Literature Review

Working through grief: Exploring the relationship between organizational support on employee engagement, satisfaction, and loyaltyTransdisciplinary Journal of Management; Katie N. Hansen; 7/25For most people, work and grief are unavoidable, meaning the majority of employees will work while grieving. Over the past several decades, employer grief responses have been more strategic than human-focused, leaving the bereaved under-supported. The most significant finding [of this study] is a decline in how engaged, loyal, and satisfied employees feel post-loss. Statistical analysis confirms that bereavement leave, reintegration accommodations, and provided support impact employee engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction, with positive and moderate to high associations existing between several variables. Finally, the results suggest the quality of an employer’s response and support for grieving employees remains insufficient, as the majority of respondents felt the need to take leave in excess of the bereavement leave provided, were not granted flexible work accommodations, and post-loss workloads did not meet their needs.

Insurance companies’ Medicare pullback is here: Insurers are planning to scale back benefits, trim plans and exit from markets. Investors are cheering The Wall Street Journal; by David Wainer; 8/5/25 Many seniors enjoy the perks that come with Medicare Advantage. But those extras—like dental coverage and free gym memberships—are being scaled back. Insurers are cutting benefits and exiting from unprofitable markets, and Wall Street is cheering them on. Once rewarded by investors for rapid expansion in the lucrative privatized Medicare program, companies are now being applauded for showing restraint amid rising medical costs and lower government payments.

Bipartisan bill offers ‘meaningful’ immigration reform that could help address senior living workforce needs, leaders say McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 7/1/25 A bipartisan immigration reform bill proposing a pathway to legal resident status for certain undocumented immigrants — including direct care workers — is earning the support of the senior living and care industry. The recently re-introduced Dignity Act of 2025 “offers the solution to our immigration crisis: secure the border, stop illegal immigration and provide an earned opportunity for long-term immigrants to stay here and work,” sponsor Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) had said in introducing the bill. [Its co-sponsor is] Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX).

Private equity in hospice care spurs workers to strike Capital & Main; by Jesse Baum; 7/30/25 When hospice nurse Kristina Nauheimer joined the growing unionization push among end-of-life care workers in 2022, she knew there was a fight ahead. But she and her coworkers at two Bay Area hospices in California didn’t expect to be at the negotiating table with Providence, their hospice operator, for more than two years — or that their employer would merge with a private-equity-owned firm. “I didn’t think it would take this long to achieve this little,” said Nauheimer, who joined about 100 workers from the company’s Hospice of Petaluma and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospice in a two-day strike with their union, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, on July 2 and 3. They struck, said Nauheimer, because contract negotiations with Providence, their operator, have been at a standstill. 

Negotiations move forward as Essentia delays return of striking workers Minnesota Nurses Association, Duluth, MN; Press Release; 7/25/25 On Tuesday [7/22], clinic nurses, surgery center nurses, healthcare workers at Solvay Hospice House, and Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) concluded a powerful strike across Essentia Health facilities that involved nearly 700 frontline workers. The two-week strike by nurses and healthcare workers and 13-day strike by APPs brought statewide attention to Essentia’s unfair labor practices, including unlawful intimidation, surveillance, and clear attempts to bust the union. Yet, even after the strike’s end, Essentia is continuing to keep on travel nurses, when former striking healthcare workers are available and want to return to work. 

6 health systems that faced worker strikes this month MedCity News; by Katie Adams; 7/22/25 Healthcare workers at six health systems across the country have launched strikes in July so far. These healthcare employees cite unsafe staffing levels, low wages and retaliation against union organizers as their main reasons for going on strike. From hospice centers to emergency rooms, frontline healthcare workers across the country have been striking this month to protest what they say are unsafe patient care conditions and poor bargaining behavior. Below are six examples of union activity resulting in a strike — all of which occurred in July.

Health systems tap into Gen Z’s most-desired benefits Becker's Hospital Review; by Kristin Kuchno; 7/14/25 Generation Z healthcare workers prioritize financial wellness and mental health support — and hospitals and health systems are responding. Given changing demographics and labor shortages, organizations across the U.S. are focused on recruiting and retaining the newest generation to enter the workforce. Gen Z employees include new college graduates and those with a few years of professional experience, with the oldest members age 28. Becker’s connected with human resources leaders from five organizations — ranging from large academic health systems to community hospitals — to learn how they are tailoring benefits to meet workforce demands. ...

