– Look! He purrs with his mouth. Evy Dale Jansen (67) is visiting a new family in the neonatal intensive care unit at Haukeland University Hospital. Here, she has worked with the smallest and most vulnerable children for the past 30 years. – I have never been nervous about going to work. It has always been a pleasure, she says. The intensive care nurse was actually supposed to retire several years ago. Then came the corona. And the demand was great for people like her. She is still at work as a temporary substitute. But soon it will be over. – Not a future scenario It is also the case for many other employees in the healthcare system. A recent report from Nav shows that 1 in 4 people approaching retirement age in Vestland work in the health sector. This corresponds to 8,000 health workers in Vestland alone. – It is critical that we lose so many, says county director Bjarte Hysing-Olsen in Nav Vestland. Nationally, there are 67,000 employees in the healthcare system who have less than five years left until they reach retirement age, figures from Nav show. This corresponds to 23 per cent of all employees in this group. – We are worried about whether we will be able to fill positions in the future. This is not a future scenario, it is like this already today, he says. WORK LONGER: County director Bjarte Hysing-Olsen in Nav Vestland says that more people are working longer. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news This is what the Nav survey shows. Every tenth employee in Vestland will retire within five years, or has already passed retirement age. This corresponds to 33,000 people. In Nordfjord, a full 14.4 per cent of all employees will reach retirement age within five years. Voss/Hardanger, Sunnfjord and Sogn are also markedly higher than the average for the county. It is extremely critical in the health and care sector. Here, 8,000 people must be replaced. This amounts to 11 per cent of the employees. In addition to the health sector, teaching, trade, transport and storage will have a great need for people in the coming years. The survey was carried out by Statistics Norway on order from Nav Vestland. The figures are from the end of 2022. Skipping Christmas, New Year and Easter Evy stayed at work longer than you needed to. A good working environment and good colleagues are part of the explanation. For her, it was also crucial that she got a rotation she enjoyed. When she reached retirement age, she didn’t have to work Christmas, New Year and Easter. She also only worked a weekend every six weeks. – When you are over 65, you no longer need to go to work every day. You may have other interests. And it’s good to have some time off, she says. FRESK: Evy Dale Jansen completed her degree as a nurse in 1977. She first worked at Haraldsplass Diakonale Hospital. Before she started at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen. Photo: Privat She is worried about the consequences of so many people in the health sector soon disappearing. – Then the knowledge and expertise we have also disappears. It is important that the new ones absorb a little. At the same time, I learn a lot from the new minds that come along. She points out that the employees over 60 are a stable working group. They no longer have small children, and are rarely away from work. Fears tougher everyday life Sigrid Romarheim Refsdal (28) loves her job as a nurse at Knarvik nursing home. At the same time, she is worried that financial cuts in the municipality will make her everyday life tougher in the years to come. – If they are going to scrimp and save and I have to kick my ass, then I have to honestly say that I don’t know if I want to be in this job, she says. She also believes it is important that employers make arrangements to keep people in work. And provides aids that relieve the burden. – When you walk around on concrete floors and lift and carry, it is important that the workplace facilitates. We need managers who ask: “what do you need to stand a job?” FACILITATE: Nurse Sigrid Romarheim Refsdal at Knarvik hospital believes that employers must facilitate better to get people to stay longer in work in health and care professions. Photo: Oskar Rennedal / news – Must work with the working environment The Nav director thinks it is positive that people over retirement age continue to work. – It’s absolutely top. We need more people to stay at work longer. It is definitely part of the solution, says Hysing-Olsen. He sees that employees stay longer in workplaces where there is a good working environment. But also where they have the opportunity to influence and take part in decisions. – Employers must work with the working environment. And make arrangements for people according to life stage. Professor: A good atmosphere is fundamental Professor Olav Kjellevold Olsen in work and organizational psychology at the University of Bergen (UiB) knows what it takes for people to feel comfortable at work: You feel that you are contributing something important to yourself and others. You are counted on and feel that you are useful. You are part of a community. You are a place where you have a place. You feel mastery. You get challenges at the edge of your comfort zone. You have influence. You are not controlled in detail and have a certain amount of room where you can manage a little yourself. – Employers who succeed in this increase the likelihood that people will enjoy their job and stay, he says. ATMOSPHERE: A good atmosphere is important for people to feel comfortable at work and for them to stay in working life after retirement. – Managers must be aware of bad moods and turn them around, he says. Photo: Privat At the same time, it is crucial to have a good atmosphere at work. – If there is a lot of bad mood and negative emotions, it increases the chance that you will want to quit. Managers must be aware of bad moods and turn them around, says Olsen. – It seems banal, but it is fundamental, he adds. He believes that it is too common for managers to be evasive and not deal with conflicts properly. – Sometimes conflicts blow over, but quite often they come alive. If there is a pattern, it goes directly beyond the working environment, he says. Hi! Did you think of anything when you read? Or do you have something on your mind that I should write about? Feel free to contact me. Published 30.09.2024, at 05.12
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1 in 4 who reach retirement age in the next few years work in the healthcare system – news Vestland
