EDMONTON, Alberta, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Retaining long-term healthcare workers can be a challenge, but Canadian researchers say an intervention program can reduce turnover by 75 percent.
Study co-author Val Kinjerski, a University of Alberta doctoral graduate, said the study focused on two groups of long-term healthcare workers from two facilities in Canada. One group of 24 employees attended a Spirit at Work one-day workshop, followed by eight weekly booster sessions offered at shift changes.
The workers were led through a variety of exercises designed to help staff create personal action plans to enhance spirit at work. They were asked to consider concepts such as the deeper purpose of their work, being of service, appreciation of themselves and others, sense of community and self-care.
The second group of 34 workers was offered no support program.
"We discovered that people who are able to find meaning and purpose in their work, and can see how they make a difference through that work, are healthier, happier and more productive employees," Kinjerski said in a statement.
The study, published in the Journal of Gerontological Nursing, found the intervention group reduced absenteeism by 60 percent, increased teamwork by 23 percent, 20 percent experienced a hike in job satisfaction and 17 percent felt there was better workplace morale. Employer costs related to absenteeism were almost $12,000 less for the five months following the workshop compared with the same period the year before.
