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Do Non-monetary Interventions Improve Staff Retention? Evidence from English NHS Hospitals

Author

Listed:
  • Sayli, Melisa

    (University of Surrey)

  • Moscelli, Giuseppe

    (University of Surrey)

  • Blanden, Jo

    (University of Surrey)

  • Bojke, Chris

    (University of Leeds)

  • Mello, Marco

    (University of Aberdeen)

Abstract

Excessive turnover reduces the stock of an organization's human capital. In the public sector, where wage increases are often constrained, managers need to leverage non-monetary working conditions to retain their workers. We investigate whether workers are responsive to improvements in non-wage aspects of their job by evaluating the impact on nurse retention of a programme that encouraged public hospitals to increase staff retention through data monitoring and improving the non-pecuniary aspects of nursing jobs. Employing rich employee-level administrative data from the universe of English NHS hospitals, and a staggered difference-in-difference design, we find that the programme has improved nursing retention within hospitals and decreased exits from the public hospital sector. Our results indicate that a light-touch intervention can shift management behavior and improve hospital workforce turnover. These findings are important in sectors affected by labor supply shortages, and they are especially policy-relevant in the health care context, where such shortages have potentially negative effects on patient outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Sayli, Melisa & Moscelli, Giuseppe & Blanden, Jo & Bojke, Chris & Mello, Marco, 2022. "Do Non-monetary Interventions Improve Staff Retention? Evidence from English NHS Hospitals," IZA Discussion Papers 15480, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15480
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    labor supply; workforce retention; non-monetary incentives; hospital care; staggered difference-in-differences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes

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