.

CEO Stephen Gray started his new position at cash-strapped Watsonville (Calif.) Hospital on Nov. 1 and is already locked in negotiations with nursing staff, according to a Nov. 13 Lookout Santa Cruz.

Hospital and health system workers put in long hours during the COVID-19 pandemic as the nation faced a public health crisis. Now, in the post-pandemic era, workers in healthcare and across industries say they are being burned out after being asked to work increasing overtime to offset staffing shortages, NBC News reported Nov. 12. 

Health systems are planning to invest heavily in employee retention and upskilling next year to solve workforce shortages and reduce reliance on contract labor. It seems, for now, supporting nurses and staff with additional wellness programs, benefits and professional development opportunities could positively affect the hospital's bottom line.

Nurse bullying has been an issue for decades and continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, in the post-pandemic era, allegations of toxic behavior are continuing to climb. 

Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham is offering employees in its technology division buyouts in a bid to trim its workforce, the Boston Herald reported Nov. 9.

CMS has been under a partial hiring freeze since July, Politico reported Nov. 8.

Christmas vacation might turn permanent for a certain group of employees, according to a November report from management consulting firm Korn Ferry. 

Cloquet, Minn.-based Community Memorial Hospital is laying off 30 staff at a nursing home it operates on the hospital campus.

Approximately 150 healthcare workers picketed outside the Sutter Center for Psychiatry hospital in Sacramento, Calif., Nov. 8 to protest wages and claim the system is "anti-union," according to a Nov. 8 report from The Sacramento Bee.

The past few years have been riddled with sources of anxiety nationwide: a pandemic, political and social unrest, inflation, job insecurity, a potential recession. As a result, some people's goals have changed to center their own well-being — as opposed to their corporate job's bottom line. 

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic's 2030 strategy is simple: to cure, connect and transform. But to get there, the world-renowned health system needs a robust people strategy developing the workforce of the future. 

Hospital and health system CEOs are in a position to influence their workforces, as well as healthcare altogether. As they connect with their teams, they have unique opportunities to support clinicians and their well-being. 

As a community health system in a market saturated with large and internationally renowned health systems, Baltimore-based LifeBridge Health is highly focused on fostering a positive work environment to attract and retain physicians amid a worsening shortage. 

The U.S. saw a surplus of retirees amid the pandemic, and fewer adults than expected have reentered the workforce as COVID-19 threats fade, Bloomberg reported Nov. 6.

BJC HealthCare and Washington University, both based in St. Louis, are expanding a program that supports employees with home ownership costs. 

Healthcare workers put their time and energy into providing high-quality care to patients each day. At the same time, there is both anecdotal evidence and data indicating rising rates of violence in their places of work.

In a post-pandemic world still beset by inflation pressures and labor costs and shortages, many health systems are carrying out initiatives to boost employee retention and lessen reliance on contract labor.

Companies are grappling with a new issue post Great Resignation: Not enough employees are quitting. 

A report released Nov. 6 by market research firm McKinsey & Co. provides insights into the nursing workforce and nurses' mental health and well-being.