While the controversy over working conditions at the hospital has been in full swing for a few days, a document published Thursday by the directorate of research, studies, evaluation and statistics (Drees) comes to provide elements of understanding in the debate.
And underlines the difficulties encountered by the staff of these establishments on a daily basis.
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Attached to the Ministry of Health, the Drees is based on data collected between October 2018 and May 2019. Its conclusions therefore relate to the year 2019, but they are particularly interesting in the current context. The feelings of the staff are clear: nearly six out of ten employees “
estimate their amount of work excessive
”, and employees in the hospital sector feel more pressed for time, more interrupted by unforeseen tasks than their counterparts in other sectors. . The fragmentation of activity is singled out, and employees also complain of having to work under pressure, with grueling atypical schedules weakening the balance between private and professional life.
Another difficulty is that staff must work "
in contact with people in distress
", and they must therefore "
hide [their] emotions
". More than one in ten employees report “
situations of tension with the public
”. Daily life is also marked by significant physical constraints, such as standing, walking constantly, carrying heavy objects, and by hierarchical tensions and "
hostile behavior
": a third ensures that they live in "
situations of tension.
With their colleagues or superiors. "
Value conflicts
" are also reported, whether they are "
contradictory injunctions
" or "
feeling of having to do things that you disapprove of
”.
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Another point of concern, if "
the feeling of usefulness of work in the hospital is shared by a very large majority of employees, it is eroded and reached, in 2019, a low point over the period
".
While they are proud of their profession, workers believe they do not receive the recognition they deserve, especially in terms of salary: nearly six in ten people are dissatisfied with their remuneration in 2019, up seven percentage points from compared to 2013.
On the other side of the scale, almost all of the employees surveyed believe that they can "
get help from their colleagues in the event of difficulty in accomplishing a task
".
Solidarity that improves everyday life.
A little less than two-thirds say they can count on the help of their superiors.
No noticeable difference between public and private
The study shared by DREES highlights two main conclusions: first, employees in the hospital sector experience more difficulties on a daily basis than their peers working in other fields.
And, even more worrying, the proportion of employees reporting difficulties has increased since 2013.
Less than half of employees in the hospital sector say they are "
able
" to keep their job until retirement, against 57% for all employees. The proportion is particularly low for nurses and midwives. Conversely, it is higher among administrative and nursing assistants. "
Undoubtedly linked to the intensity of work, employees in the sector feel less often able than all employees to exercise their profession until the end of their career
", summarizes the Drees.
The study highlights differences according to trades: midwives, nurses, maintenance workers and nursing assistants “
more frequently
” report unfavorable working conditions than other professions.
However, if the situation of employees of public hospitals is a little more difficult than that of employees of private establishments, the difference remains minimal.
The worrying impact of the health crisis remains to be confirmed
At the onset of the health crisis, the HR situation in the hospital sector was therefore already worrying. The two years that have passed since have reinforced the difficulties: resignations, burn-out, absenteeism and recruitment difficulties have multiplied, worrying the authorities. “
The fall and the post-crisis period are complicated in terms of HR,
” noted the President of the French Hospital Federation, Frédéric Valletoux, in mid-October. "
The situation is complicated
" at the hospital, recently acknowledged the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran.
For its part, DREES intends to closely examine the consequences of the health crisis on the working conditions of employees in the sector.
"
The third wave of the EpiCov survey, which took place between June and August 2021, will provide information on this subject,
" promises the statistical service of the ministry.