END AUSTERITY INVEST IN PUBLIC SERVICES
Cracking the social care workforce crisis with improved pay and training practices
King's College London
Investing in staff pay and training can address the workforce crisis in adult care and improve care home performance, according to new research published in the latest issue of the journal Human Resources Management.
The researchers looked at data from 36,460 establishments over a five-year period, during which they employed 1.9 million workers in total. They tracked the care providers’ HR practices and outcomes, including investment in staff training, promotion opportunities, job security, working hours, contractual arrangements, staff turnover and average tenure and studied the impact they had on the care home’s performance, as measured by its success in attracting new residents.
They found that care homes that increased investment in staff training, experienced a 4% increase in new residents; while care homes in which pay and conditions improved had, on average, a 3.1% increase in new residents.
Dr. Andreas Georgiadis, Associate Professor in International Business and Economics at Leeds University Business School, said: “Addressing the adult care crisis in England requires the government to support care providers to invest in their staff through offering better pay and working conditions and providing training.”
Dr. Andreas Kornelakis, Reader in Comparative Management at King’s Business School, King’s College London, said: “These findings show how short-sighted HR strategies based on cutting costs via low-skills investment and low-pay growth, are likely to be counterproductive and undermine the care homes’ longer-term operational success.”
The researchers also concluded that the effectiveness of improved pay and training practices is expected to reduce after a threshold level of collective staff skills, knowledge and experience is reached.
At this point, to improve performance further, other interventions are needed, for instance, improving operational efficiencies or the adoption of new technologies.
Subject of Research
People
Investing in nurses reduces physician burnout, international study finds
PHILADELPHIA (November 17, 2025) – A landmark international study finds that hospitals with better nurse staffing and work environments not only benefits nurses but is significantly associated with less physician burnout and job dissatisfaction. The research, published in JAMA Network Open, provides a clear solution to the global crisis of physician burnout.
A research team, led by Penn Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR), surveyed more than 6,400 physicians and 15,000 nurses across the United States and six European countries (Belgium, England, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden). The findings show that hospitals with better nurse staffing, supportive work environments, and effective interdisciplinary teamwork had substantially lower rates of physician burnout, job dissatisfaction, and intent to leave.
“Physician burnout is a global crisis, but few actionable solutions have been identified,” said Linda H. Aiken, PhD, RN, FAAN, FRCN, Professor of Nursing and Sociology and Founding Director, CHOPR. “Our study provides evidence that investing in nurses is a ‘two-for-one’ solution—improving both nurse and physician wellbeing while also strengthening patient care.”
Key findings include:
- In US hospitals, a modest 10% improvement in the nurse work environment including staffing adequacy was associated with a 22% reduction in physician intent to leave, a 25% reduction in physicians unwilling to recommend their hospital as a place to work, a 19% reduction in physician job dissatisfaction, and a 10% reduction in physicians experiencing high burnout.
- In European hospitals, a 10% increase in nurse staffing adequacy was linked to 20% lower physician intent to leave, 27% lower odds of not recommending their hospital, 15% lower physician job dissatisfaction, and 12% lower odds of high burnout.
- Hospitals with stronger physician-nurse teamwork consistently reported better physician outcomes.
The results come at a critical time, as both physicians and nurses face unprecedented levels of stress, burnout, and turnover. According to the study, between 20–44% of physicians surveyed reported intentions to leave their hospital positions due to dissatisfaction, and up to 45% reported high burnout.
“These findings highlight a path forward that hospital leaders can act on immediately,” said Karen B. Lasater, PhD, RN, the Jessie M. Scott Term Chair in Nursing and Health Policy, Associate Professor, and Associate Director, CHOPR. “Improving nurse staffing and creating supportive work environments are organizational reforms that are feasible, evidence-based, and capable of retaining both nurses and physicians.”
The research was conducted by the Magnet4Europe Consortium in collaboration with the U.S. Clinician Well-Being Study Consortium, with support from the National Institute of Nursing Research and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program. The full study, “Informing Hospital Physician Wellbeing Interventions in Europe and the United States: A Cross-sectional Study,” is available open access in JAMA Network Open.
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About the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) is one of the world’s leading nursing schools. It has been ranked the #1 nursing school in the U.S. by QS University for a decade. Our Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is among the top-ranked programs in the nation, according to the 2026 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges rankings. Penn Nursing also consistently earns high rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of best graduate schools and is a top recipient of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for nursing research. Penn Nursing prepares nurse scientists and nurse leaders to meet the health needs of a global society through innovation in research, education, and practice. Follow Penn Nursing on: Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, & Instagram.
About the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research: The Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is dedicated to building the actionable evidence base needed to advance effective policy, practice, and health system reforms that improve health outcomes, cultivate clinician well-being, and promote health equity across communities.
Journal
JAMA Network Open
Article Title
Informing Hospital Physician Well-Being Interventions in Europe and the US
Article Publication Date
17-Nov-2025