Essentia nurses and healthcare workers turned away from bargaining by employer on second day of ULP strike, acute care nurses announce tentative agreement vote results Minnesota Nurses Association, Duluth, MN; Press Release; 7/9/25 On the second day of the ongoing unfair labor practice strike in Duluth and Superior, nurses and healthcare professionals across all six Essentia Health bargaining units arrived at negotiations prepared to make progress — only to be met with rejection and dismissal. ... No meaningful negotiations took place and no progress was made towards resolving the unfair labor practices. Despite Essentia Health’s reliance on costly travel nurses and its abrupt closure of essential facilities like the Solvay Hospice House, frontline healthcare workers have consistently proposed clear pathways to resolution. Today alone, negotiating team members offered to consolidate and expedite bargaining across all six contracts and offered 22 additional negotiation dates in July — both of which Essentia flatly refused.

How to give physicians autonomy—and protect them from burnout American Medical Association (AMA); by Georgia Garvey; 7/1/25 Almost everyone appreciates having autonomy at work. But when physicians spend more than a decade in high-stakes and grueling medical training, only to enter practice with virtually no control over their work environment, schedule or day, it can lead to the kind of spiraling frustration that often turns into burnout or leaving the profession entirely. “It’s one of those things where the more you try to micromanage a physician’s schedule, the more a feeling of distrust you give to the physicians ...” said Jill Jin, MD, MPH, an internist and senior physician adviser for the AMA, one of the authors of the AMA STEPS Forward® “Value of Feeling Valued Playbook.” ... Though the percentages of those experiencing burnout have declined from the peak during the COVID-19 public health emergency, 43.2% of physicians still say they have at least one symptom of burnout.  ... When physicians feel valued—... as competent professionals who have devoted immense time and energy to becoming experts at their jobs—it is proven to be positively associated with lower levels of burnout.

Solvay Hospice House to temporarily pause care in Duluth during impending nurses’ strike Northern News Now, Duluth, MN; by T Kaldahl; 7/1/25  The Solvay Hospice House in Duluth will temporarily pause care and transport existing patients when union nurses walk off the job next week. The hospice house relies on Essentia Health staff to help them provide care for their patients, according to Solvay leaders. Because of the MNA’s plans to begin an open-ended strike at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, July 8, amid ongoing contract negotiations, the hospice house will be without nursing staff. 

Providence hospice workers to hold 1st strike Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 6/30/25 Providence workers are set to begin a two-day strike July 2 at Hospice of Petaluma (Calif.) and Memorial Hospice in Santa Rosa, Calif. The action marks their first-ever strike and comes amid ongoing contract negotiations. The strike involves more than 100 nurses, social workers, home health aides, chaplains and other hospice workers, according to their union, the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Union-represented hospice workers have been negotiating their first contract with Renton, Wash.-based Providence since 2023, when they unionized, according to NUHW. They contend that Providence has not adequately bargained — a concern compounded by the system’s planned transition of home-based care services to Compassus through a joint venture. 

From burnout to belonging: Creating space for grief in clinical education American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Journals Blog; by Rachita Gupta; 6/16/25 ... While significant progress has been made in addressing burnout and emotional distress in medicine, and in incorporating these topics into medical education, many clinicians remain hesitant and uncertain about how to address grief and distress from patient care in day-to-day clinical practice. This uncertainty exists both in terms of their own experiences and, even more so, in supporting trainees. A lack of emotional processing in these difficult situations can accelerate burnout and further disconnect clinicians from the humanism and vulnerability that are intrinsic to the privilege of practicing medicine. ... The recently published Hospital Pediatrics article by Bloomhardt et al, “Good Grief? Introducing the TEARS Framework for Educator to Support Learners Experiencing Grief,” (10.1542/hpeds.2024-008096) addresses the hesitancy many clinicians experience when assessing learners’ emotional processing during or after distressing patient cases by introducing the TEARS framework. ...Editor's Note: See a related post in today's newsletter, "“Her toes fell off into my hand”: 50 moments that changed healthcare workers forever."

Bossed around? Six ways to deal with difficult leadersBrain Circuits; by Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg; 6/11/25 Have you ever experienced behavior by a leader that defies conventional norms of engagement? Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg suggests strategies to handle bosses who dispense with widely accepted norms of civility, empathy, and ethical leadership.